Your Cultural Heritage + YOU

[Cloudpatrol]

Both sides of my family are Cuban with Spanish ancestry. Cuba people are so mixed though that I'm sure there's some percentage of African and Native background as well.
Very passionate, proudful people (similar to Italians). Love of food, dance, family traditions.

Love Cuba and it's culture! Bet there are some really neat stories in your history

I got FASCINATED by Cuba after watching this video on the link between practical seduction/dancing etc in Cuban culture.

I am 75% Mexican which im sure it includes some indiginus blood as well other than Aztec and Spaniards. I don't know my biological dad side of the family at all. All I know is he from Mexico.
25% German, English, Irish, maybe Swedish, Native American and still learning about my mom European side of the family as well.

My mom was born and raised in the US. As my step dad was born and raised in Mexico. I felt like I was raised in two different cultures. My mom was more wanting us to be independent, responsible and be able to make our own decisions. Where my step dad was more wants us to work hard all the time, make alot of money, and have an attitude of it the women responsiblity to cooks, be submissive, takes care of everything else and work, while the men works (honestly I clashed quite a bit with how my dad wanted us to be raised).

I do not look hispanic at all. but Ive been told that my body looks more German but my height is Mexican lol. and my athletic side came from the German blood. I really hope I can travel to Germany soon. It be great to learn about the German culture as Im pretty unfamiliar with there background.
For the spanish side. My likes of bright colors and being more family oriented came from the spanish culture my mom would tell me. visiting several latin countries within the last few years has changed me alot in a good way and it was great to learn about my spanish side.

Hope you can get out to Germany! Would be great to know both sides more intimately. I really enjoy experiencing Latin culture also


[MENTION=13849]Kye[/MENTION]uui There are so many great TypeC peeps in Texas. Hollah!

The kolaches sound amazing. I appreciated your thoughts on America offering opportunity. Travel really brings that HOME (pun intended, wink).

 

[1487610420]

Love Cuba and it's culture! Bet there are some really neat stories in your history

I got FASCINATED by Cuba after watching this video on the link between practical seduction/dancing etc in Cuban culture.

Hope you can get out to Germany! Would be great to know both sides more intimately. I really enjoy experiencing Latin culture also

got fascin8 by dem garments

 

[Taratango]

My mother is Thai and Japanese who was born and raised in Thailand.
My father is Malaysian and Chinese who was born and raised in Malaysia (my dad's side has a little bit of Indian heritage too, but I'm not sure if it can be counted).
Both my parents came to Australia in their teenage years. I was born and raised in Australia

Apart from Aussie culture, I would say I am more connected to the Malaysian and Thai culture. My Chinese ancestors came to Malaysian four generations ago, and my mother is a second generation half-Japanese in Thailand (so even my parents feel detached from their other half) .

The main influences I can think of right now include:

Identity and values:
One of the main advantages of having a mixed ethnic background is that it makes it easier for one to be open minded and progressive (I've always hated gender roles, racial stereotypes, homophobia etc). It makes one view people as individuals, and not an extension of their ethnic and genetic make up.
However, having many different backgrounds made me more detached to each culture and tradition I was connected to. It made it easier to forget each one, it was harder to identify with something and decide where I truly belong (because neither side fully accepted the other). I guess it made it easier for me to identify as Australian and feel more connected to the Australian culture because it was the main influence that remained constant. Australia is also a country of immigrants, so there are many cultures mixed into it and the "melting-pot" vibe of my community was something I could relate to.

Religious views:
It probably made me realise my atheism a lot quicker (though, I'm sure I would've ditched religion eventually even if I wasn't of mixed heritage). My father was raised in a Muslim country (though half of his family is Hindu and buddhist), my mother was raised in a Buddhist country (though half her family is Shinto)... and I was put in a Catholic convent school for 6 years. Being exposed to so many religions at a young age prevented me from the potential of being so heavily influenced by one religion and thus, making it easier to focus on what was solid and not follow something blindly.

