In divide by two the way i see it, is more a division in the personality of the couple than anything else. It seems like they have conflicting attitudes which is far different from the typical, or in a sense ideal woman (LOL) from the earlier stories in which there is a sense of oneness of harmony between characters. In the bread of salt story, i feel that the boy is the individualist one, and that he tends to think of what to do and how to do it, how to accomplish etc. Like since he likes that girl, he figures out ways to try and swoon her. I also noticed that the role of the grandmother disappeared very early in the story, and i sense that the story is centered around an individual(the boy) rather than the boys family.
I actually don't really know what culture that I will pertain to here, since I'm so heavily mixed. I'll stick with my mom's chinese side. I guess we are still predominantly collective. We all give respect to each other and we still "move" as one, always thinking of other family members before ourselves and even in my grandfather's business ventures, he puts a great emphasis on the company as a whole and not just individual workers. Apart from that whenever our family gatherings my family is always en masse much in contrast once again to my more western father side. I personally think that we are still a collective culture, evidence of this are in the form of our family gatherings(like our rituals during these times, i forgot the exact name)and our attitude towards consequences and stuff like that. Actually it can't really be helped because my grandparents are very traditional.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
2nd blog entry: How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife / The Mats
2. Compare and contrast the dynamics or relations between families then and now, or between families of different cultures.
From what i read and understood. One element that i see that is in both stories is that Filipinos are very family oriented. This i guess is the biggest and most evident element of Asian culture and not ONLY filipino culture(of course, to the resentment of filipinos). Details put aside, my father's side of the family starting with my dad and his sisters are all Eurasians, that obviously making all his/their offsprings me included eurasians as well, 7 of my cousins are caucasian and we all grew up in a hot-pot culture of a family, my moms side doesnt get that much simpler either, starting with my grandmother, chinese blood is present, thus making my mom and her brothers yet another mixture of cultures. I lived in Singapore for a while and made good friends (them being chinese), being invited and such to their families, I too have noticed how the chinese treat families and guests. Much in contrast to my european side, though make no mistake europeans are very family-oriented as well, not just as tightly knit as the asians or filipinos in the stories' cases. I wouldn't really know if filipinos still retain such family closeness and bondings but i am fully aware that the chinese are still very much into it. Most festivities in the Lunar calendar are mostly for ancestors and departed love ones and even for the living relatives, they make it an effort to keep in touch with one another and such.Even for my korean friends, family is one aspect that even in a fast-paced society such as Korea, is one that will never disappear, for it seems to be engrained in the very foundation of their culture. For my eurasian side, I feel it is a great event, because everytime we have a gathering in my father's side, it is a harmonious mix of cultures, ranging from japanese, spanish, italian, dutch and of course filipino. We usually adhere to the Philippine setting, but my relatives all get along and spend a whole day just talking, while i play with my cousins and such.
Eurasian culture "best of both worlds":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasians_in_Singapore
Korean annual festival of thanksgiving "Chuseok":
http://2worlds1family.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/%EC%B6%94%EC%84%9D-chuseok-korean-thanksgiving
From what i read and understood. One element that i see that is in both stories is that Filipinos are very family oriented. This i guess is the biggest and most evident element of Asian culture and not ONLY filipino culture(of course, to the resentment of filipinos). Details put aside, my father's side of the family starting with my dad and his sisters are all Eurasians, that obviously making all his/their offsprings me included eurasians as well, 7 of my cousins are caucasian and we all grew up in a hot-pot culture of a family, my moms side doesnt get that much simpler either, starting with my grandmother, chinese blood is present, thus making my mom and her brothers yet another mixture of cultures. I lived in Singapore for a while and made good friends (them being chinese), being invited and such to their families, I too have noticed how the chinese treat families and guests. Much in contrast to my european side, though make no mistake europeans are very family-oriented as well, not just as tightly knit as the asians or filipinos in the stories' cases. I wouldn't really know if filipinos still retain such family closeness and bondings but i am fully aware that the chinese are still very much into it. Most festivities in the Lunar calendar are mostly for ancestors and departed love ones and even for the living relatives, they make it an effort to keep in touch with one another and such.Even for my korean friends, family is one aspect that even in a fast-paced society such as Korea, is one that will never disappear, for it seems to be engrained in the very foundation of their culture. For my eurasian side, I feel it is a great event, because everytime we have a gathering in my father's side, it is a harmonious mix of cultures, ranging from japanese, spanish, italian, dutch and of course filipino. We usually adhere to the Philippine setting, but my relatives all get along and spend a whole day just talking, while i play with my cousins and such.
Eurasian culture "best of both worlds":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasians_in_Singapore
Korean annual festival of thanksgiving "Chuseok":
http://2worlds1family.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/%EC%B6%94%EC%84%9D-chuseok-korean-thanksgiving
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