Another day of…
 |
| Image: All Rights Reserved |
| Athens, Ohio: Ohio University |
| Center for International Studies |
| 1991 |
After breakfast, Way Way had to go to the front room to fill U Saw Han’s fountain pen with his ink and fasten it to his short pocket, fill his cigarette case, which he put in his pants pocket, and strap his watch onto his wrist after checking it for accuracy. Those were her morning chores before he left for the office. He returned for a meal at noon. When they sat at the table, she had to put aside any desire to mix the food and eat with her fingers as she was used to. She had to use cutlery according to the acceptable standards of another culture. As a result, she never enjoyed anything she ate and always felt vaguely unsatisfied. Whenever she went next door, she would run to the kitchen and take leftover rice from the pot, fried onions, fried garlic in oil, fish sauce, and red chili peppers, mix them up in an appetizing way with her fingers, and really enjoy eating. It greatly satisfied her inner hunger. All this was usually done in a furtive manner. Daw Thet would sigh and say, “Way Way, it worries me to see you this way.”
Way Way had to dress up formally every day as though she were a guest in her own house. She ate her meals with elaborate pretensions, was waited on during the many courses, and wore closed toe “lady shoes”. As soon as U Saw Han left for work she ran upstairs, kicked off her shoes, and walked about the house barefooted, Burmese style, free and unhampered. She had to take a nap after her noon meal regardless of whether she felt like one or not. After the nap, she had to get dressed for the evening. She lived a very routine, restricted life. When she went to bed at the same time every night, she would think, “Another day of duties and obligations over with”.
U Saw Han always wanted to know what she had done and how she had fared while he was away at the office. He questioned her as he would a little child. She had to tell him every little thing when he came home.
“After eating……I knitted for a while and then went to see my sister.”
“Wasn’t the sun hot? Did Maung Mya take you over there with a parasol?”
She would have been mortified if Maung Mya has followed her like a royal umbrella-bearer. She would have been so embarrassed that she would have missed her footing and tripped. She would have been conscious of people seeing her and thinking she was putting on airs. She would have been soaked with perspiration trying to make herself as small as possible under the parasol.
Extract from the book Not out of Hate, a novel of Burma
By Ma Ma Lay
All Rights Reserved.
Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Center for International Studies, 1991
Call Number: English 895.833 MA
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How far would you go to assimilate to a foreign culture that is at odds with your values?
September 20th, 2011 at 11:24 am
Adapting to another culture in foreign land is not easy especially when you need to fit in with others. Well not all times, we need to adapt fully as this may conflict with our own upbringing and culture. Thus, choose / think wisely before adapting to a culture.
September 21st, 2011 at 9:11 pm
Indeed it is hard to adapt to a culture. But it is possible, speak read and listen more.
November 7th, 2011 at 9:12 pm
I’ll assimilate to a foreign cultural only if it is absolutely necessary. I still prefer to stick to my own cultural roots as I prefer to remember and carry out traditional practices of my kind to respect the place and culture in which I was brought up. Thus, I will only adapt partially to another country’s cultures if I have to live or stay there for a period of time. Of course, every land has its own unique culture, and everyone has to embrace and respect them too as a form of respect for that particular land.
November 18th, 2011 at 9:28 pm
To adapt to a foreign culture is difficult enough without it having to be AT ODDS with your own personal values. Personal values may differ with time, and the people and environment you are in as you change to suit your new environment. But deep-set beliefs are unlikely to change much and as such, I don’t think I’d ever feel at peace with the new foreign culture. It is likely I’d despise or strongly dislike it, I believe.
January 31st, 2012 at 2:11 pm
I would not really appreciate being forced to conform to a society which is in contrast with my values. However, if like in the story, I am forced to conform to the culture, I would probably try my best to get used to the culture and put on a front in front of other people and assimilate with the culture, though like the main character, I would try to relax once in a while.
February 7th, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Initially no one will like to change and conform to a society that is not alike to their values. However, if we have to, we will. We should also go in with an open mindset and be accepting of change, for a foreign culture, no matter how strange and different it seems, will still have some things worth learning from. Yet we should also not entirely meld into the other culture, and should always take note of our roots. It would be ideal to get the best of both worlds.
February 28th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
In my opinion, our values is something that we should hold on to very tightly and treat it with utmost respect. As it has been slowly cultured within us over the years usually through experiences and we would then sieve out the positive aspects and find that we would start to follow suit, this would slowly turn into our values. In this way, it is very hard to conform to other cultures, and we might be reluctant to change. However, i believe that change may not necessarily be bad and the world is ever-changing. So no matter how reluctant a person is to change, he or she has to change nevertheless. However, without pain or pleasure, i am sure that changing would be a very difficult task as i would not risk something that i am already comfortable with.
August 9th, 2012 at 11:33 am
I would assimilate to a foreign culture that is at odds with my values to a certain extent. Firstly, I am willing to be immersed with a foreign culture out of interest and respect, but it should not lead to the extent that it compromises with my personal values. Values are something that one should hold on tightly and adhere to it, thus I would not breach my personal values for a foreign culture.
Secondly, it is not always necessary to assimilate completely to a foreign culture; each and every one of us is unique, having out own personal set of values and culture. Just like we respect the cultures of others, we should also respect the culture of ourselves.
Most importantly, despite our differences, we must still be in harmony and maintain peaceful relationships.