My friends and I gathered in IES 2, the computer center to finalize our Madrid trip plans this weekend. We looked at the museums, parks, and some attractions that we would like to go to. It got me all excited for this trip.
When we were done, it was time for me to go get my bus tickets alone as the others have gotten theirs. It may seem like a small task, but I was kind of nervous about it. When I was queuing for my turn, I constructed my Spanish lines and wondered if I should ask in English or Spanish. The decision was an easy one. The cashier looked crabby; hence, Spanish would be a better option. =). So I went up and started asking for tickets, mentioning the time and whether it was just "ida"(to) or "ida y vuelta"(to and from) Madrid.
This may sound childish to many of you but I was overjoyed! Good job Sylvia! =D
On a totally different note, I watched 20 minutes of Whale Rider, a story about Maori culture in New Zealand today in my Cultural Psychology class. As a class activity, we disected the cultural aspects in the movie and discussed how it pertained to the definition of culture by the book - dynamic implicit and explicit features, something that pertains within a group but could differ between the units in the group, of norms, attitudes and behaviors common in the group, with the purpose of ensuring the survival of the group, stable but has the potential to change etc. That was a pretty easy task but it functioned to sharpen our awareness of cultural differences and look at culture with all the environmental influences and how it becomes a way of life. An important thing to note is the awareness of the fluidity of culture as it changes with time, technology, globalisation etc.
As I read through my textbook, I started to reflect on my on cultural background, how it has affected me, how it has changed through the course of time and various experiences, and how it would change the culture of the people I have/ or will have direct and close contact with.
I remembered when I was a teenager, I was always exposed to the idea of breaking the norm and doing something different to be successful. My idea of success has been encultured in me. It would have been different if I was encultured differently. Sometimes, I just feel like I don't have an identity. I don't know who I am. I am....blank... A global citizen? A multicultural person? My life journey thus far has revealed that everything is pretty much constructed by the human mind; if we take them all away, we're all just nobody. All that is left is our being, mere existence. Ekhart Tolle explained about this idea in his Power of Now book. I have always understood it intelligently/theoretically; now things seem clear to me. I am.......blank......
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