Laura Kastner 1/14/2013 WRA 260 Writing Assignment: Like Minors Nacirema January 5, 2013 I have just stepped

into the living space of my friend from the U.S.A. We arrive now at 19:00. The others she resides with are in a back room of the living space. I have come to find that it is a sort of self-cleaning room. There are five girls about the age of 19 shifting and reaching and tangling around in the self-cleaning room, which is little bigger than a phone booth. They all seem to have one common goal and that is to see themselves. They are moving aggressively in front of a counter that juts out from a giant sheet of reflective material which I will name the self-seer. The girls nearly compete for a portion of this self-seer, but it is what they are doing in front of the self-seer that bewilders me. Scattered across the counter are tiny, handheld tools of all different shapes and sizes called compacts. Each girl opens the compact in her hand and meticulously applies whatever it holds to her visage. It is now 20:03 and they are finished applying the compacts. This method of physical transformation is apparently joyous, although I observe that they look entirely different from the naturalness of their beauty prior to the compacts. Their transformation is much like the application of war paint that the indigenous people of my land apply before battle. I must note that aside from the compacts splayed across the counter of the miniscule selfcleaning room, each girl has a goblet to which she refers to frequently during the transformation. Judging by their individual facial expressions, the drink within the goblet is vile, yet tolerable. After they deem their transformations acceptable, they advance to a different room within the living space and concoct more mixtures of pungent liquids. They continue to consume these liquids which, upon sniffing, have a stinging, unpleasant essence. 20:37 is the time now and other females have begun to arrive. They too partake in the consumption of strong drink and speak casually together. One of the girls has opted to turn on a device which plays song. This composition is no louder than their voices. The girls continue to banter and consume for a while which gives me opportunity to note their dress. They are adorned in dress quite different from daytime apparelI will call it sollemne in that it is strikingly more revealing of their skin and it often seems to be unfitting (which I am informed is a ruse to make their bodies appear thinner or more sexually appealing). The variety of dress they have chosen is dramatic, glistening, and flagrant. The time is now 21:51 and others have begun to enter the living space. They too are adorned in sollemne. The male guests do not appear to be ornamented in the same brazen manner as the females.

More similar to day dress, the apparel of the males seems comfortable by comparisonan oddity to me. I observe and ponder precisely why the females at this gathering are clad in a fashion most uncomfortable to my penchant and yet the males have hardly converted from day dress. I would like to include that the guests arriving are too bringing vessels of strong drink. The men carry coffrets containing individual vessels of weaker drink by comparison to the sometimes larger vessels of stinging, strong drink carried by the women. The general consensus is to relentlessly consume the beverages, regardless of their characteristics to the senses. It is here where they especially employ a type of sadism which I can only conclude is intended to facilitate a desire they all share. This desire for enjoyment comes only from partaking in the strong drink and, when consumed, it provokes thoughtlessness, loss of inhibition, and consequently for them, elation and ecstasy. The entire event is centered around these revolting beverages. At 23:16, the gathering is advancing in nature and number of attendees. The melody enveloping the living space is highly discordant and unbearably loud, yet, like the strong drink, it provokes delight in the guests. Gradually, I observe more guests arriving, crowding the living space and increasing the temperature. A faintly unpleasant, bodily scent is wafting and mingling with various perfumes and cheap musk. I must add that the lights have now been dimmedan apparent staple for such an event. The guests have all taken to their own circles. In one corner, I see a male and female conversing. He is frequently speaking very close to her ear so as only they can know what each other is speaking. I look to my left and there is what appears to be a game being played by two teams, each made of two people. I have not yet learned the rules or the objective of this game but I gather that an intention is to toss a small, plastic ball into one of ten goblets that belong to the players at the opposite end of the table. From my perspective, the game is inane, and thus, I direct my attention to the section of the living space containing most of the guests, which I shall name the foosa. Those in the foosa are largely moving in pairs, gyrating, sweating, and prodding each other in a hungry and barbaric behavior to the rhythm of the song. This perhaps is the most absurd phase of this event. At 2:06, I am guided to believe that the event is closing. Individuals begin to retreat from the living space. The pervasive inhibition and demeanor of the departing guests is disorderly, belligerent, and combative. Frequently, the females are shrieking and giggling. Periodically, one will stumble into the arms of one of the male guests. The males are shouting profanities and swaying as they proceed. One commonality that the guests of this event seem to share is their deep sadistic addiction. From their inherently shameless transformations and dress to the fundamentally savage cavorting and consuming, I conclude that this society is certainly alien.