Globalization made us move and travel a lot. people are changing countries all the time. When you take a closer look at these people you realize how different the motivations of moving are, and depending on the motivation how different the goals and approaches are.
If you decide to go into another country because you are interested in the culture you will most definitely integrate yourself and be open for the odds and difference you will come across. If you are forced to move though, for example because there is a war in your home country the situation is completely different.
So on one hand we have the people who are moving maybe even because it looks good in your cv if you have lived in Stockholm for a while and then we have people who are forced to leave their countries for economic reasons or/and because its dangerous for them to stay.
So lets think about the people who are forced to leave their countries, lets say they move to Germany. Maybe because they have heard of Germany somewhere but maybe even out of a coincidence because the help Organisation they first came across was German and then they where broad to Germany. If you think about coming into a country without even finding the culture interesting beforehand you can imagine that there are a lot of weird things and habits you will come across. Also from seeing the other culture you will change the view on your own culture. seeing the differences will make you understand your own culture from a new point of view. like for example if you see people eating with knife and fork and you usually eat with chopsticks thats a moment where you separate from the others and realize just what your culture is actually about.
This I find very interesting these cultures in cultures. I feel like there might even be a completely new interpretation of your own country. I can only think about food examples right now, like if you go to a restaurant and get „typical food“ and then you go to the country and they will never serve you that food, because its a new invention born out of a new interpretation from your own country and culture.
What I find really interesting also is the second Generation. They are born in a society and raised by two probably completely different point of views. They inhabit two cultures, two languages, two patterns of behavior. I see it as a great advantage but also it must be super hard to find yourself between these two poles. So hard to make stuff „right“ especially if right here and right there are the compete opposite.
If I think about my friends who are born in two cultures i have a deep respect for why they have already been through sometimes already in their childhood and what they are now. Its so amazing if you are able to understand two cultures and then maybe even distance yourself and analyze the differences. Take the pieces that you like most and combine them. Its definitely a creative task. Well thats maybe my naive way of seeing it because im not that much involved and even if i have been traveling a lot its very superficial and maybe far from really understanding something.
What i´m asking myself is how to show what a great advantage the fusion of two culture can be. Not a clash of culture more a mergence. If you think about this in a really basic way a completely different point of view could probably open your eyes and make you creative.
Hacking and Making
To approach this task its important to firstly hack the habits of a culture.
Seeing stuff through the eyes of someone else is a really good step. When i visited my grandma this weekend i broad an old friend with me. My grandparents house is something so familiar to me that i lost the ability to see how interesting they actually are and how much cultural value they have. My friends curiosity had a huge impact on me. We had a very close look at all the objects in the house and talked a lot to my grandma about the past.
I understood my own origin in different way. And saw my culture through the eyes of someone else.
SO the questions that I’m asking myself are:
How can we show how great the merging of two cultures can be? fusion not clash of cultures
How can we overcome prejudice? or make use of prejudice?
How can we manifest respect and acceptance?
How can we be at eye level with one another ?
How can we make people look through the eyes of someone else?
How can we use the odds and peculiarities of a culture in a creative way?
and probably a lot more to come…