Insights about my culture

This new class is going to be full of unexpected insights! We are learning about ourselves and our unique cultural diversity. This week’s blog entry touches on a topic of material items that represent our culture…

We start by imagining the following scenario:

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 the 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 the host country’s culture is completely different from mine, and that I might have to stay there permanently. In addition to one change of clothes, I can only take 3 small items with me. I decide to take three items that I hold dear and that represent my family culture.

What are the three items I would choose?

I was going to say my cell phone, laptop and iPad. But then I realized that perhaps technology is obsolete in a different country; and without the ability to charge these items, I would only have some fancy door stoppers. Therefore my list was amended as follows:

1. A family photo album (at least one picture of each family members)
2. A recipe book (containing traditional Colombian recipes)
3. A journal to document my memories 

How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you?

These three items are meant to help me recreate part of my culture. The photo album provides the visual. The recipes recreate the flavors and traditions. The journal ties it together with the stories. The items alone do not have any meaning. It is my recollection and explanation of their importance that will explain my culture to others.

Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you

I probably keep the photo album. I can always remember recipes and re-write stories, but I could never replace the photographs.

Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise

I was not aware of my dependence on electronics. This entry took time to think because in all honestly all my culture is currently tied into electronics. If a disaster were to truly strike without warning, I do not know if I have any non-electronic item to take with me. All my photos, books, journals and even recipes are in my various gadgets. My identity and culture has been tied to the commodities of the modern world. I fear my children would probably never know a time where we had to develop film in order to get photographs. But all electronics depend on technology, electricity and even internet access. Our culture is being stored in machines, and can be wiped away with the loss of energy power. Perhaps continuing to teach our children to use books and write in journals is a good idea!

My most important job is to pass on my traditions to my children...