Friday, May 11, 2012

MY FAMILY CULTURE

If my family and I were evacuated to another country and could only bring 3 small items that will represent my family culture, I would probably bring the following:


1. My photo album - this is an album I did when I was still single which compiled pictures of myself with my family throughout my life.  This will be able to show my family, occasions and traditions we value and celebrate together.  It will even show how we dress, our clannish tendency, our affectionate ways and the hugeness of my family.  Filipinos are typically very clannish and I also love my family beyond words.   



2. My ipod - I will bring my ipod because it contains my collection of Filipino and American songs that I use to teach preschool children and sing for and with my own child.  This item will not only be able to let people hear our language, it will also help my son remember his native language.  I can also use it to teach and expose my would-be preschool students to a different language/culture.  


3. My bible journal - This item will represent one of my social identities, of being a Christian.  It also has my notes about things that happen in my life daily.  This item will also be able to show how I make decisions, my perspectives and my values.  


If upon arrival I was asked to give up two items, I would really be very emotional.  It would add to the fact that I was leaving my country behind; I would also be leaving a part of myself.  It would be very difficult to choose among the three items I identified.  


For this exercise, I found choosing just 3 items to represent my family culture very difficult.  This is because 3 items will never be enough to represent our culture which is basically everything my family and I do.  There are far too many dimensions in culture.  I then realized that immigrant families go through something very similar to this exercise.  Yes, they could bring more than 3 items, but the difficulty in choosing which ones to bring and the fear of losing and leaving behind a part of themselves is too real.  I applaud the courage and the strength of immigrant families.     

3 Comments:

At May 12, 2012 at 9:47 AM , Blogger Jo Ann said...

You are exactly right. In a small sense we are able to get the feel of what it would be like for immigrant families. It is always easier to understand and provide assistance/support for people when you get a glimpse of what they are going through. I think this was a great opportunity to get a very small glimpse into starting a life in a new culture. I loved the three items you selected. I think it is interesting that we both picked something involving technology. It shows how it too has impacted our lives.

 
At May 12, 2012 at 1:37 PM , Blogger Teresa G said...

Elizabeth,
I also was able to realize how difficult it would be for immigrant families to move to another country/culture. This exercise gave me a chance to step into someone else's shoes for a minute. I noticed that many of us chose our Bible as one of the three items that we would take with us. It is awesome that many of us have a connection through our faith as well!

 
At May 12, 2012 at 1:53 PM , Blogger Erica McDonald said...

Dear Elizabeth,

Dear Elizabeth,

I too chose to bring my bible with because it was a part of my social identity of being a Christian too. Although, my family doesn’t have family heirlooms, I can see that it would be hard to give up something that you care a lot about. I also see that you chose your photo album; I chose my wallet because I have photos of my friends and family members in it. So, although we may seem different on the outside, we still have things in common with one another. Good post!

 

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