Passion for language and culture:
Being exposed to many different cultures and languages growing up sparked my deep passion for learning about different cultures and my aspiration to be a polyglot in the future.
My father can speak English, Bahasa Malayu, Tamil, Cantonese and Hokkien. My mother can speak English, Thai, Theochew and some Japanese. I grew up monolingual for the most part, as the medium language at home was English (due to it being the only common language between my parents) and is also the only main language in Australia. But as soon as the opportunity to learn any language arose, I would grab it straight away. I would try to pick up any Thai or Malay I heard when I visited those respective countries, I also had the opportunity to learn French in primary and high school and Mandarin in high school. I now learn Japanese at university.
I also love travelling. I hope to travel and spend some time across many different continents one day (if I have the cash that is T.T poor uni student here)

Creative writing:
It has also been my inspiration for a few of my pieces (they're still in progress)
https://www.wattpad.com/story/35987937-dreams-that-could-be
https://www.wattpad.com/story/35991584-may-13th
https://www.wattpad.com/story/11140259-battle-for-australia

 

[Cloudpatrol]

My mother is Thai and Japanese who was born and raised in Thailand.
My father is Malaysian and Chinese who was born and raised in Malaysia (my dad's side has a little bit of Indian heritage too, but I'm not sure if it can be counted).
Both my parents came to Australia in their teenage years. I was born and raised in Australia

Apart from Aussie culture, I would say I am more connected to the Malaysian and Thai culture. My Chinese ancestors came to Malaysian four generations ago, and my mother is a second generation half-Japanese in Thailand (so even my parents feel detached from their other half) .

The main influences I can think of right now include:

Identity and values:
One of the main advantages of having a mixed ethnic background is that it makes it easier for one to be open minded and progressive (I've always hated gender roles, racial stereotypes, homophobia etc). It makes one view people as individuals, and not an extension of their ethnic and genetic make up.
However, having many different backgrounds made me more detached to each culture and tradition I was connected to. It made it easier to forget each one, it was harder to identify with something and decide where I truly belong (because neither side fully accepted the other). I guess it made it easier for me to identify as Australian and feel more connected to the Australian culture because it was the main influence that remained constant. Australia is also a country of immigrants, so there are many cultures mixed into it and the "melting-pot" vibe of my community was something I could relate to.

Religious views:
It probably made me realise my atheism a lot quicker (though, I'm sure I would've ditched religion eventually even if I wasn't of mixed heritage). My father was raised in a Muslim country (though half of his family is Hindu and buddhist), my mother was raised in a Buddhist country (though half her family is Shinto)... and I was put in a Catholic convent school for 6 years. Being exposed to so many religions at a young age prevented me from the potential of being so heavily influenced by one religion and thus, making it easier to focus on what was solid and not follow something blindly.

Passion for language and culture:
Being exposed to many different cultures and languages growing up sparked my deep passion for learning about different cultures and my aspiration to be a polyglot in the future.
My father can speak English, Bahasa Malayu, Tamil, Cantonese and Hokkien. My mother can speak English, Thai, Theochew and some Japanese. I grew up monolingual for the most part, as the medium language at home was English (due to it being the only common language between my parents) and is also the only main language in Australia. But as soon as the opportunity to learn any language arose, I would grab it straight away. I would try to pick up any Thai or Malay I heard when I visited those respective countries, I also had the opportunity to learn French in primary and high school and Mandarin in high school. I now learn Japanese at university.
I also love travelling. I hope to travel and spend some time across many different continents one day (if I have the cash that is T.T poor uni student here)

Creative writing:
It has also been my inspiration for a few of my pieces (they're still in progress)
https://www.wattpad.com/story/35987937-dreams-that-could-be
https://www.wattpad.com/story/35991584-may-13th
https://www.wattpad.com/story/11140259-battle-for-australia

Fan of your abilities and ambitions. I have a good friend who is Malay and I really enjoy when they tell me about the economy structure and dynamics there. I also like the home-cooking.

I appreciated your perspective on being open-minded while detached. Also the thoughts about how your religious view was shaped by the disparity of beliefs available.

