Cultural Identity

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Originally Posted by Bakiryu

At least some of you can blend in, my accent marks me as an outsider even my own country.

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Ditto. Welsh I may be, but I have somehow gained a cut-glass RP English accent.

One of my professors is an expert in dialects, and in the end he had to ask me where I was from as he couldn't work it out...

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Originally Posted by Lokasenna

Well, the criteria (or perhaps commandments?) for English acceptance in a Welsh village runs something like this:

You must live there for at least thirty years.
You must never say anything negative about Wales.
You must be generous in the local pub.
You must visit the Eisteddfod anually.
You must be able to sing "Land of our Fathers" in Welsh, while drunk.
You must have a picture of Bryn Terfel in your loo.

After all that, they might grudgingly admit that you're all right... for an Englishman.:lol:

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bah you welsh are too easy on those sassenachs;)

as evidenced by us chanting "We hate england more than you" during our recent encounter in cardiff

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Originally Posted by Scheherazade

Anna> Would you say you define your culture identity more through your religion?

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Not really. I think I fit the description of an average Finn better than the description of an average member of my church. That is to say that I don't really feel at home in my church either.

Basically the main thing that makes me an outsider among Finns is the fact I don't drink alcohol. Moderate use of alcohol is something Finns have always had difficulty with (most often when people drink, they keep drinking until they're drunk), and alcohol is an essential part of almost any party, holiday, and a free evening, especially among students, and those who don't drink always stand out.

Another one is the fact that nowadays religion is something really uncool in Finland. Most people seem to think that faith is a sign of stupidity and that those who believe in God are automatically incabable of rational thinking.

But other than that I think I am a pretty typical Finn: we are rather reserved, we value our personal space, respect each other's privacy, and don't talk unless we've got something to say. Just this morning I was travelling on a bus that was full of people, but completely silent, as no one was talking to anyone else. We're also a pretty melancholic folk, you just need to listen to some Finnish music and you'll soon realise that almost all of it is in minor and the lyrics are often rather depressing :lol:

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Originally Posted by Maximilianus

But you do belong to LitNetLand, where we all speak Litnetish :p What can be a better country? :D

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:p What a lovely thought, LitNetLand; Yes, I somehow feel a little more 3 dimensional here. As if the things I read are somehow more significant than they seem when I discuss them with friends "on the outside":alien:

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Originally Posted by Maryd.

Ok, Ok, don't get me started...

I was born in Australia by Italian parents... Except one of my Italian parents has an Indian mother (Sri Lanka-Indian). Spent most of my life being raised by Irish/English adults. My father's grandfather was Spanish and I believe there is an Irish family member somewhere along the line as well. Now... I marry a Cypriot/Greek fellow, (both of us were born here in Australia) who has some family born and raised in Egypt. So at this stage we tell our children that they are Australian... But they are blessed with many different cultural backgrounds. We couldn't be racist if we tried.
Here in Australia, there are so many different cultures, it's amazing. I love to see and hear about their folklores or taste their meals. I am open to many new cultures and the world is adjusting to many different cultures as well. It's all good.:thumbs_up

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That's a really interesting blend, Mary :D

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Originally Posted by Annamariah

Not really. I think I fit the description of an average Finn better than the description of an average member of my church. That is to say that I don't really feel at home in my church either.

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I wouldn't make a home out of a church; its peoples are so pure :cold: I've been told that the day I enter a church the saints would fall from their pedestals. The peculiarity of this statement is that I've entered a cathedral a couple times and the saints are still standing :lol: My theory is that if saints don't fall when believers enter, then they have no reason to drop dead when I enter :lol: Moral: believers are so pure and naive that they can't realize that the saints they are beholding are just statues that will only fall after a major earthquake :p

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Originally Posted by Annamariah

Another one is the fact that nowadays religion is something really uncool in Finland. Most people seem to think that faith is a sign of stupidity and that those who believe in God are automatically incabable of rational thinking.

