Culture Reflecion
She came back to Auckland after traveling/working around NZ for 4 months. She now knows more about NZ agriculture than I do, such as which areas produce cherries, apples, strawberries, kiwifruits, apricots, grapes, asparagus, lilies and so on, and what seasons they are ripe for picking and how to! (I didn't know farmers use helicopters to dry cherries or spread water to defrost apricots?!)
She shared her experience with me and I really think she learned more than just the spectacular NZ landscape, and different kiwi lifestyles/attitudes. It amazes me to see how much more awareness she's had from her short period of travelling (compared to my 10 years NZ and 1 year Slovakia experiences). She not only gets to know NZ, but also more importantly - herself. We share many realisations but some didn't come to me until recent years. Maybe it's an age thing or maybe I am just not as enlightened as she is. However, ironically I think my 3 months visit in Taiwan last year has the same impact on me as her 4 months in New Zealand!
Culture is a really fascinating topic and we both amaze at how culture shock/conflict acts as a mirror and bring us closely to look at ourselves. We talked about dishwash culture, saving attitude, money value, family/society expectations, individuality, inveterate protocols/restraints, political ideology, fashion, definitions of success/happiness and freedoms etc.
It's very refreshing to revisit those differences again as I have been suffering from my own TW v.s. NZ identity for years and it isn't until this year that I finally feel more settled about who I am. I realise that I would never be able to deny or abandon where I am coming from no matter how long I have lived in a western society. In the past, I have tried holding those traditional protocols/believes blindly and patriotically, but that only led me to a dead end with more suffering. I also have tried turning my back to my culture and found myself still not being able to fit in totally.
It has taken me too long to recognise this in a hard way, but I eventually realised that I have to accept who I am as a whole. I can't just deny one whole culture(/myself) just because I hate part of it(/myself). I have learned to appreciate them as a whole. Instead of seeing my identity as an endless internal conflict, I have been learning to integrate both cultures in a more harmonious way and see it as an opportunity to live the life I want. The traditional part of me is always gonna be there, but I am lucky enough to experience different ways of doing/thinking and I know that I can always have the choice to adopt to different perspectives whenever I want/need as long as they are making me a happier person :)
She shared her experience with me and I really think she learned more than just the spectacular NZ landscape, and different kiwi lifestyles/attitudes. It amazes me to see how much more awareness she's had from her short period of travelling (compared to my 10 years NZ and 1 year Slovakia experiences). She not only gets to know NZ, but also more importantly - herself. We share many realisations but some didn't come to me until recent years. Maybe it's an age thing or maybe I am just not as enlightened as she is. However, ironically I think my 3 months visit in Taiwan last year has the same impact on me as her 4 months in New Zealand!
Culture is a really fascinating topic and we both amaze at how culture shock/conflict acts as a mirror and bring us closely to look at ourselves. We talked about dishwash culture, saving attitude, money value, family/society expectations, individuality, inveterate protocols/restraints, political ideology, fashion, definitions of success/happiness and freedoms etc.
It's very refreshing to revisit those differences again as I have been suffering from my own TW v.s. NZ identity for years and it isn't until this year that I finally feel more settled about who I am. I realise that I would never be able to deny or abandon where I am coming from no matter how long I have lived in a western society. In the past, I have tried holding those traditional protocols/believes blindly and patriotically, but that only led me to a dead end with more suffering. I also have tried turning my back to my culture and found myself still not being able to fit in totally.
It has taken me too long to recognise this in a hard way, but I eventually realised that I have to accept who I am as a whole. I can't just deny one whole culture(/myself) just because I hate part of it(/myself). I have learned to appreciate them as a whole. Instead of seeing my identity as an endless internal conflict, I have been learning to integrate both cultures in a more harmonious way and see it as an opportunity to live the life I want. The traditional part of me is always gonna be there, but I am lucky enough to experience different ways of doing/thinking and I know that I can always have the choice to adopt to different perspectives whenever I want/need as long as they are making me a happier person :)
0 comments:
Post a Comment