Your stories are heavy on the feelz. Actually that is too casual of an expression for the depth and scope of your work. The first two pieces were very moving. I felt myself having strong reactions to both for different reasons. I enjoy the location-focused themes of the two final pieces. Hopefully will be able to read more from you.

Thanks so much for participating here. You are RICH with culture heritage and influence

 

[SD45T-2]

I'm pretty much a generic white guy.

 

[Lark]

Do liberals have a heritage?

In most of their campaigning it seems like something to be ashamed of and disown.

 

[Betty Blue]

As far as I know it's mainly British, poss some Russian from my grandfather but he was out of the picture before i was born so it's a little mysterious and unclear. I have a little olive in my skin though. I think it' possible, given a family name which goes back (so far traced) to the 1600's which is recurring through the female line and was first introduced into Britain by the Romans, that there is some Italian/Roman blood. Tracking our lines back for hundreds of years mainly just brings up British, probably related to a royal or two.

Culturally I was raised in a pretty out there liberal environment, so I suppose I have some of that mixed in with some lesser amount of western institutionalism.

 

[Cloudpatrol]

I'm pretty much a generic white guy.

Are you REALLY white? I check the 'white' box but am really more peaches and cream to be honest...

 

[Cloudpatrol]

As far as I know it's mainly British, poss some Russian from my grandfather but he was out of the picture before i was born so it's a little mysterious and unclear. I have a little olive in my skin though. I think it' possible, given a family name which goes back (so far traced) to the 1600's which is recurring through the female line and was first introduced into Britain by the Romans, that there is some Italian/Roman blood. Tracking our lines back for hundreds of years mainly just brings up British, probably related to a royal or two.

Culturally I was raised in a pretty out there liberal environment, so I suppose I have some of that mixed in with some lesser amount of western institutionalism.

Mmmm, I love the olive skin tones. Amazing that it persists in the FEMALE line. Wonder why that is?

I sometimes joke I am 82,453 in line to the throne. Because aren't we all?

 

[Coriolis]

Are you REALLY white? I check the 'white' box but am really more peaches and cream to be honest...

When I was really small I used to think we - my family and people like us - weren't white (we are). White folks were some other people elsewhere whose skin was pure white, like the color of standard copy paper. My father's family is of Italian descent, so more olive complexion, which probably contributed to this misconception.

 

[SD45T-2]

Are you REALLY white? I check the 'white' box but am really more peaches and cream to be honest...

More or less. English and French on one side, Finnish and Irish on the other.

 

[Mole]

The first thing is to learn what is our own cultural heritage. This can take decades. The next thing is to apply critical thinking to our own cultural heritage. And the third thing is to add something new to our own cultural heritage for future generations.

But most of us don't even get to first base, never mind hit a home run. We are seduced by the worst in our culture and ignore the best.

 

[chickpea]

25% British
25% German
25% Belarusian Jew
25% somewhere else in Eastern Europe Jew idk probably Russia

I really never felt that connected to my culture in any significant ways. being a Jew in an area with very few Jewish kids was strange and caused me to identify with that more. but I've never been a practicing Jew or part of any Jewish culture in my life. I credit my Jewish side for my sense of humor though because my mom isn't funny at all lol.

I did my family tree a while back and it was pretty interesting. on the British side I was able to find relatives dating back to the 1200s. Jewish side could barely find anything.

 

[Thalassa]

I'm Alpine German (the sort Hitler found less desirable, apparently like him?), Scots-Irish, and Native American (Cherokee, Shawnee).

I grew up in West Virginia so this affected me by a simple earthy early childhood. I grew up barefoot and close to the land, and this is probably due to the Native American side, my grandfather was really connected to the earth and animals and it really seemed to affect him when he wasn't. He taught me names of birds, things city children don't learn. He was quiet and obstinate.

My mother was social and beautiful, and I think took after my grandmother. Happy and free spirited.

I love the sea (Thalassa, hello) and my entire family loves the ocean. This is probably the Scots-Irish. My family eats a lot of seafood, it was hardest for me to transition from as vegetarian, and my grandfather and uncle were Navy, and the beach is my mother's dream place, and I love water and have been able to swim since I was a child.