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I know irrational folks of all kinds. Not all of them are believers. Actually, most of them believe they know, but the truth is that they don't know what to believe :lol:

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Originally Posted by Annamariah

But other than that I think I am a pretty typical Finn: we are rather reserved, we value our personal space, respect each other's privacy, and don't talk unless we've got something to say. Just this morning I was travelling on a bus that was full of people, but completely silent, as no one was talking to anyone else. We're also a pretty melancholic folk, you just need to listen to some Finnish music and you'll soon realise that almost all of it is in minor and the lyrics are often rather depressing :lol:

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Like I didn't know...... :lol:

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Originally Posted by soundofmusic

:p What a lovely thought, LitNetLand; Yes, I somehow feel a little more 3 dimensional here. As if the things I read are somehow more significant than they seem when I discuss them with friends "on the outside":alien:

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I have felt approximately the same :D What a feeling! :)

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Originally Posted by Maximilianus

But you do belong to LitNetLand, where we all speak Litnetish :p What can be a better country? :D

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Hehe, Lit Net as part of our identity! I love it. :D It's true though. I have belonged to other internet forums, even other literature and writing forums, and there is a certain identity to each. But lit net is the best! Let's kick their a$$. :p

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Originally Posted by Virgil

Hehe, Lit Net as part of our identity! I love it. :D It's true though. I have belonged to other internet forums, even other literature and writing forums, and there is a certain identity to each. But lit net is the best! Let's kick their a$$. :p

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This is true. I feel so at home here.

It is a culture all of it's own...

GOOOOO LIIIIITTTTNNNEETTT

Yes, I've noticed that ours is a particularly homely community. I believe that the communities where we enter, be them on-line or not, have a lot to do with the shaping of our identities :nod:

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Originally Posted by Maximilianus

I wouldn't make a home out of a church; its peoples are so pure :cold: I've been told that the day I enter a church the saints would fall from their pedestals. The peculiarity of this statement is that I've entered a cathedral a couple times and the saints are still standing :lol: My theory is that if saints don't fall when believers enter, then they have no reason to drop dead when I enter :lol: Moral: believers are so pure and naive that they can't realize that the saints they are beholding are just statues that will only fall after a major earthquake :p

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I guess that depends on the church, and there are also differences within each church, not all parishes/congregations/whatever the word is are the same :) In general I find most people within my church pretty nice. Besides, we don't have any statues of the saints in our church, so I'm sure no one would say something like that to you here :lol:

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Originally Posted by Maximilianus

I know irrational folks of all kinds. Not all of them are believers. Actually, most of them believe they know, but the truth is that they don't know what to believe :lol:

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I think that while it is as impossible to prove that God does not exist as it is to prove that he does, faith doesn't make people stupid any more than atheism makes people brilliant. I know both stupid and clever people from both groups. I also find those believers who think they know everything there is to know about anything just as annoying as those atheists who do the same :D

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Originally Posted by Maryd.

Ok, Ok, don't get me started...

I was born in Australia by Italian parents... Except one of my Italian parents has an Indian mother (Sri Lanka-Indian). Spent most of my life being raised by Irish/English adults. My father's grandfather was Spanish and I believe there is an Irish family member somewhere along the line as well. Now... I marry a Cypriot/Greek fellow, (both of us were born here in Australia) who has some family born and raised in Egypt. So at this stage we tell our children that they are Australian... But they are blessed with many different cultural backgrounds. We couldn't be racist if we tried.
Here in Australia, there are so many different cultures, it's amazing. I love to see and hear about their folklores or taste their meals. I am open to many new cultures and the world is adjusting to many different cultures as well. It's all good.:thumbs_up

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Gracious Maryd, what a fascinating background. Which culture do you feel influenced your value system most? In South Florida, we have many different cultures: at work, school or the grocery store they are indistinguishable; However, in their homes they do not stray too far from their customs. In one home I visited, a woman told me she trusted me, so I could disipline her children if the were fresh. It seemed that everyone who came to the house felt comfortable spanking or yelling at the children.
In another home, a man lived with three women. He had an American wife who worked outside of the home and argued with him about the freedom she wanted to give her children, a woman who kept house and seemed to be out of his favor; and a very young woman, from his own country with his child, who did absolutely nothing and shared his bed.
I am told that America is a "melting pot"; but it actually seems to me to be a pot that always has several pieces of different materials that refuse to melt completely or mix together.

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Originally Posted by Virgil

Hehe, Lit Net as part of our identity! I love it. :D It's true though. I have belonged to other internet forums, even other literature and writing forums, and there is a certain identity to each. But lit net is the best! Let's kick their a$$. :p

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Yes, Lit Net is great because there are so many people with so many interests on the forum: everyone can find his/her place!

