I’m back at school after a 12 year hiatus. As part of my pathway to a
BS in Computer Science in Hong Kong, I’ve been cast into a few English
literature stream courses somewhat against my will.
Not one to complain, I’m embracing the opportunity to do some
creative writing, as poor as my English has become after 10 years in
asia
Let my first essay draft begin!
“My” country, Australia, is a land only known by that name for about
200 years. The new world power, China, by contrast, has been developing
its culture for closer to 4,000 years. The previous original residents
of my home land, the indigenous Aboriginies, are said to have had
tenancy for a staggering 40,000 years. Those 40,000 years of culture
were almost wiped out by the first European settlers to arrive in
Australia, who killed and displaced a large number of indigenous
Australians.
As a young child, I did not quite understand the meaning of culture.
There were connotations of a person being “cultured”, hinting at more
maturity, such as the culture in yoghurt, fermenting over time to
develop something. Then, the word started to mean to me those traits and
customs which make people from other countries more different (if not
interesting) than the average white Australians.
I was lucky to have in my own family, a good mix of ethnic
backgrounds. My Sri-Lankan auntie (the second wife to replace the
Hungarian first wife of my uncle) was a Burgher, a cultural minority in
Sri-Lanka, usually ancestors of European or other settlers and thus
physically differing from the darker Singhalese. My dad’s uncle, having
escaped from Germany as a young boy dealing arms and other contraband
and a holder of multiple passports, definitely sounded like someone with
a lot of culture to me! Then there was the second-wife of my
great-grandfather. 30 years his junior, nonetheless, she instilled a
sense of Japanese peace and tranquility in herself and in their asian
motif house we visited as kids.
Though all these colorful (in appearance and in character) relatives
gave me some hints at the cultures outside my back yard, I still didn’t
feel any sense of what my personal ethnicity or culture was. I became
quite attracted to these foreign cultures early on, taking up a
traditional Japanese martial art at age 10 and studying Japanese
simultaneously. My parents’ bookshelf was well-stocked with James A.
Michener novels painting portraits of far away countries which I was
quick to disappear into. To reinforce my pull towards cultural
differences, it may help to disclose that the first girl to reject my
advances in primary school was a dark-skinned Maori girl originally from
New Zealand. Though this aspect of my relations with the opposite sex
continues to this day, that is a whole other essay!
As I come to the school’s guideline of 500 words, I must get back
what the title of this essay hints at – where I found my Australian
cultural identity. At 15 years old, I traveled to Japan for a 3 month
student exchange. Loving almost every moment of it, I reinforced my
feelings that there was so much culture overseas, but did not yet get a
sense of what my own culture was. This came later, when on the eve of my
20th birthday, I set off on a trip around the world, starting with my
familiar Japan as the first leg. This time, actually needing to work and
“live” in a foreign country, I learnt a lot more about myself,
including, what I believe to be my Australian cultural identity.
Mixing with locals and other expats in Japan, China, Hong Kong and
the Philippines, I came to find definite traits in my fellow
Australians. We generally don’t take ourselves too seriously and are
quick to “take the piss” out of anyone who does themselves. Though I’m a
workaholic, similar to many Aussie mates, I don’t let many things phase
me or stress me out. While this is definitely not true even in all
members of my immediate family, I think it is something we can attribute
to (modern) Australian culture. A good sense of humour also runs
prevalent amongst Aussies at home and abroad, as is being generally down
to earth. I’ve often heard we are nice blokes, too
I should through something negative in to make this more credible and
that would be that we may be perceived as lazy (though I think this is
just how our laid-back style is misinterpreted by those who like to make
themselves appear hard working by running around flustered all day).
There, done it. That’s my Aussie culture story. Rippa!
