No gringo to the new lingo (coming soon)
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Waiting in line in Thailand.........
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CULTURAL GLOBALISATON
Globalization is seen both as the integration of economies and the integration of culture.
Many people make subtle and not so subtle statements indicating their culture to be one of the best things on earth. They take pride in it. Their identity is anchored in their heritage. And it is …..beautiful….. truly. To visit a place and feel the culture. How precious. The foods, the clothes, the unspoken understanding between its members that an outsider may not get, the language, the humour, music and so much. It is beautiful to see people delighted and excited by their culture. Like parents in relation to their children they have unquenchable pride no matter what others say and you have to excuse them for it just as you excuse parents who think their children are the best things on earth……..because it is touching and it is beautiful….and most of the time it is a great thing to behold. It is only unacceptable when they mock that of others. Just as we wouldn’t want to mock someone’s child.
But some of us do not fit in with one particular culture. Perhaps we are of mixed race or we are married to someone from a different culture. Perhaps we have spent our growing up years living in so many countries due to our parent/s vocation. Or we were just born to want to be more of other cultures as a permanent part of our lives and not just a holiday novelty. More and more people are linking with more and more from other countries via the internet and find the ideological confines of one single heritage as their badge of honour too limiting. One also has to take into account the majority of the world’s human to human tragedies are inflicted against those whose heritage is different from theirs. A point that extreme globalists exploit.
Those who are of mixed heritage naturally do not fit in with one sole culture. Ideally this should be a double blessing, enabling one to take the best from each. Some decide keeping a balancing act of 2 cultures (or more) too stressful and choose to identify with only one part of their heritage. Some of these heritage differences are within one continent different countries. One country different tribes. One neighbourhood different ethnicities. And lets not forget there are people whose grandparents come from 4 different countries!
And there are those who are of one single heritage, race, religion, culture. Their parents may even come from the same tiny town. But somehow one parent or both got into the foreign service, or became missionaries or due to a skill were posted to other countries that paid them better than in their home countries….or couldn’t find any accommodation and ended up living in a part of the city with a subculture different from theirs. Such children (and many times the parents as well) have so many experiences and memories that makes them outsiders to their own people and easily relaxed with those of other cultures. When the call to puff their chests out for their heritage they do because they love who they are and are proud of it but cannot do so as fully as others. There is the unspoken..’there is more to me than this. I don’t want to be limited. I want the limits off'.
Enter cultural globalization………… and all of us who have never fit in completely with one culture or another, exhale with relief. At last. We can fit in here. We can be exactly who we are (and all that we want to be) without annoying anyone. There is room for me and everyone else here. Biracial or having great grandparents from 8 different countries! Or just one heritage from both parents but it is not enough. You want more and are fascinated by other cultures. Enter globalization as a breath of fresh air. And is heaven not one, big global village?
Cultural globalization gives us the freedom to weave the things we love from our heritage as well as those from other cultures, into our lives, much like everyone eats pizza without feeling in particular they are eating Italian food though we all acknowledge it is Italian food and give credit where it is due. But that’s beside the point because it is my food since I like it and have decided to make it part of my food culture! So I wear Ghanaian booboo, kaba and slit with their rich prints and the aura of royalty and dignity that they give, eat delicious, Lebanese food described as natural, wholesome food, drink tantalizing Brazilian coffee as I speak to friends in the United States using my Japanese cell phone. I spend the afternoon watching a variety show on one of the 3 chinese channels I have on my tv. Later on I meet a South African friend at an Ethiopian restaurant and on and on. And this in Accra. The blend of superficial and true, interested interactions with other cultures is the now lifestyle of many, many peoples all over the world.
Those against cultural globalization need not worry that they are being sidelined. People who feel that multiculturalism is eroding their identity in their community, need to wake up and take steps to protect their heritage. What will we do if we lose all the breathtaking beauty, history and nuances that each unique culture has. The whole world will be the loser if cultures did not protect their language, clothes, dances, music , foods, positive customs, feasts and festivals, way of life and so much more.