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Originally Posted by Maximilianus

I wouldn't make a home out of a church; its peoples are so pure :cold: I've been told that the day I enter a church the saints would fall from their pedestals. The peculiarity of this statement is that I've entered a cathedral a couple times and the saints are still standing

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:lol: They started bolting the saints to the foundation of the church; but just to be on the safe side, I only go for funerals and sit in the back row:)

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Originally Posted by Annamariah

I think that while it is as impossible to prove that God does not exist as it is to prove that he does, faith doesn't make people stupid any more than atheism makes people brilliant. I know both stupid and clever people from both groups. I also find those believers who think they know everything there is to know about anything just as annoying as those atheists who do the same :D

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Hear, hear!! :) :)

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Originally Posted by Annamariah

faith doesn't make people stupid any more than atheism makes people brilliant.

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Agreed.

But at least doubt is the beginning of a rational process of inquiry, a fair starting point for inductive reasoning. On the other hand, faith is just certainty for free, the word we call credulity when we want to make it sound like a virtue.

Regards,

Istvan

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Originally Posted by Babbalanja

Agreed.

But at least doubt is the beginning of a rational process of inquiry, a fair starting point for inductive reasoning. On the other hand, faith is just certainty for free, the word we call credulity when we want to make it sound like a virtue.

Regards,

Istvan

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Fair enough, but perhaps you fail to see that those with faith have passed through doubt and reached an understanding. I know almost no one with faith who at some point did not work through their doubt.

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Originally Posted by Virgil

Fair enough, but perhaps you fail to see that those with faith have passed through doubt and reached an understanding. I know almost no one with faith who at some point did not work through their doubt.

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If people reach an actual understanding, it's through an approach to knowledge that is more than just affirming something until they don't doubt it anymore. If you study hard enough, you can understand something like physics or French. But can you really understand God, the soul, John 3:16, or any mystical-schmistical palaver in the same way?

Regards,

Istvan

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Originally Posted by Annamariah

(...) Besides, we don't have any statues of the saints in our church, so I'm sure no one would say something like that to you here :lol:

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What a relief! :lol:

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Originally Posted by Annamariah

I think that while it is as impossible to prove that God does not exist as it is to prove that he does, faith doesn't make people stupid any more than atheism makes people brilliant. I know both stupid and clever people from both groups. I also find those believers who think they know everything there is to know about anything just as annoying as those atheists who do the same :D

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Remember when I said you have the talent to be where you are? Well, this post is proof of that statement :thumbs_up

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Originally Posted by soundofmusic

(...)
I am told that America is a "melting pot"; but it actually seems to me to be a pot that always has several pieces of different materials that refuse to melt completely or mix together.

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Very interesting perspective, and very true. Since we are talking about identity, I think there is a chance that many people fear the prospect of losing theirs if they mix it with ingredients from the identities of others, and I feel that this may be due to not having it well-affirmed. I mean, how can anyone lose identity when it is well grabbed?

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Originally Posted by soundofmusic

Yes, Lit Net is great because there are so many people with so many interests on the forum: everyone can find his/her place!

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Yeah, I have my little corner here, and I'm not giving it away unless I get killed... or banned :lol:

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Originally Posted by soundofmusic

:lol: They started bolting the saints to the foundation of the church; but just to be on the safe side, I only go for funerals and sit in the back row:)

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I do almost the same, mainly because I don't know the holy canticles by heart, as the holy attendants who sit at the front rows often do :lol: Too much shame on me to be sitting among the holy ones :lol:

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Originally Posted by Babbalanja

Agreed.

But at least doubt is the beginning of a rational process of inquiry, a fair starting point for inductive reasoning. On the other hand, faith is just certainty for free, the word we call credulity when we want to make it sound like a virtue.

Regards,

Istvan

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This makes sense too :)

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Originally Posted by Babbalanja

If people reach an actual understanding, it's through an approach to knowledge that is more than just affirming something until they don't doubt it anymore. If you study hard enough, you can understand something like physics or French. But can you really understand God, the soul, John 3:16, or any mystical-schmistical palaver in the same way?

Regards,

Istvan

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So what are you saying, that the only possible reasonable outcome is to choose atheism? No there is no way to fully understand God. But there is no way to fully understand physics either. One could have said after Newton that reason had determined the end of physics, but how wrong that was. Anyone that thinks we've come to the end of scientific knowledge is dead wrong and really just relying on as much faith as a believer in God. Your statement about studying hard enough and you'll understand physics is a fallacy.

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Originally Posted by Babbalanja

If people reach an actual understanding, it's through an approach to knowledge that is more than just affirming something until they don't doubt it anymore. If you study hard enough, you can understand something like physics or French. But can you really understand God, the soul, John 3:16, or any mystical-schmistical palaver in the same way?