The German side makes me harsh, precise and that sort of thing. In my family it physically showed up in the order of my home growing up, like SJ on acid, friends in high school said my home reminded them of a hotel.

But the 80s. I feel like my collective unconscious is the American 80s.

Also, I'm from the South, and that also makes me land loving and obstinate.

 

[Cloudpatrol]

25% British
25% German
25% Belarusian Jew
25% somewhere else in Eastern Europe Jew idk probably Russia

I really never felt that connected to my culture in any significant ways. being a Jew in an area with very few Jewish kids was strange and caused me to identify with that more. but I've never been a practicing Jew or part of any Jewish culture in my life. I credit my Jewish side for my sense of humor though because my mom isn't funny at all lol.

I did my family tree a while back and it was pretty interesting. on the British side I was able to find relatives dating back to the 1200s. Jewish side could barely find anything.

Neat. I had the opposite experience. In grade 4 I went to a Jewish School (but am not Jewish). I only left because we moved, and I was heartbroken. It was the BEST experience. I still love the food and when I go to heavily Jewish populated regions in Montreal...I feel at home. I "get" the funny you inherited

I wonder why you couldn't find records for the Jewish side - the story behind... That is amazing that you could go back to the 1200's. Did you do the family tree for school or just based on your own desire?

 

[Cloudpatrol]

When I was really small I used to think we - my family and people like us - weren't white (we are). White folks were some other people elsewhere whose skin was pure white, like the color of standard copy paper. My father's family is of Italian descent, so more olive complexion, which probably contributed to this misconception.

I thought the same. That white meant just that and I didn't qualify Do you cook Italian food? Olive complexion skin is so beautiful!

 

[Cloudpatrol]

I'm Alpine German (the sort Hitler found less desirable, apparently like him?), Scots-Irish, and Native American (Cherokee, Shawnee).

I grew up in West Virginia so this affected me by a simple earthy early childhood. I grew up barefoot and close to the land, and this is probably due to the Native American side, my grandfather was really connected to the earth and animals and it really seemed to affect him when he wasn't. He taught me names of birds, things city children don't learn. He was quiet and obstinate.

My mother was social and beautiful, and I think took after my grandmother. Happy and free spirited.

I love the sea (Thalassa, hello) and my entire family loves the ocean. This is probably the Scots-Irish. My family eats a lot of seafood, it was hardest for me to transition from as vegetarian, and my grandfather and uncle were Navy, and the beach is my mother's dream place, and I love water and have been able to swim since I was a child.

The German side makes me harsh, precise and that sort of thing. In my family it physically showed up in the order of my home growing up, like SJ on acid, friends in high school said my home reminded them of a hotel.

But the 80s. I feel like my collective unconscious is the American 80s.

Also, I'm from the South, and that also makes me land loving and obstinate.

Oh, I love everything about this.

What a heritage - the Cherokee have always intrigued me. I think I would have loved your Grandfather. I like old, curmudgeon men in general, but his love for the earth is so compelling also.

Do you know how your Grandfather and Grandmother met?

I share your love for water. I grew up on a freshwater lake and live near the ocean now. It's so important for parent's to teach children to swim!

What an interesting thought about South=land loving. I hadn't thought of that before but it makes sense as soon as one hears it

 

[Thalassa]

Oh, I love everything about this.

What a heritage - the Cherokee have always intrigued me. I think I would have loved your Grandfather. I like old, curmudgeon men in general, but his love for the earth is so compelling also.

Do you know how your Grandfather and Grandmother met?

I share your love for water. I grew up on a freshwater lake and live near the ocean now. It's so important for parent's to teach children to swim!

What an interesting thought about South=land loving. I hadn't thought of that before but it makes sense as soon as one hears it

Oh thank you. How nice to meet a friend.

I know my grandmother and her sister were wild for 40s-50s women, my grandfather bragged about that, and my mom said her mother was so open minded, and liked to sing...and you can very much see this in my mother and us.. my grandfather found her very beautiful. She also loved cats, my mom keeps this huge picture of my grandmother at 18-25 holding this fluffy gray cat, this tinted sepia photo. I honestly don't know exactly how they met.