In this increasingly troubled world people want to hang on to like minded people and they want to ensure their culture, heritage and values are here to stay and to pass on to their children and grandchildren. Those who love their culture but are sleepy should rouse themselves and display their culture in all its glory especially in places where legislation in the area of demography, is unpopular with the general populace. If I visit a particular place/community I want to see the beauty of its heritage…I may learn something. I learn so much from my friends who are proud of their cultures.
A lesson from Ghana on culture: a few years ago it was recommended that Ghanaians should have the option to wear traditional clothes on Fridays to work. I know in many countries jeans is ok to the office on Fridays. How about countries incorporating their traditional clothes or modified versions of them. This way one aspect of culture is being brought into practical centre stage as a way of life. In Ghana, non-Ghanaians, also have the option to wear Ghana cultural dress on Fridays as a show of solidarity and respect for their host country. Countries that uphold their culture not in words and threats but in practice need not worry they will lose it although legislation in some countries is changing demography against the will of the general . A parent who has a close relationship with her or his child need not worry someone else will take the parent’s place. It is only when people are too busy doing other things that that can happen.
Cultural globalization in its extremity is a meaningless nothing that lumps us all as one when we can never be one because we are all different. But we can be united ones by bringing all our heritages together into a beautiful mosaic. A mosaic is not one blob. It is its variety that makes it beautiful and it is the ‘blurry edges’that join with each other that define it as a mosaic otherwise it is different colours and shapes each randomly beautiful but no match for the beauty and unity of a mosaic. If those blurry edges become too prominent and edge out the colours there will be no more colour. No more mosaic. Just a blurry haze with a hint of colour. Not so pretty. Cultural globalization should stay as an alternative and nothing more, to balance out extreme nationalism and because it is the only ideological place a growing number of people feel at home in.
- Fifi Zagloul
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Namaste Guys
Globalization is seen both as the integration of economies and the integration of culture.
Many people make subtle and not so subtle statements indicating their culture to be one of the best things on earth. They take pride in it. Their identity is anchored in their heritage. And it is …..beautiful….. truly. To visit a place and feel the culture. How precious. The foods, the clothes, the unspoken understanding between its members that an outsider may not get, the language, the humour, music and so much. It is beautiful to see people delighted and excited by their culture. Like parents in relation to their children they have unquenchable pride no matter what others say and you have to excuse them for it just as you excuse parents who think their children are the best things on earth……..because it is touching and it is beautiful….and most of the time it is a great thing to behold. It is only unacceptable when they mock that of others. Just as we wouldn’t want to mock someone’s child.
But some of us do not fit in with one particular culture. Perhaps we are of mixed race or we are married to someone from a different culture. Perhaps we have spent our growing up years living in so many countries due to our parent/s vocation. Or we were just born to want to be more of other cultures as a permanent part of our lives and not just a holiday novelty. More and more people are linking with more and more from other countries via the internet and find the ideological confines of one single heritage as their badge of honour too limiting. One also has to take into account the majority of the world’s human to human tragedies are inflicted against those whose heritage is different from theirs. A point that extreme globalists exploit.
Those who are of mixed heritage naturally do not fit in with one sole culture. Ideally this should be a double blessing, enabling one to take the best from each. Some decide keeping a balancing act of 2 cultures (or more) too stressful and choose to identify with only one part of their heritage. Some of these heritage differences are within one continent different countries. One country different tribes. One neighbourhood different ethnicities. And lets not forget there are people whose grandparents come from 4 different countries!
