There are many items that mean a lot to me and only picking three would be difficult. The three items that I would choose to bring me to another country to represent my culture would be my bible, my family scrapbook, and mine and my family's birth certificates. I would bring the scrapbook because it has pictures of all our family members and different events, celebrations, and vacations that we did together as a family. It represents the importance of family and togetherness. The bible represents our christian views and our religion. It is based on our faith in God and his word to inspire us. This is a part of my culture that I would not give up. I would bring the birth certificats as part of our cultural identity. It shows where we came from and is a part of us.
On arriving and being told that I had to give up 2 of the items, I would feel very sad and powerless. I would not want to give up any of the items that I brought it. I would feel like I was losing a part of myself and a part of culture by giving up those things that I hold dear to my heart. It would be hard deciding which items to give up.
This was somewhat difficult for me and I had to give it a lot of thought. I learned that some things that I wouldn't think of as being part of my culture are a part of my culture. These are things that I have taken for granted and just assumed would always be here. It must be difficult for others coming to a new country to keep up with their own cultures when they are emerged in ours. I need to make sure that in the classroom I am doing everything that I can to make sure these children and their families do not feel like they have to give up things from their culture to fit into ours.
Hello Misty:
ReplyDeleteIt was difficult for me as well in getting through this exercise. As you said, we take things as granted. We sometimes do not think in catastrophes like this one, where we need to abandon everything to suddenly live in a country where we do not much about it. What a difficult situation! I also decided to take important information (as birth certificates) with me, I believe it is an important document to take with us, which proof who we are and where we are coming from. It is hard to think of only one item to take when is so much we are leaving behind. In situations like this one, we just need to trust God to guide our next steps, because He is the only one who can give us the strengths to continue. If we have our love ones with us, I think the adaptation will be easier and possible. I enjoyed reading your post!
We picked two of the same items. I would take picture of things to remind me of home and my bible.
ReplyDeleteMisty, photos and religious artifacts seem to be a theme among our group. I can't imagine anyone not wanting photos! I would 'cheat' and take a collage of photos not as a cultural representation, but more for the sake of memories and to always have a link to our past for my children to refer to and discuss. I do hope that wherever we land, the internet is not forbidden or limited!!
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