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Post by Sensei on Feb 3, 2006 4:23:31 GMT -5
Have you switched from being connected to your Western culture to your Asian culture, or vice-versa? If so, when did the change begin? What influenced it?
For myself, it began in my last two years of high-school. Most of my friends were white--and though I enjoyed their company very much--I felt as though there was a certain connection I lacked with them.
I had always listened to Chinese music, and even dabbled in trying to learn Chinese during high school--writing characters in French class, when I should've been practicing passe compose!
Yet, it wasn't till I started university that I had the chance to meet a lot of Asians. And that is what sparked my change. I began making more and more Chinese friends, which motivated me to learn more Mandarin, which in turn taught me more about Chinese culture--which made me nostalgic for those traditions from my childhood that I had always taken for granted.
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Post by erika on Feb 3, 2006 4:45:33 GMT -5
Well I'm connected to both... Probably more to my western culture because I don't live in Japan.
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Post by mupp on Feb 3, 2006 8:35:19 GMT -5
Equally connected to both...Australian and Japanese... I even have two passports (Jap and Aus ones)
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Post by clara on Feb 3, 2006 8:48:40 GMT -5
I lived in Mauritius till I was about 8, so I was brought up in a kind of ‘impoverished’ environment, not that we were poor, just a simpler life. Then we moved to England and my mum panicked that we wouldn’t integrate and cut us off from our Asian/Creole connections and raised us predominantly Western I.e. spoke to us in English only, cooked Western foods… plus most of my friends were white, and a lot of my extended French family lived nearby so my Asian culture was lost. It suited me at the time.
Only recently, I have had a little more time on my hands, I’ve taken it upon myself to learn about my culture, well IMMERSE myself in it! - and all Asian cultures (not just Chinese), its been a bit overwhelming- there is just so much and so little time, especially with the language (which you tend to forget when not in practise). But I’m enjoying it and now feel proud of my Chinese-half !!! (whereas before I tended to shy away from talking about it).
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Post by Tricky on Feb 3, 2006 10:09:43 GMT -5
I like Asian culture better. Japanese and Chinese especially. No particular reason. I'm not interested in any European cultures. I relate to Aus. Asians, they understand the need/ longing to be part of a culture. It has alot of significance for me, I'd be sad if I wasn't able to talk about anything Asian with someone that understands. When I was younger I didn't care about it at all, it's prob only been since I went overseas.
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Post by Jonathan on Feb 3, 2006 10:31:07 GMT -5
I've lived in Singapore since I was born there till I was 14 . After that I emigrated to the UK which I wasn't too happy about it because my parents mentioned it at the last minute . I've been living in the UK for nearly 7 years (stayed here for a year when I was 9/10 years old). The culture change/shift was quite an impact. There were lots of factors: - Weather - From hot to cold
- People's behavior - Varies a lot. People in the UK seem to be more friendlly towards you unlike Singaporeans who usually tend to keep things to themsevlves and not as open as the British
- Building architecture - UK is mainly old, Singapore is fairly modern
- Variety of nationalities - Singapore had lots, you don't see much much here.
- Food - I'm not in London, but in Newcastle the taste of food is lacking compared to Singapore
- Money - More expensive in the UK, cheaper in Singapore. It used to be cheaper years ago, however it's the opposite after a few years, yay for 17.5% tax and more
- Much more..