And there are those who are of one single heritage, race, religion, culture. Their parents may even come from the same tiny town. But somehow one parent or both got into the foreign service, or became missionaries or due to a skill were posted to other countries that paid them better than in their home countries….or couldn’t find any accommodation and ended up living in a part of the city with a subculture different from theirs. Such children (and many times the parents as well) have so many experiences and memories that makes them outsiders to their own people and easily relaxed with those of other cultures. When the call to puff their chests out for their heritage they do because they love who they are and are proud of it but cannot do so as fully as others. There is the unspoken..’there is more to me than this. I don’t want to be limited. I want the limits off'.
Enter cultural globalization………… and all of us who have never fit in completely with one culture or another, exhale with relief. At last. We can fit in here. We can be exactly who we are (and all that we want to be) without annoying anyone. There is room for me and everyone else here. Biracial or having great grandparents from 8 different countries! Or just one heritage from both parents but it is not enough. You want more and are fascinated by other cultures. Enter globalization as a breath of fresh air. And is heaven not one, big global village?
Cultural globalization gives us the freedom to weave the things we love from our heritage as well as those from other cultures, into our lives, much like everyone eats pizza without feeling in particular they are eating Italian food though we all acknowledge it is Italian food and give credit where it is due. But that’s beside the point because it is my food since I like it and have decided to make it part of my food culture! So I wear Ghanaian booboo, kaba and slit with their rich prints and the aura of royalty and dignity that they give, eat delicious, Lebanese food described as natural, wholesome food, drink tantalizing Brazilian coffee as I speak to friends in the United States using my Japanese cell phone. I spend the afternoon watching a variety show on one of the 3 chinese channels I have on my tv. Later on I meet a South African friend at an Ethiopian restaurant and on and on. And this in Accra. The blend of superficial and true, interested interactions with other cultures is the now lifestyle of many, many peoples all over the world.
Those against cultural globalization need not worry that they are being sidelined. People who feel that multiculturalism is eroding their identity in their community, need to wake up and take steps to protect their heritage. What will we do if we lose all the breathtaking beauty, history and nuances that each unique culture has. The whole world will be the loser if cultures did not protect their language, clothes, dances, music , foods, positive customs, feasts and festivals, way of life and so much more.
In this increasingly troubled world people want to hang on to like minded people and they want to ensure their culture, heritage and values are here to stay and to pass on to their children and grandchildren. Those who love their culture but are sleepy should rouse themselves and display their culture in all its glory especially in places where legislation in the area of demography, is unpopular with the general populace. If I visit a particular place/community I want to see the beauty of its heritage…I may learn something. I learn so much from my friends who are proud of their cultures.
A lesson from Ghana on culture: a few years ago it was recommended that Ghanaians should have the option to wear traditional clothes on Fridays to work. I know in many countries jeans is ok to the office on Fridays. How about countries incorporating their traditional clothes or modified versions of them. This way one aspect of culture is being brought into practical centre stage as a way of life. In Ghana, non-Ghanaians, also have the option to wear Ghana cultural dress on Fridays as a show of solidarity and respect for their host country. Countries that uphold their culture not in words and threats but in practice need not worry they will lose it although legislation in some countries is changing demography against the will of the general . A parent who has a close relationship with her or his child need not worry someone else will take the parent’s place. It is only when people are too busy doing other things that that can happen.
Cultural globalization in its extremity is a meaningless nothing that lumps us all as one when we can never be one because we are all different. But we can be united ones by bringing all our heritages together into a beautiful mosaic. A mosaic is not one blob. It is its variety that makes it beautiful and it is the ‘blurry edges’that join with each other that define it as a mosaic otherwise it is different colours and shapes each randomly beautiful but no match for the beauty and unity of a mosaic. If those blurry edges become too prominent and edge out the colours there will be no more colour. No more mosaic. Just a blurry haze with a hint of colour. Not so pretty. Cultural globalization should stay as an alternative and nothing more, to balance out extreme nationalism and because it is the only ideological place a growing number of people feel at home in.
- Fifi Zagloul
……………………………………………………………………...............….
