In truth, I've had quiet a sheltered life in that regard.
I've never been on the outside looking in. While I've found things other people do as strange, it was never so foreign to me that my mind could not grasp around the idea of it. Though I have studied the Aztecs and their ritual sacrifice, I never got the chance to see it happen. Though I have been through reservation land, I have never witnessed a Native American ritual. Though I have taken German, and through my teacher I have been exposed to even the most subtle of cultural differences, I have never been to Germany and lived as the Germans do.
I cannot imagine what it must have been like for the Natives when the English came to settle along the coast. What it must have been like for two cultures, sitting on opposite sides of the spectrum, to meet for the first time.
We cannot understand how different we are, until we step outside of ourselves.My mom said that. And isn't that the truth? How I have lived my life so far has kept me from noticing, and appreciating, the idiosyncrasies of my own culture, and how it varies from others.
So now I imagine I am from some jungle tribe, standing at the doors to Somerset Mall in wonder. I see thousands of cars lined up in rows, I see shiny glass and light brick stretched up toward the sky, I see people, shopping bags in one arm, Starbucks in the other. I do not understand it, this magical, confusing sight. People staring at their phones, talking into them when hundreds of people surround them. It is beautiful and terrible. It is awesome and overwhelming.
For the first time I have seen my life from a perspective outside my own, and I do not know whether to be proud, or embarrassed. But I have stepped out of myself, and gained a deeper understanding of my own world from it.
Great post Anya! I loved how you incorporated our own city, and how you as a non-native gazing upon such a marveling sight. Looking forward to your future posts.
ReplyDeleteOne's perspective on a situation can often vary, and without further consideration, this can lead to an eventual marginalization of individuals through the lack of understanding. I like how this provides a poignant illumination of the necessity to unveil the smoke which currently shrouds the political and societal scene.
ReplyDeleteNice post! I really liked how you used a style similar to that of the passage we read in school and related it to the city of Troy. When you look through the lens of an outsider, it really makes you realize how strange our culture truly is.
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