Regards,

Istvan

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So you say that sciences and arts are far more understandable because they are tangible, and therefore you can see the results of such understanding? If this is what you meant, I seem to understand your point. It's quite what I feel.

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Originally Posted by Virgil

So what are you saying, that the only possible reasonable outcome is to choose atheism? No there is no way to fully understand God. But there is no way to fully understand physics either. One could have said after Newton that reason had determined the end of physics, but how wrong that was. Anyone that thinks we've come to the end of scientific knowledge is dead wrong and really just relying on as much faith as a believer in God. Your statement about studying hard enough and you'll understand physics is a fallacy.

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I appreciate this view of yours too, Virgil. I also believe that the ultimate knowledge is nowhere near to be reached, in any given field.

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Originally Posted by Virgil

So what are you saying, that the only possible reasonable outcome is to choose atheism? No there is no way to fully understand God. But there is no way to fully understand physics either. One could have said after Newton that reason had determined the end of physics, but how wrong that was. Anyone that thinks we've come to the end of scientific knowledge is dead wrong and really just relying on as much faith as a believer in God.

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I never said any of those things.

All I was saying is that there's an approach to knowledge that allows us to say we understand something to a greater or lesser degree because we're actually expanding our knowledge about the subject. And on the other hand there's faith, which allows us to say we understand something when all we're doing is coming to terms with its essential absurdity.

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Your statement about studying hard enough and you'll understand physics is a fallacy.

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:rolleyes:

No, it's not. Students understand physics to some extent, physicists to a somewhat greater extent, and geniuses like Einstein and Hawking to a much greater extent. Part of this understanding is realizing how much there is left to discover, and systematizing a plan of inquiry. But all faith does is assume certainty, and do away with doubt. There's no ongoing plan of inquiry, just reinforcement of what we already believe.

Regards,

Istvan

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Originally Posted by Babbalanja

{edit}
But all faith does is assume certainty, and do away with doubt. There's no ongoing plan of inquiry, just reinforcement of what we already believe.

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Those are false statements. You obviously don't understand faith and religion.

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Originally Posted by Virgil

Those are false statements. You obviously don't understand faith and religion.

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Amen Virgil, amen.

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Originally Posted by Babbalanja

No, it's not. Students understand physics to some extent, physicists to a somewhat greater extent, and geniuses like Einstein and Hawking to a much greater extent. Part of this understanding is realizing how much there is left to discover, and systematizing a plan of inquiry. But all faith does is assume certainty, and do away with doubt. There's no ongoing plan of inquiry, just reinforcement of what we already believe.

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As it so happens, I've met Stephen Hawking a few times - he's a friend of a friend, so to speak. And I can promise you that, as far as he is concerned, there very much is an "ongoing plan of inquiry" - for him, his intellect and research tells him that we've only began to scratch the surface.

As for Einstein, he was famously agnostic... although he rejected the concept of a Christian, law-giving god, he believed there was some form of intelligence behind creation... He was a Deist, if you like.

"I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals Himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God Who concerns Himself with the fate and the doings of mankind."

:confused: Gracious, how do we keep doing this. Our talks on the religious thread keep getting turned into cultural discussions; and our cultural and sexual discussions keep turning into religious ones:rolleyes:

{edit}

Anyway, my cultural identity depends more on my views than my background. I was born in Scotland but live in the USA. Now to my relatives I'm the yank, but I'm not considered fully American here.

There are a lot of immigrants in my family, too. My wife's family emigrated from Hungary during the revolution, and my sister-in-law came from Kenya. I live in a neighborhood where a lot of people are from Latin America. I speak Spanish, but a lot of the neighbors are suspicious of a gringo who speaks español.

I'll admit I'm always surprised at the level of religiosity in America. My Scottish relatives are all nonbelievers. It seems any negative comment someone makes about religion makes Americans paranoid and petulant.

Regards,

Istvan

I find that certain immigrants get integrated much faster by the society. When people come from France to Quebec, the public perception is that they are already almost "one of us." They speak the language and have essentially the same values for the most part. However, there is almost as large an anti-immigrant backlash against North Africans in Quebec as there is in France. I say almost because I've been told by a few North Africans that they came to Quebec from France because the French are con and find Quebec more accommodating.

Within two or three generations any European immigrant is fully accepted as Canadian, but many of those descended from the Chinese immigrants that built the railway 200 years ago never seem to be able to get away from that heritage. They are at most in the eyes of the public "Chinese Canadians".