Namaste Guys
It is
fascinating that knowledge and wisdom are not the domain of one group of
people. Take for instance the Indo china custom of clasping hands as a greeting
instead of shaking hands. I sometimes find it overwhelming when I am at a
function and there are a whole lot of hands to shake. How lovely it will be to
just acknowledge all with a ‘namaste’ and they too will be spared the handshaking
marathon, as they clasp their hands in acknowledgement. Recently I went with a
group to pay our respects to someone we know who lost a family member. After
shaking all the hands and sitting for a while we returned to the car and one of
our friends pulled a sanitizer and graciously offered it to us. All
gratefully accepted. The quickness with which everyone pounced on the sanitizer
made me realize other people have the same unvoiced thoughts as myself but we
are stuck in this rut that makes us feel that any other way of greeting is not
our culture and that is the end of the matter. What a palaver!
Why can’t we benefit from the wisdom of another culture. Instead after shaking 50 or more hands, people find themselves saying ‘excuse me, where is the washroom’ or ‘my hands are sweaty are there any tissues around’. I saw on cnn one well known person wipe his hands on the shirt of another well known person after shaking a lot of…… hands. And some European royal personalities find a way around this by wearing gloves for.... protocol ? Celebrities also wear gloves for.…fashion, to attract attention, something, anything, well no comment. Even in this most liberal age, we have it ingrained in us that this is the way we do things period. In the quest to make life simpler and more authentic (meaningful) one can unwittingly raise eyebrows.
Why can’t we benefit from the wisdom of another culture. Instead after shaking 50 or more hands, people find themselves saying ‘excuse me, where is the washroom’ or ‘my hands are sweaty are there any tissues around’. I saw on cnn one well known person wipe his hands on the shirt of another well known person after shaking a lot of…… hands. And some European royal personalities find a way around this by wearing gloves for.... protocol ? Celebrities also wear gloves for.…fashion, to attract attention, something, anything, well no comment. Even in this most liberal age, we have it ingrained in us that this is the way we do things period. In the quest to make life simpler and more authentic (meaningful) one can unwittingly raise eyebrows.
Raising eyebrows was exactly
the reaction I got from someone I consider to be a custodian of custom and
tradition.
I say ‘if only we can
Namaste’.
She is baffled and says with a frown ‘Why will you want to do that? The tone of voice was as one saying ‘well, we have always eaten through our mouths. Now what is it that you want us to do?'
She continued in a sage tone
‘That way of greeting is for Indians. Our custom is to shake hands,’.
(I must add though as a
backdrop that traditionally every tribe in Ghana have their own ‘propre’ way of
greeting that can take a long time!! and the handshake is actually a welcome
shortcut. There is also a new style variation on the handshake that is
very popular and that is with a click at the end. Visitors to Ghana know it as
the Ghanaian handshake but it is a hip thing (like high five) and only done
with good friends or those we want to welcome with a special, fun handshake.
What a palaver that in order to change a custom (even a modern one) one has to swim against the flow and yet the flow can change directions and it has in so many areas when people realize the efficacy for it. We were not born with the instinct to hand shake to acknowledge the presence of the other person. It is a man made custom that works well for many people but it can change (for those who prefer so) or be a choice among other choices, especially when the number of people to greet is large, and we can then opt to reserve it for very small groups if at all. And of course we can use different words other than Namaste. My Thai neighbours use a different word. I honour you all or I am honoured are good choices. If that is too formal a simple hi with a smile will do.
- Fifi Zagloul
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Language. Now that’s a fascinating subject.
This piece was sent to me and it is meant to make you smile:
The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.
As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".
In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c".. Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.
There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f".. This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.
In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.
Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.
Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.
By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".
During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and zey vil find it ezi TU understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.
Und efter ze fifz yer, zey vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.
The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.
As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".
In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c".. Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.
There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f".. This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.
In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.
Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.
Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.
By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".
During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and zey vil find it ezi TU understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.
Und efter ze fifz yer, zey vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.