Also known as sub-cultures, “urban cultures” is a sociological term that makes reference to a group of people, who has different ways of thinking and strange behaviours that make them seem different from the rest of the population. All those sub-cultures have different rules, different values and certain autonomy, while they still remain a part of the common “life style”, sleeping, breathing, working and sharing time with family and friends. There are many different types of sub-cultures such as skin-head, gothic, skates, punk, metal-core, LGBT and dozens of others. There are many people who prefer use the term co-cultures in order to avoid the connotations of inferiority associated with the “sub-” prefix.
The urban culture can be determined from the look, the sexual orientation, political or social ideas or any of the special behaviours that the people notice are not common. In many countries, that kind of people used to be discriminated. Nowadays, because of many laws that give freedom of expression, the population start to accept them and many cultures become more “open-minded” at the time of judge people for being different. One of the more beautiful things that exchange students can enjoy and learn when they travel abroad is to tolerate all kind of “strange” behaviours. When someone travels abroad, the priority is usually pleasure and leisure. These people don’t even know about what travel is. Travel can include pleasure, leisure and relax, but the main idea of a person who travel is to meet a new country. Meeting a new country is not just going to the museums and know about their history. Meeting a new country should includes opening your cultural-view to another level, it means increasing your knowledge in the way of life in that place. What is the best thing that you can do to earn that knowledge? The answer will be meeting this co-cultures, accept them and learning how to be open-minded, discovering that your country, your money or social position can’t be the centre of the world. No one have to follow your decisions, no one have to follow your beliefs,
the only commitment that we have in this world is to be like you want to be, enjoy and respect the others’ life, because you never know when you will need help, you don’t even know why people are like they are. The world is changing and we have to adapt to these changes.
As Paulo Coelho said: “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge that tests our courage and willingness to change and adapt to a real world”.