To an extent we have the ability to shape our own cultural views, but so much of what we define ourselves by seems imposed on us by the views of our compatriots.

cultural identity? can we discuss it with new eyes? I'm above nothing and noone and being simply a human being, know not what your judgements value or not. Belief is axiomatic to identity that is self-subscirbed. My cultural identity is more British than American (colonial), not all by choice but by upbringing etc. of an English bent.

I'm not an immigrant, nor am I native. Am I like the mulatto who asked whether they should fill in the blank for black or white? Their word for genetic identity was "oreo", but there was no blank for that.

If I choose to believe as a christian, I have done just that. The nebulous word "faith" has nothing to do with it. Saying that I'm "nearly a Canuck" probably doesn't mean much to those who can't identify with it. They just stare and ask where I'm from and think they then know my cultural identity.

I feel Sam Clemens' statement about not belonging to any group that would have him as a member may be appropriate here. If I am assimiliated in a new area, it's not because I became something or one that fit in, but because of the willingness of others to incorporate more than themselves in a cultural identity. happy trails.

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Originally Posted by gbrekken

cultural identity? can we discuss it with new eyes? I'm above nothing and noone and being simply a human being, know not what your judgements value or not. Belief is axiomatic to identity that is self-subscirbed. My cultural identity is more British than American (colonial), not all by choice but by upbringing etc. of an English bent.

I'm not an immigrant, nor am I native. Am I like the mulatto who asked whether they should fill in the blank for black or white? Their word for genetic identity was "oreo", but there was no blank for that.

If I choose to believe as a christian, I have done just that. The nebulous word "faith" has nothing to do with it. Saying that I'm "nearly a Canuck" probably doesn't mean much to those who can't identify with it. They just stare and ask where I'm from and think they then know my cultural identity.

I feel Sam Clemens' statement about not belonging to any group that would have him as a member may be appropriate here. If I am assimiliated in a new area, it's not because I became something or one that fit in, but because of the willingness of others to incorporate more than themselves in a cultural identity. happy trails.

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When it comes down to it, we all have an identity of one with overlapping circles of commonality with millions/billions/trillions, if we consider people who lived in the past as well.

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Originally Posted by Virgil

When it comes down to it, we all have an identity of one with overlapping circles of commonality with millions/billions/trillions, if we consider people who lived in the past as well.

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Ha, technically the amount of people ever to have lived on the Earth and still living today is around 10 billion, 6 billion of those being alive today :p

The point is taken though.

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Originally Posted by soundofmusic

Our talks on the religious thread keep getting turned into cultural discussions; and our cultural and sexual discussions keep turning into religious ones:rolleyes:

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Seems like we have a flair just for that! :-/

Some post have been removed/edited due to their inflammatory contents.

Posts with similar content will be removed without further warning

or

lead to thread closure.

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Originally Posted by OrphanPip

Ha, technically the amount of people ever to have lived on the Earth and still living today is around 10 billion, 6 billion of those being alive today :p

The point is taken though.

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Oh thanks. Only 10 billion. Interesting.

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Originally Posted by Scheherazade

Seems like we have a flair just for that! :-/

Some post have been removed/edited due to their inflammatory contents.

Posts with similar content will be removed without further warning

or

lead to thread closure.

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:lol: I thought I was quite civil. I even said "you're welcome." :D

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Originally Posted by Virgil

Oh thanks. Only 10 billion. Interesting.

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It varies based on who you talk to, if you count estimates of infant death and you start estimating humans from 1 million years ago you get like 100 billion. A lot of unfortunate children have died in the history of the Earth.

If you start around 50,000 years ago and count only humans who live to adulthood, then you get around 10 billion. Either way, it's under the trillion mark :p.

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Originally Posted by OrphanPip

It varies based on who you talk to, if you count estimates of infant death and you start estimating humans from 1 million years ago you get like 100 billion. A lot of unfortunate children have died in the history of the Earth.

If you start around 50,000 years ago and count only humans who live to adulthood, then you get around 10 billion. Either way, it's under the trillion mark :p.

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Thank you. I did not know any of that. :)

[QUOTE=Babbalanja;806489]. I live in a neighborhood where a lot of people are from Latin America.

I'll admit I'm always surprised at the level of religiosity in America. My Scottish relatives are all nonbelievers. It seems any negative comment someone makes about religion makes Americans paranoid and petulant.

