Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

  I detected one microaggression incident this week. We were at the beach and my boys were playing with their beach toys in the sand. Many people were at the beach as well. One of the child ( who happens to be Norwegian based on the language they were speaking, I could be wrong) found one of my boys bucket which was left unattended and started playing with it. My boy later realized this and came to me and reported it. I told him that if he wants to play with it he could go and tell the child that the bucket is his and he wants to play with it or if he doesn't want to play with it yet he can let the child to play with it for a while. Of course he wanted to play with it immediately so he was insisting on me to go and get it. I refused as I wanted him to learn to tackle this kind of issue by himself. He was standing in front of the child but he didn't talk. He, then realized that the child speaks in Norwegian. Immediately he thought that the child only talks in Norwegian and not in English. So he shouted back loudly at me saying "she doesn't speak my language". I know he meant no harm but the child's parents were close by and they would have heard it. I have a feeling that they may have felt like a victim of microaggression. I would have if I was in their shoes.
  This week practice influenced me in such a way that I was very conscious with what I was saying and what others were saying to each other and whether there was any microaggression content in what was said. I would say I had become a little extra sensitive to my surroundings. 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

  I am so lucky that I have friends who are all so different in so many ways but we have one thing in common which is our great friendship. I have contacted three of my friends who are from different culture, race, country and so on. Let's just say, Miss 'A' is from the US and she is of hispanic background, Miss 'B' is from Japan but has been living in the Netherlands for many years and also married to a Dutch and Miss 'C' is a Syrian who was born and brought up in Belgium. 
However, due to unforeseen circumstances, Miss 'C' could not come back to me on time. 

  Miss 'A' had explained culture and diversity closest to what I have learnt in this course. Culture and in her words "Culture is the way of life by a group of people, plain and simple. It isn't based on written rules, it is something that naturally happens and it affects how we choose to live and how we choose to perceive the world around us. Culture is influenced by everyday attitudes & thoughts, family values, ideas, traditions, beliefs, etc. We learn from our families and our communities what is culturally acceptable and not acceptable but as we grow, we find ways to adapt & learn from other cultures that we live in" where else Diversity in her words, "a mix of different groups of people with unique qualities". These unique qualities include elements such as cultures, races, ideas, attitudes, foods, music, beliefs...".

Miss 'B' however, spoke of culture and diversity based on what she knew of the Japanese way of life and the Dutch way of life and nothing beyond that.
It's very interesting to see my friends' perspectives on culture and diversity. Through this assigment, I have learnt that many people do not know the true meaning of culture and diversity including myself. Now when I see other's I know that I should acknowledge their differences and celebrate it.

My Family Culture

  I am a hindu but I am not a religious person. However, since small my parents have taught me to pray and I have come realise at some point in my life that, praying gives me strength and hope. So I will first take with me a picture of my God whom I have been worshipping since I was little. This has given me a lot of peace of mind and assurance that everything will be ok and the courage and power to face anything. Secondly, I want my children to always remember their family no matter what. I am not sure if we will all be together in the new host country, if we are not, I will bring a picture of my extended family to always remind my children of their origins and ancestors. Thirdly, I will bring my 'bindi' which is a red dot which we Hindu women put in the middle of our forehead to symbolize that we are married ( a black dot is for unmarried woman). Although many are not following this culture, I have been doing so since I was small. I can never leave the house without this. It reminds me of my culture and who I am. I will definitely bring this with me as well.

  If I was asked to keep only one personal item and give up the rest, I would feel like losing a family member. The sadness of leaving my own country and on top of that to give something dear to my heart which reminds me of my roots will be quite devastating for me. I am very much emotional about some of my personal belongings especially the ones that I have mentioned above.

  From this exercise, I have learnt that everyone are different as they come from a family which is unique by itself. Cultural diversity does not only mean the different race or religion however it goes beyond that. I never knew that I am so attached emotionally to all the things that I have mentioned above. This makes me so different even from my husband and my children. Cultural diversity exist even in our own family.