Blog Archives

3/25/2016

Painting a Nation: The world we want vs. The world that is

Read Now

The sun rising over 26 square miles of temples and pagodas in Bagan, Myanmar.

Representing An Entire Nation

"How do they celebrate Christmas in America?" "What's the weather like in America?" "What do you do for fun in America?" "How does this compare to what you see in America?"

These are a few examples of the questions an ETA can expect to be asked on a daily basis. It isn't easy to explain how many different 'Americas' there really are. My roommate is an ETA from Los Angeles, and if we are ever together when we get one of these questions, we're always shocked to learn how different our idea is of what defines the United States. But geographical divides are generally easily explained. The hard-hitting questions come when the answer differs based on things like gender, sexuality, class, race, or religion.

Let me explain:
An example of this is the unfortunate and deep-rooted stigma among general Malaysian society concerning Jews and Judaism. There are many speculations as to why this exists, but the general conclusion among unbiased parties is that an Islam dominated government and media combined with little to no interaction with actual jews has caused biased portrayals of history and conflict, particularly Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to trickle into daily lives. (Sounds a lot like what a Christian-American media has done to Islam, but that's a discussion for another day).

Here's how this effects me:
So there I was, working with a Form 6 (pre-university) class and discussing the diversity of America and how it relates to world events and historical immigration patterns. One of my students caught the word "Chanukah" on my handout, and promptly asked "Mister, but what is Chah-NOO-kuh?" Which I actually know an ignorantly small amount about, so I did my best to explain the representation of the menorah and the course of the long celebration. (Apologies to my Jewish friends. I owe you a little studying time.)

My students all accepted this as a wonderful celebration, and were interested to learn more!
The teacher, however, was not as open to the idea. The following scenario represents the drastic generational divide in Malaysia, and especially this region of Borneo.

Immediately, I became overwhelmed with questions like "Yes, but can you identify a jew?" "Do they look different?" "How do you know if someone is Jewish? Or do they just look white?" "Like, you can tell if someone is white, latino, asian, or black, right? What about jews?"

And then I lied.
I tried to explain that it's impossible to identify someone's religion by merely looking at them (So far, pretty true) and for that matter, accurately guessing someone's race/ethnicity is EXTREMELY difficult... so we just..you know.. don't. (let the lying begin). I explained that there are so many cultures that mix with each other so frequently, that to be concerned with things like race, religion, or other identifiers of people other than yourself, just simply doesn't occur. The unfortunate reality of America is that people rudely ask "What race are you?!" ALL. THE. TIME. But it's an issue we strive everyday to work towards eliminating. To live in a world of equality where race, ethnicity, and religion, is not at the forefront of everyone's minds in their daily workings is the uphill battle America has been fighting for years.
But here I am. In a nation where race and ethnic identity is printed next to your name on your Identification Card, painting the United States of America has a nation where nobody asks about it because it's wouldn't change our opinion of anyone anyway. "We try to understand your personality, heart, and character first. Whatever race or religion you happen to be is just fine by us!" I said confidently. Of course, I wasn't going to sit there and pretend like the USA is some utopian society where we drink rainbows and bathe in flowers. "Obviously, not everyone feels this way. Many people still categorize based on these factors, but it's something we view as wrong and our goal is to have equality. Americans are fighting for equality everyday. It's not a perfect world and discrimination certainly exists, but we're trying. At least, these are my views about it all." (PRO-TIP: That's the important part of representing literally millions of people; 'These are my thoughts, but maybe not everyone's')

One student spoke up: "That's great. But aren't the black people being shot by white police officers all the time for doing nothing wrong?"

This was me:

I don't own a paintbrush big enough to paint a pretty picture of America after this question.
"Yes. Police brutality is a hot-button issue right now back in the United States. There are a lot of people with many different opinions on the problem and how it should be fixed. But that's a problem too big for the amount of time left in class today. Let's talk more about that after class!" and then I shamefully moved on to other parts of the lesson, passing this opportunity to have fruitful discussion about race relations.
The student did ask more about it after class though. We spoke about it more later. Even though I knew I'd be doing quite a bit of 'American Diplomacy" during my time with Fulbright, these were conversations I wasn't prepared for, but am glad are happening.

From Classroom to Hotel Room:
Painting for Tourists

March Break! One week off from school to do as I pleased. Myself and 3 other ETAs took the time to spend 7 days in Myanmar (Burma), and boy was it a wonderful experience.

A small rundown of our trip went something like:
2 days in Bagan - 26 square miles of Beautiful temples and pagodas with jaw-dropping views.
2 day in Kalaw - a beautiful, cool mountain town with lots of trekking and outdoor adventures
2 days in Inle Lake - a large lake surrounded by a variety of villages known for fishing, 'long-necked ladies', blacksmiths, and the one legged boat rowers!
1 day in Yangon - a large city rich in history and culture

Never before have I taken a vacation to a new country with limited time to visit, and we had a heck of a time! The country hasn't been open for tourism for more than 4 or 5 years, so the authenticity of the culture remains very true.