I enjoyed your post and appreciate your dilema. I was born and have lived all my life in America; so when I stayed in England, I was shocked to find that these very formal strangers would ask me the most personal of questions. After a simple cup of tea they would talk about our president, our priests, and all of our little scandals. I, personally found it rather refreshing and very amusing thinking of the brawl that would occur in the wrong bar in the states. I then realized the basic difference between Americans and British. British people discuss things as if they are on the outside looking through a microscope at a petri dish. Americans discuss things as if they are on the petri dish being examined. :lol:

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Originally Posted by Scheherazade

So what is the make up of your cultural identity?

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I'm from emigrating Germans in the 1850's with a strong Lutheran tradition (like Annamariah). With German still spoken at home in World Wars where Germany was the enemy, cultural assimilation has been slow in coming.

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Originally Posted by Lokasenna

"I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals Himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God Who concerns Himself with the fate and the doings of mankind."

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Imbibing existentialist philosophy in my late teens, I believe, for the most part, in Kierkegaard's God. The existence of my God is a given, and His overarching manifestation is love. God acts out of love but how He acts is for him alone: my sole concern is to act out of love myself.

As for science, it says so little on acts of love!

I neglected to mention a very imporant part of my identity. I was raised on a farm. Cash crops only after about age 10. It's a background becoming more and more unique in the world.

I'm from working class stock - my relatives were miners and farmers. My dad worked on the motorways in the 60's and 70's - M62/ M1. Then he became electively unemployed for the rest of his life, and so I suppose I'm also from the unemployed underclass of the 80's too.

I'm a city boy, I grew up in Wakefield - population around 60,000 in Yorkshire, and have always lived in cities, though I wasn't au fait with large cities in my teens - once when the rugby team I played for were contemplating a match in London I suggested that we just might happen to see one of our mates, who lived in London, in the pub afterwards...
So I suppose I'm urban.

I was brought up atheist if anything. The only time I went to church was the harvest festival at school. It did leave me open minded, which I feel has been a great plus for me.

I then became interested in Buddhism, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, and I attend classes today. So Tibetan Buddhism has had a powerful influence upon me.

Now, due to my job as a Literacy Programme Manager, combined with my graduate and post graduate qualifications, I am middle class. I still appreciate those working class traits that are positive, and I can bring them to bear, and I still have a Yorkshire accent.

I came from a agrarian society. That was a totally remote and unexposed village to the outside world. My father was a simple farmer and my mother illiterate. I am the only person to have a graduate degree and my brothers and sisters are fairly educated. Now I dwell in a city and live differently. I have a very educated wife and her background was different. Though she too did not come from a rich family but at least they were better educated.

I had to struggle hard when I had to assimilate into a new social network with newer values and demands. My naivety in my earlier days put me in a much difficult state. I have observed two different backgrounds and cultures.
Now I growing into maturity I do not kind of align with particular cultural setups. I can feel at home with all no matter which religious and cultural backgrounds one has come from. I can digest or inject all ideas.

I can feel comfortable with any customs or people or foods or systems. Though born of an orthodox Brahman family I do not belong to a particular sect. I am not nationalistic. Nationalism is a contagious disease. I fee the entire planet is home to me and Nepal is just by accident my birthplace.

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Originally Posted by Paulclem

I'm from working class stock - my relatives were miners and farmers.

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Mine too, and anyone here who knows me can tell pretty easily that I'm very proud of my hard working friends and family. There's a certain nobility to labor. I love a man with rough hands who smells like sweat, with black eyeliner-like rings around his eyes from coal dust that won't wash away in the shower. There's nothing that makes me feel more safe, except for maybe a hunter smelling like soap with his hands stained orange from the blood of some wild beast. I feel so much love for my father and brother just picturing that image. It's strange, I never really felt my culture so solidly until I moved to Edmonton (hateful, vile, souless city) to go to University. The men there have soft hands, and they spend their money on these stupid little $8 coffees from stupid little cafe's, inhabited by pseudo-intellectuals typing away at their laptops or pretending to read a copy of The God Delusion. Bleh. I had to leave that city, or I think I would have died. I'm built for mental strain, not physical, but I can't (I really CANNOT) get my education in a big city no matter how good the school is. Weak men and meek women, and EVERYBODY complaining about EVERYTHING. Give me harsh winters, give me smoke and blood and survival! That's my culture.

