My Family Culture

"A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture."

The three items I would take with me to the new country would be a photo album of my family, Persian spices, and a crocheted blanket from my grandmother. These items are significant to me because they remind me of my family and my culture. The photo album would be filled with pictures of my family and friends from home so I can remember and share my heritage. My dad uses Persian spices when he cooks some of my favorite meals, so I would take that with me to make food that reminds me of home. The crocheted blanket would signify my mother’s side of the family, and provide comfort and warmth in an unfamiliar environment. If I were forced to relinquish two of my three items I would keep the album because it is a visual reminder of my family and friends.  This album holds increased significance compared to my other items because it allows opportunity for others to see and connect with my previous culture (Keat, Strickland & Marinak, 2009). While the host country culture is different than my own, I would hope that showing the photographs and illustrating my culture would allow them to better understand me and help me acclimate. As a result of this exercise, I have learned that I would adapt to the new environment and culture relatively well because I am familiar with divergent cultures. I also had trouble thinking of items to bring with me, because I am not attached to objects as much as I am attached to memories. In my new culture, I would pass down memories and stories by journaling, since I have nothing else to pass down from my previous culture.

Reference

Keat, J. B., Strickland, M. J., & Marinak, B. A. (2009). Child voice: How immigrant children enlightened their teachers with a camera. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37(1), 13–21.