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Cultural Observation Of A Mexican Restaurant

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CULTURAL OBSERVATION 2For my cultural observation I went to La Tolteca, a Mexican restaurant located in Bel Air. Everyone that works there are from different parts of Central America such as El Salvador, Guatamala, and Hondura. When I first arrived I just observed the customers and the employees, every single person in the restaurant looked so happy with a smile on their face. All the employees are very close, you can tell that most of them are related or have grown up together by how they act and care for one another. The restaurant was very festive and welcoming with loud Spanish music playing and everyone having conversations. The tables, chairs, and walls are painted with bright colors and beautiful designsand there are a lot of different …show more content…

When the two women were finished ordering he asked them closed-ended questions to make sure he wrote down the correct food they wanted. One thing that really pointed out to me is that their facial expressions and postures do not really change much when having a conversation. For example, when the server was not understanding what the lady was saying he did not really look confused and kept the same upright posture. It seems to me like they do not want anyone to know howthey are feeling so they do not show it in their face. They talk a lot with their hands when they are explaining something. I observed the server when he talked to his other associates and it was different from how he interacts with others from a different culture. With people from his culture he would stand close to them, have good eye contact, talk very fast, touch their shoulder, and laughand smile most of the time. I think they want to respect all their customers so they stand further away and do not make so much eye contact because they do not know how others feel about it. When providing care for the Mexican culture there are many implications for health careproviders in order to deliver culturally competent and respectful care.Providers need to have an awareness of their own cultural beliefs and practices so that they can identify their views from others. If a provider is in touch with his/her own beliefs and values, he/she may be able to identify those judgments that we, as humans, make when presented with practices and beliefs that are different from our own (Basuray, 2014, pg. 49). The provider needs to communicate with the patient and see what their values and beliefs are. If the patient speaks a different language the provider needs to get a translator that works in the hospital right away instead of just trying to figure out what he/she is saying. Health care providers should become more knowledgeable about their

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