I also have a fierce pride for my country. Canadians like to play, and most of us take life for what it is (one big joke). We have a tendancy to sit on decks and porches and pass the entire day drinking beer and making fun of each other and talking about hockey. We also harbor a certain resentment for Americans, but we like Scandanavian countries (probably because they're like us). I don't care if national pride is a good thing or a bad thing, I love my country and I'd die for it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JuniperWoolf

Mine too, and anyone here who knows me can tell pretty easily that I'm very proud of my hard working friends and family. There's a certain nobility to labor. I love a man with rough hands who smells like sweat, with black eyeliner-like rings around his eyes from coal dust that won't wash away in the shower. There's nothing that makes me feel more safe, except for maybe a hunter smelling like soap with his hands stained orange from the blood of some wild beast. I feel so much love for my father and brother just picturing that image. It's strange, I never really felt my culture so solidly until I moved to Edmonton (hateful, vile, souless city) to go to University. The men there have soft hands, and they spend their money on these stupid little $8 coffees from stupid little cafe's, inhabited by pseudo-intellectuals typing away at their laptops or pretending to read a copy of The God Delusion. Bleh. I had to leave that city, or I think I would have died. I'm built for mental strain, not physical, but I can't (I really CANNOT) get my education in a big city no matter how good the school is. Weak men and meek women, and EVERYBODY complaining about EVERYTHING. Give me harsh winters, give me smoke and blood and survival! That's my culture.

I also have a fierce pride for my country. Canadians like to play, and most of us take life for what it is (one big joke). We have a tendancy to sit on decks and porches and pass the entire day drinking beer and making fun of each other and talking about hockey. We also harbor a certain resentment for Americans, but we like Scandanavian countries (probably because they're like us). I don't care if national pride is a good thing or a bad thing, I love my country and I'd die for it.

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What a marvelous post!!!!! I loved reading every word of that!!!! Four stars for that!

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But I got to get you to like Americans better. ;)

hum, that's a difficult question.

German atheist, blessed with a Protestant work ethic thanks to my Lutheran working class mother. Getting used to north-western English Catholicism, minus the bit about Jesus, God and the Pope (but they leave that out most of the time anyway). My family background is working class as in getting drunk, beating your children and striving to get a good education (mother) and lower middle class as in being culturally ignorant (father). I'm too well-educated (read: posh and snooty) to watch X-Factor etc., but also too accustomed to poverty/stinginess to regularly spend any money on 'useless' things like going to the theatre or opera. However, given the choice between a musical and an opera, I'd choose the opera.
German "high culture" annoys me because it's basically a mutual admiration society for people who all agree that this kind of "culture" is extremely important, only they don't really know why that is and what German culture consists of in the first place. But everybody says it's important, so it must be true. German (lower) middle class people annoy me because they have a proto-fascist way of teaming up for festivals and organized fun. They look forward to their dozens of festivals all year but once the big day has arrived they are really aggressive, get drunk and jostle each other.

English trash culture annoys me because 11 million people mindlessly follow X-Factor just because everybody else does it.

I'm slightly confused about English people at the moment, because I thought they were reserved and leave each other alone. Everyone here is very sociable, however, and people (mainly posh ones) are very concerned about everybody "fitting in." This is weird because the English go on about how individualistic they are. On the other hand, my pupils don't help each other out at all when one of them doesn't have a pen or a book. They are nice Catholic middle-class kids who all "fit in" very well, but when it comes to borrowing a pen or sharing a book, they are fixated on Miss and cannot ask their class mates for help. .... ok, this is slightly off topic...

In Germany, everything is perfectionist. People make a fuss about details and plan everything ahead three years in advance. Yet life is relaxed. (An English guy told me so!!!)
In England, people can't be bothered to do anything and don't stress about anything (at least they say so 100 times a day). Yet life is hectic and people work and rush around all the time.


Also, people here invade each others personal space all the time. When someone stands too close to me and I take a step back, they don't get the message and stand even closer to me instead of leaving me alone. How does this go together with being reserved? I find myself "cuddling" with colleagues of both sexes all the time. In Germany I would maybe stand/ sit that close to my best friend or my mother. But if I or my friends 'retreated' the other would get the message and not move up closer to them.

I took a quiz on Facebook that said I should be Swedish ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SleepyWitch

hum, that's a difficult question.

