“Yucky” was my son’s first reaction when he saw people
wearing shoes inside. It was his first ever visit to Sydney, Australia.
It was alarming for him when he was handed a drink of tap
water. “But that will make me sick.”
I was amused. After growing up in Australia I have lived in Asia
most of my adult life. I always find it weird going back to Australia and doing
those things again, after not doing them for so long. But for my son he is not
doing them AGAIN, it was all new to him.
My children are Australian. I'm Australian. We all live in Cambodia together, but our experience
of this is different. My children are having their developmental years here,
forming their identity.
When I came across this article about the Culture Gap I
realised I needed to learn more.
This
gap can go unnoticed which creates frustrations and kids growing up overseas
usually feel misunderstood by their parents. Most of culture is like the bulk of the iceberg, hidden under the water. Things like shoes and taps are easy to see and talk about, but most things aren't. There is a reason the author called her book
Misunderstood.
Hopefully we as parents can notice this gap and learn to see the
world from our children’s point of view.
I don't know if I explained this very well. If you are a parent bringing kids up overseas I encourage you to read this, or this. Or these. Or watch this 3 minute video.
This week the Five Minute Friday free write word prompt is CULTURE
Photo by Jacek Dylag on Unsplash
8 comments:
Lots of mistakes/misunderstandings are made cross-culturally! Thanks for sharing your experiences!. [neighbours in fmf]
You are exposing your children to diverse cultures - how fortunate.
When in another country it's good to watch and listen to the people so you don't offend. Even in America, there are areas that not only have their own slang words but customs. Coming here from FMF.
Thanks for your comment Fiona, yes there is always a lot of confusion!
Hi Susan, yes indeed, lots of good things about growing up with more than one culture.
Great job with this brief description. I lived in China for three years and worked with third culture kids there, so this definitely resonates. I feel like transitioning back to American culture was challenging enough as an adult and I can only imagine the confusion it would be for young children.
Thanks Diane, yes, even a slight culture gap can cause offense.
Yes Jenny, I also find it hard being back in my passport country, its hard to wrap my head around what it is like for my kids to go there.
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