Yes though my grandfather was a curmudgeon, he loved to read and educate others, but he also grew all his own vegetables, planted trees, made grape jelly from his own grapes, we lived in a house that he and my uncle built, I only realized late that I had started to become him after 30, wanting to DIY and I always liked nature, but to actually cultivate and protect it.

He was lovely. Gave me a penchant for mysterious men, but also quietly affectionate men. I always tried to read his feelings, at least until I was 12-14. I think it shaped my personality.

Yes Southern people are very land loving. There's a theory that the Scots-Irish permeated the South, and saw land as primary wealth, which affected the Civil War and even current politics in terms of Southern people and conservative values about land. I'm not necessarily this way, but I see a strong need to protect it, and my sister is very intent on buying property, "even if it's for my family to lay down together and die."

 

[Cloudpatrol]

Oh thank you. How nice to meet a friend.

I know my grandmother and her sister were wild for 40s-50s women, my grandfather bragged about that, and my mom said her mother was so open minded, and liked to sing...and you can very much see this in my mother and us.. my grandfather found her very beautiful. She also loved cats, my mom keeps this huge picture of my grandmother at 18-25 holding this fluffy gray cat, this tinted sepia photo. I honestly don't know exactly how they met.

Yes though my grandfather was a curmudgeon, he loved to read and educate others, but he also grew all his own vegetables, planted trees, made grape jelly from his own grapes, we lived in a house that he and my uncle built, I only realized late that I had started to become him after 30, wanting to DIY and I always liked nature, but to actually cultivate and protect it.

He was lovely. Gave me a penchant for mysterious men, but also quietly affectionate men. I always tried to read his feelings, at least until I was 12-14. I think it shaped my personality.

Yes Southern people are very land loving. There's a theory that the Scots-Irish permeated the South, and saw land as primary wealth, which affected the Civil War and even current politics in terms of Southern people and conservative values about land. I'm not necessarily this way, but I see a strong need to protect it, and my sister is very intent on buying property, "even if it's for my family to lay down together and die."

All of this is so great. I can just imagine us sitting over bowls of soup or with a cup of tea and you regaling me with tales of your family

So, do YOU like singing and cats?

He was lovely. Gave me a penchant for mysterious men, but also quietly affectionate men. I always tried to read his feelings, at least until I was 12-14. I think it shaped my personality.

What a great self-observation. Isn't it remarkable how adults affect us, as children? I am mindful of that when I have the privilege of being an important part of a child's life. I tend to talk to kids the same way I talk to other adults

Self-sufficiency through gardening is a great thing!

and my sister is very intent on buying property, "even if it's for my family to lay down together and die."

She sounds like a character! (smile)

Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[Thalassa]

All of this is so great. I can just imagine us sitting over bowls of soup or with a cup of tea and you regaling me with tales of your family

So, do YOU like singing and cats?



What a great self-observation. Isn't it remarkable how adults affect us, as children? I am mindful of that when I have the privilege of being an important part of a child's life. I tend to talk to kids the same way I talk to other adults

Self-sufficiency through gardening is a great thing!



She sounds like a character! (smile)

Thanks so much for sharing!

Yes! I would love to talk with you. And yes, I have sang, in church, from seven years old, love pop music from childhood, and singing is my musical talent which trumps my piano playing *the skill my father wanted me to have above, all else*

I'm also a huge, unapologetic cat lover, seems you are too!

Yes, affecting children is an important experience. I am always mindful when talking to neices, or nephews, and I also tend to talk to children the way I talk to other adults ...and consider my 18 year old nephew who is the product of a teen pregnancy an excellent model of a human being. I love him so much, and an so proud of how we collectively raised him to be a gentleman despite his troubled mother.

My grandfather is similar. I endlessly have the sensation of having a Victorian arm in arm walk with my grandparents until around age 15. I don't blame them for anything past that.

My sister is actually very smart, she's a little conspiracy but I love her awareness, especially now that she has a son.