German atheist, blessed with a Protestant work ethic thanks to my Lutheran working class mother. Getting used to north-western English Catholicism, minus the bit about Jesus, God and the Pope (but they leave that out most of the time anyway). My family background is working class as in getting drunk, beating your children and striving to get a good education (mother) and lower middle class as in being culturally ignorant (father). I'm too well-educated (read: posh and snooty) to watch X-Factor etc., but also too accustomed to poverty/stinginess to regularly spend any money on 'useless' things like going to the theatre or opera. However, given the choice between a musical and an opera, I'd choose the opera.
German "high culture" annoys me because it's basically a mutual admiration society for people who all agree that this kind of "culture" is extremely important, only they don't really know why that is and what German culture consists of in the first place. But everybody says it's important, so it must be true. German (lower) middle class people annoy me because they have a proto-fascist way of teaming up for festivals and organized fun. They look forward to their dozens of festivals all year but once the big day has arrived they are really aggressive, get drunk and jostle each other.

English trash culture annoys me because 11 million people mindlessly follow X-Factor just because everybody else does it.

I'm slightly confused about English people at the moment, because I thought they were reserved and leave each other alone. Everyone here is very sociable, however, and people (mainly posh ones) are very concerned about everybody "fitting in." This is weird because the English go on about how individualistic they are. On the other hand, my pupils don't help each other out at all when one of them doesn't have a pen or a book. They are nice Catholic middle-class kids who all "fit in" very well, but when it comes to borrowing a pen or sharing a book, they are fixated on Miss and cannot ask their class mates for help. .... ok, this is slightly off topic...

In Germany, everything is perfectionist. People make a fuss about details and plan everything ahead three years in advance. Yet life is relaxed. (An English guy told me so!!!)
In England, people can't be bothered to do anything and don't stress about anything (at least they say so 100 times a day). Yet life is hectic and people work and rush around all the time.


Also, people here invade each others personal space all the time. When someone stands too close to me and I take a step back, they don't get the message and stand even closer to me instead of leaving me alone. How does this go together with being reserved? I find myself "cuddling" with colleagues of both sexes all the time. In Germany I would maybe stand/ sit that close to my best friend or my mother. But if I or my friends 'retreated' the other would get the message and not move up closer to them.

I took a quiz on Facebook that said I should be Swedish ;)

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I agree with you about many things, espacially when it's about British trash culture. But today X-factor is over :)

To begin with I'm a Pole, European, technically speaking Catholic, but really I'm agnostic. This year I came to the UK to study(in one of the best all girls' boarding school) But as soon as I finish my a-levels I will probaby move out.
There are several things about British people, their culture, style of life and mentality which I find really suprising and I don't like it.
Firstly, what struck me the most when I arrived, that British people don't really seem to belong to Europe. They are thinking of themselves as seprate, isolate part of Europe.
Gnerally I was really suprised to find out how most of people here perceive Europe. One of the teachers here(French teachers, more suprisingly) said once 'Europe is such a beautiful country'. It's not a country, it's a CONTINENT. Additionally many girls at my school, although most of them took Geography for their GCSE, don't know most of European countries, not to mention Asian and African ones. It began really annoying for me to tell people here where Poland is, and yes, we don't speak Russian, nor German there for milions times.
The most dissapointing part is how my peers are stupid in terms of general knowledge.
Some of them get always A*, but they don't have any additional knowledge about world, or, what's even worse about the subjects that they're taking.
Once I was talking with a girl who always gets A for her English lit essays. I mentioned that I have just seen 'Dorian Grey' and then I asked her whether she had ever read the book. She said that she had never heard of this book before, moreover she didn't know anything about Oscar Wilde. :confused:
Another thing ehich it's really weird for the, it the fact that the British girls in my classes seem to have problems with English langauge. My mother tounge is not English and now here I had to explain to my collegues here what some English word mean like 'authentically', 'pathologist', 'tyranny'. Isn't it odd?
Plus I was bewildered how the girls from my 'posh' school spend their leisure time( in a nutshell- go to pub/club, get drunk and then have sex with some random guy. And next weekend- another party, another guy). In my country, some girls belong to this slutty category as well, but usually they are like this, because their families are dysfunctional and nobody cares about them. But here I have a feeling that parents of these girls really cares about them and they would be shocked if they knew how their beloved daugthers spend Sunday&Saturday evenings.
To sum up: I don't really think that I will ever been able to 'fit it'. And I don't really think that I will make friends at school(maybe with other oversea girls, because fortunately thy are not like these). Originally I was planning to stay here to study at British Uni, but now I am not sure, whether it is good idea.
I don't have a certain cultural idenity. I'm not missing Poland, and its culture. But on the other hand, the British culture and way of life don't appeal to me.
SleepyWitch I may do this test on Facebook, to find out to which nationality I fit the best :)