becoming bi-cultural

after two weeks of staying with me, my father and niece have gone back to our country. my nephew on the other hand is still here, hoping to get a teaching job.

their stay has opened my mind on how much of my culture have changed. on how much of this country's culture have i adopted. while we were together, i find some of their "behaviors" to be a little strange or peculiar. or simply funny or "unacceptable" (in a cultural way). i took notice of their manner of walking, and talking and sitting, and among other things. i made fun of my niece's high speed walking when i used to be a fast walker myself. and i commented on my nephew's oversized shirt and pants in contrast to the fit or semi fit shirt that most thai men wear. i would even remind them to lower their vioices when they talk loudly. people from my other culture tend to talk fast and loud-ly.

i have indeed become very bi-cultural. i still maintain many of aspects of my own culture. but im finding that i have been constantly adopting a lot of the thai culture. truth is, i have a background in cross-cultural anthropology and so i already knew, in theory, that a person who moves to another culture will eventually adopt his host's culture, consciously or subconsciously. and i have made an extensive study on thai culture and have made great effort to immerse myself into the thai comunity. i have made a lot of thai friends as well.

then again, i am actually more of a multi-cultural person. i am very asian and proud to be one. but like may other people from around the globe, i also grew up very much enganged in the american pop culture, have worked with a lot of western people, and have had a lot of western (or westernized) friends.

i have always been fascinated with different people and different cultures. and that's one reason why i came to thailand.