How Well Do You Know Your Culture?
I think TCKs tend to appear very mature in some areas and very naive in others. As a result it is hard to judge our age. Do you think this is true? Sometimes we feel very old and mature and other times very young and naive, and we also come across both ways to others. I have observed this in myself and in other TCKs. My explanation is that it is probably because we have been immersed in many cultures, but never fully immersed in one. So we are “fuller” than other people in one dimension and less so in another. - Anne Somanas (Thailand)
Cultural immersion is a snapshot in time that fades with age. It’s impossible to fully know everything about a culture, when you’ve only lived there a few years as a child. Culture evolves, and what’s trendy yesterday isn’t necessarily today.
As a result, I’m ignorant of the subtle dimension of many cultures, including my home country. There is a price to being “well-rounded” and open-minded. You’re a bit rough on the edges, speak with a fading accent and misunderstand some cultural references. Personally, I think it’s worth it.
Think of the alternative… not understanding them at all.
What about you? How well do you understand your cultures?
December 24th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Well I do understand most of Canadian culture I really don’t fit in Canadian culture nor do I want to exactly. My biggest frustration is that I look like I should fit into theis culture so people expect me to. Being a hidden immagrant has many disadvantages. Im many ways my culture has been shaped by the culture in Jordan and although I know people expect me to act Canadian while in Canada and although I do know what it is they expect, it is not what I am comfortable with and not what I want to do. Outwardly this is most reflected in how I dress I grew up in a very conservative area of Amman and walked through downtown everyday thus i dress very modestly not to attract attention I don’t even own a pair of shorts or a shorter skirt, and only wear long shirts with sleeves at least to the elbow. In the summer this makes for lots of questioning looks esspecially on really hot days, but that is what I am comfortable in and I really don’t care what other people think most of the time.
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December 24th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
I was never supposed to have one culture to begin with. My parents aren’t from the same country. I don’t worry about that, though - I agree with Sky in that no one ever fully knows a culture in the first place. Anyone claiming to is a liar. Monocultural people don’t automatically understand everyone from their culture, far from it. Why should we, when “they” don’t know everything about their own cultures?
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January 6th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Interesting topic. Personally, I would say that I have intentionally educated myself on American culture so that I can fit in if I feel like it. But the problem is that I can’t very well go back and find out 20 years of missed culture, just what is current. So, yeah, I still miss things.
Ah well…
Alternately I’ll be in a situation where I could fit in if only I didn’t have the wrong opinion and express it (ie “You all should consider how …[the rest of the world/that other country] might see this). And so even though I have the knowledge to fit in, my opinions (and desire to express them) keep me from fitting some settings well.
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January 6th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Which culture?
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January 6th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I did the same–I think between “Gilmore Girls” and VH1’s “I Love the __’s” I learnt everything necessary.
But then something random with come up, like a movie everyone just HAD to have seen or something random like Pogs, and I just get lost all over again.
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