randomz-tephiee

Culture Clash!

As you may know, I was born in Australia but my parents are from Indonesia.. I've always been brought up in a traditional Asian household that strongly founds itself on Christianity, family, discipline, and basic Asian values & morals... BUT I have always been surrounded and influenced 80% of the time by my Western culture... the culture of freedom of speech, independence, and basically everything Australian...

Suddenly, now at the age of exploration and trial, I am at a crossroads... I am deeply rooted in both cultures yet they both seem to walk in opposite directions...

This, I recently experienced with some of my friends... I have always felt comfortable with my HS friends... friends mostly from Europe and the West... I guess, its been my upbringing, which allows me to feel this kind of relaxation when I hang out with them... The "real" me is revealed..

Yet, I know my family is the type who strongly support a same culture relationship... And I've tried to have this with my other friends... but I can never be able to "connect" with them as I do with "mixed cultures" The jokes they find funny and amusing is what I find lame and stupid... and the jokes that I find funny are jokes that are lame to them...

I guess, its a battle for me to pin point a line of distinction between both cultures... and decide which one really suits me...It just gets tiring for me to choose which "side" I want to be on..

I know that I can have both but there are days when I just get home after a day out with friends and think 'man, that was a waste of time.. I didn't even enjoy myself' or there are times when I think 'ma, this is what I like... I like to hang around these people more...' But its the "authorities" that set certain boundaries.. any sometimes I feel that these authorities may even be myself at times... Because I feel insecure about myself and hence make distance with certain cultures (west or east) Insecure about what is acceptable or unacceptable in different cultures, what is right and wrong etc.

Hmm.. its all part of my journey to discover the person I am destined to be and if it means going through all this then I am up for it... Life is life because of its adventures, challenges, fun and games...

posted by tephiee @ 7:03 PM