My Family Culture:
Based on a scenario I was given for my “Perspective on Diversity &
Equity” course here is what I have come up with. First the scenario is:
A major
catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of my country.
The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best
served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. My
immediate family and I are among survivors of this catastrophic event. However,
I have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other
evacuation details. I am told that my host country’s culture is completely
different from my own, and that I might have to stay there permanently. I am
further told, in addition to one change of clothes, I can only take 3 small
items with me. I need to take 3 items that I hold dear and that represent my
family culture.
Now that the
background has been laid out and told, here is my response. This assignment was
a big struggle for me. I have learned that many different cultures make me who
I am. While there are a lot of things I want to take, these particular items
bring out culture for me. After much thought, the 3 items I have chosen to take
with me is:
·
Camera- To share, take, make, and express our memories. I
want to capture everything.
·
Rice Pot- My Asian side cannot live without rice. While I
can make rice on the stove, it is not my specialty. (lol). My family loves
rice.
·
Rings/Jewelry- Rings have been passed down from parent to
child in my family. The rings represent something that the person wore and
valued and them passed down to be treasured and shared with another generation.
Rings have been passed down to incoming family members as a symbol as well.
Upon arrival, I was told that I could only keep one personal item and
had to give up the other two, I would keep the rings. They have unpriced value.
In a way, they cannot be replaced while I can and hope to buy a new camera or
new rice pot. The rings have a story and history associated with each one and
therefore cannot be replaced or have a price put on them.
Through this exercise I learned that this was very hard. I even tried
to get help from family members and they struggled greatly. This taught me that
I am a very complex, diverse individual who does not have one item to represent
me or my culture. I don’t know if that is good or bad. As I continue on with
this course I will continue to think of these items or even ones that I would
take instead. This is a great question, I will have to share with colleagues. I
hope that it will open their eyes to themselves and their culture or the ones
all around us that we at times take for granted. This exercise really did show
me how different we are. I don’t think it is a bad thing. I have lived all
around the world and have loved the experience and can’t wait to do it again.
However, this time I will have a different perspective on it because of this
course. I will appreciate it all.
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ReplyDeleteThis assignment was very difficult to fathom, having to drop everything and relocate to a foreign country and only bring 3 things with you that may be important to you. Courses like these are important because it helps us to understand the importance of diversity, imagine immigrants coming to America and having to assimilate within our cultural and live up to the dominant culture's standards, it can be tough.
ReplyDeleteLisa, it sounds like you have a lot of things to represent your culture; the jewelry, the pot and camera. That is what it's important to you. I wish, I had something that has been handed down from generation to generation but no:( At least no items but but parents have taught me to have respect for others, responsibility, and unity in the family; and those are things that no one can take away. Thank you Lisa for sharing.
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