Having stayed in Singapore, my preference is pretty obvious but of course there was disadvantages of Singapore such as being left out when talking to my Chinese relatives. Reason behind this was that I was unable to speak Mandarin however my relatives preferred to speak in Mandarin so I wasn't as close to them as to my English relatives at that time So I'm pretty much westernised, as I'm unable to speak Mandarin which I'll be learning at University soon hopefully to suprise my relatives I've never attended local schools in Singapore, I've been to International schools all my life when I was there . My friends was a mix of nationalities back in Singapore but here most of them are British, Chinese people here don't seem to like to socialise with foreigners which I wished I had more Chinese friends locally . So I'd say I'm equally connected to both cultures with a preference to my Singaporean culture as a result of being homesick ever since I emigrated here
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Post by helles on Feb 3, 2006 13:42:20 GMT -5
I found being in UK, i preferred associating with asian culture. But now being in HK, i think i prefer western culture, i actually miss having a decent conversation in english! miss the food too! haha
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Post by jenming on Feb 3, 2006 15:49:44 GMT -5
I found being in UK, i preferred associating with asian culture. But now being in HK, i think i prefer western culture, i actually miss having a decent conversation in english! miss the food too! haha i totally agree with this. When you yourself are culturally somewhere in between, no place is just the right mix asian/western. Well... i haven't found it yet.
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Post by dave on Feb 3, 2006 16:10:58 GMT -5
^don't you find that fustrating, it's like chasing white rabbits. ah well I guess that's life.
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Post by Micha on Feb 3, 2006 16:23:15 GMT -5
- People's behavior - Varies a lot. People in the UK seem to be more friendlly towards you unlike Singaporeans who usually tend to keep things to themsevlves and not as open as the British
My friends was a mix of nationalities back in Singapore but here most of them are British, Chinese people here don't seem to like to socialise with foreigners which I wished I had more Chinese friends locally . I've noticed that's a recurring theme in the UK. As in, it's harder to integrate with the British born Chinese, or does that happen in Europe, N America etc? (Probably just my bad luck, although I was FORCED to go to Chinese School when I was very young and my best friend was the only other mixed girl there)
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Post by jenming on Feb 3, 2006 16:42:40 GMT -5
^don't you find that fustrating, it's like chasing white rabbits. ah well I guess that's life. well, like chasing white and asian rabbits.
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Post by dave on Feb 3, 2006 17:06:57 GMT -5
haha, yeah, nice analogy.
...aaahhh I miss Japanese food, and oh yeah, my family as well come to think of it...
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Post by erika on Feb 3, 2006 20:02:13 GMT -5
Well I'm connected to both... Probably more to my western culture because I don't live in Japan. How do you manage to stay connected to your Japanese side in NZ? (Apart from family etc, do you have Japanese friends?) I think it would make some difference if I knew some Japanese people here but well I just don't get the chance cos there are none. I don't feel that Japanese any more, actually I think I'd have trouble trying to relate to them, I mean their sense of humour is a bit freaky, kinda scares me. Well that is kind of generalising, but it does strike me as odd. As a kid when I used to live in Japan; obviously it was different, but now, since I moved to England, I've definitely 'shifted' to become westernised. But that was really not down to me I got moved about loads of when I was small. It's a nice idea trying to keep a balance but at the same time I think it's important you have a grounding somewhere, or else you're going to be caught between two cultural extremes which can leave you a bit confused and lost, at least in my experience. No I don't have asian friends let alone japanese friends! Yeah I used to live in Japan when I was little.. Until I was 9 yearsold... I feel as though I've lost that connection to the Japanese culture. Oh and I also find some things the Japanese do are odd as well. I miss listening to the Japanese language... All these memorys come back to me when I hear and see things relating to that. It makes me feel confused... It's like.. I'm not sure is something actually did happen. Whops sorry, kinda going off topic here. So like you dave, I am also confused and lost. And I must be home sick or somthing. Its annoying.. I don't even know where my real home is anymore.
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Post by erika on Feb 3, 2006 20:06:36 GMT -5
haha, yeah, nice analogy. ...aaahhh I miss Japanese food, and oh yeah, my family as well come to think of it... Hah me too, I cant wait to go there! yeah my family, I haven't seen them for years, such as my cousins etc... I have no euro cousins so its a bit sad.
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Post by akichan on Feb 4, 2006 8:30:43 GMT -5
I don't even know where my real home is anymore. You say those words so lightly..
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