Imagine the following:
A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your 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. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.- A description of the three items you would choose
The three items that I would take are:
1. Family picture album
2. Camera
3. Frame of my college degree
- How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you
Our family picture album means a lot to us because it contains many fond memories lived through pictures. The camera is what it is used to capture the unforgettable moments and starting all over in another country would mean new memories to capture and share with the future generations. My college degree would serve as a reminder to my children of the importance of an education and the struggles and sacrifices that our family went through for me to receive it.
- 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
The feelings that I have are of sadness and frustration because that means that I have to give up two of the only three things that I have left and that remind me of my life back home.
- Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise
I have learned that I really do not have any family heirlooms and that I do live in the moment and capture our memories through the many pictures that I take. I also value education and would like to pass that down to my children. I also want my children to be able to share those photos with their children in the future. I do not have but two pictures of myself when I was little and my own family does not value education, therefore I think that those experiences with my own family have influenced the way that I feel about capturing as many memories and how I feel about education.
Reyna,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings.
We do not have any family heirlooms either, like something of value or major significance. I think that can start with us and our own families. My husband comes from a large, close-knit family and they have those types of things so I am learning as much as I can from my mother-in-law and documenting stories and copying photos. What are types of things you do for your own family?
I wish you the best!
Hi Sandra,
ReplyDeleteMy family is not a close knit family and nothing has been passed down from our parents to us. We don't even get together, but maybe once a year if so. Reason why I try to always spend time with my children. My husband's family lives in a different State so basically it's just us and our four children. What we do with our children is go out in our RV at least a few times a year. We also go out to eat and do other fun activities. I want them to remember those moments when we spent together as a family because I do not have any.
Hey Reyna, your post was very interesting. What I find that we all have in common is that we all want to keep our families memories alive! That is important as our family is everything to us.
ReplyDeleteBea
Yes Bea. I think that as long as we have each other, we can survive and begin to create new memories where ever we go, but it is nice to have pictures to share with each other as a reminder of the important events that we have experienced.
DeleteReyna
Hello Reyna, great job on your post! Just like you I decided to take along a photo album too, sad that too they are becoming a thing of the past because now everything is digital. Photos it is a constant reminder of those special and significant moments in our lives. I also like the other two items that you decided to take along.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Vivian Lopes
Thank you Vivian. I love photos and like printing them too. I also keep a digital copy, but I enjoy having albums for all to see.
DeleteReyna
I did not even think about my diploma. That is such a wonderful treasure to save. I really enjoyed reading your story and the comments you made about how much you value education. Those are the type of values that we want to pass down to future generations, and having that diploma would be a great way to show how important it is to you. Thank you for sharing such beautiful thoughts. I enjoyed getting to know more about your story.
ReplyDeleteChristie,
DeleteMy diploma is very important to me as I am the first one in my family to have a college degree. I am the 6th of seven children and not even my nieces and nephews have a college degree. My family does not value education, but I do. I received my double BA degrees while I was working full time and had my four children so it means much more to me because I was able to accomplish my goal even though I had many obstacles and no family support besides my husband and children that did what they had to do while I was at school, doing homework, or studying.
Reyna
Renya,
ReplyDeleteMemories are such a special things. I love to take pictures and create albums. Memories can help keep the past alive and remind us of those that have been such a big part of our lives. My father in law passed away 7 years ago. We often walk through our albums sharing the memories we had with him and telling stories of other times we experienced. Thanks for your sharing your story.
Darci Larson
Thank you for sharing your three items. I feel that I too realized that I don't hold too many close items around me. I said my phone because it holds my photos and text that are memories with my family and friends. I found it interesting that I didn't want to really take anything else but my memories of family and friends. I feel once I got over there and realized that's all I had, it would be hard to comprehend the struggle of not having the items I use daily. I feel that there are many times I take the items I own for granted and which items I could get in other countries.
ReplyDeleteReyna,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing about your cultural objects. I think bringing a photo album, camera, and your diploma are excellent choices to represent yourself in a new country. I have known you for several months know throughout our studies and I believe your objects hold strong ties to your personal identities. I, too, do not have any family heirlooms, and so I chose things from my adult life rather than my cultural background or family heirlooms. It would be devastating to lose these objects because they are what we hold dear. Thank you for sharing!
Reyna,
ReplyDeleteI would bring along pictures as well to remember things from my old country. I didn't think about bringing a camera, but you are right the camera will help you to capture memories in the new country. Even though if I had to move to another country with a different culture I believe that I would make the best of it and try to learn new things from there culture as well as hold on to values of my own culture.
Hi Reyna,
ReplyDeleteThe things that you chose would definitely help you adapt to a whole new world especial your Degree and explaining how important it is to value education and pass that down to your children are great values.