Kuching is Sarawak's capital, about 30minutes from my town. People can all view the same place very differently!

However, I couldn't help but feel a small amount of traveller's guilt. Somewhere hidden deep within the social constructs of a society lies a line where tourism transforms into cultural leeching.
The highlight of our trip to Myanmar, for me, was being in Bagan. Bagan is an amazing place, rich with spirituality and culture. But two instances really weighed heavily on my heart:

At an eatery nearby a popular temple, we were having lunch, when a tourist couple enters. After asking the local workers to pose for his pictures, giving commands like "you crouch behind her" "Aren't you happy? Smile!" and physically moving and placing the child, who clearly didn't understand English, as though he were a clay doll meant to be molded for this photo, one of them asks "Don't you speak English?" and after a reluctant "no" they replied with, "Oh. Study more." This was capped off by the couple then paying the child a small amount of money to fan them with a large leaf while they ate lunch.
As my fellow Fulbright ETAs and I relax, watching the sunset over the red and orange dusty soils of Myanmar, I noticed a group of tourists with expensive cameras, quite literally chasing a farmer and his oxen across a field as they looked for a place green enough to graze.

My friends and I were confused and outraged by some of these behaviors. But perhaps the most I've ever learned about being a foreigner, particularly a foreigner who is fits the categorization of the global power majority, was when my friend looks at me and says, "I was thinking, what separates us from them?"

Here we are. Americans. Lucky enough to have been born in a country with strong currency and to have been afforded the opportunity to see the world. We are in the community people who are working their tails off to paint their country in a way that's appealing to us, the tourists.

Now by no means do I intend to criminalize tourism, tourists, travel, or perpetuate ideas of majority-guilt. But it's important to be culturally sensitive while a guest on other people's lands. Travel is good. Tourism boosts economies. Hospitality is the core of many cultures. And there is no education like that of simply meeting new people. But when does cultural experiences and cultural sharing cross into a sort of cultural voyeurism?

People love to paint images of their country for others to come and see. But like most amazing paintings; Just look and enjoy! Don't alter, destroy or attempt to duplicate without permission.

And with that, here's some of the murals in Myanmar I was able to (try to) capture:
(heads up - there's a real lack of the most beautiful moments from the trip because either my phone was dead, or it was too amazing to take my eyes off of for long enough to look at through a phone. So much beauty!)

Popular for tourists to get up early to climb the large temples for beautiful sunrises

Images of Buddha were not only the focal point of every temple and pagoda, but also used to casually decorate every wall, nook, and cranny

Treats 'n' snoozin' | Snoozin' 'n' treats (Buddhist monastery - Inle Lake)

We biked from Kalaw to Inle Lake. Sun burt, dehydrated, and sore. But so happy!

"I want to watch the sunset from on top of that mountain" "Yea, me too." "Ok, let's go."

"Please please! Take their picture. Go ahead. Take one, take one." "Oh? Ok, sure." The 'long-necked ladies' working intricate looms

0 Comments

3/9/2016

Keep Your Head Above Water

0 Comments

Read Now

Despite severe flooding, this temple and the many others continued to host celebrations for Chinese New Year. (This temple is usually over dry land, but this is why it's on stilts.)

You might need a boat

Seriously, there's a lot of water.

Since I arrived on my first day, my fellow teachers at SMK Bau have been telling me about the annual flooding of the school. "It's rainy season. I hope you have an umbrella and are prepared to swim to the class!"

I thought they were joking.

A truck stranded in the flood near SMK Bau

Where the road goes underwater. Also the entry point for boats taking supplies to the kids that are living in the school hostel. If you look REALLY closely, you'll see our school nestled in the back. The school sits lower than where I was standing, so the first floor is underwater.

There's a fence and a volleyball net under there somewhere.

The water was deep enough to use a boat with an engine for emergency workers to get back and forth to the school.

Despite the incredible and often devastating amount of water, the community was amazingly positive and supportive of one another. This year, the flooding happened during the Chinese New Year celebration, so the school was already not having any classes for one week. Luckily, the flood subsided before classes resumed, and life was able to carry on as normal.

Swim A Little Harder

"I need to learn Bahasa Malaysia, and I need to learn it fast!" I told my form 6 students during class this past week.

Form 6 is the highest level of pre-university classes in the Malaysian Public School System. They're usually 18 or 19 years old. We were having discussion on the importance of traveling, learning languages, and cultural sensitivity when I confessed my ignorance of learning the national language, Bahasa Malaysia (BM), and how I totally was taking advantage of the fact that almost everyone I meet can speak enough English for me to get by. But I also confessed that not knowing BM has often left me confused, feeling stupid, and learning cultural differences more slowly that I would have liked. Our teaching staff is always willing to help me, and it's wonderful. But I try to avoid being a nuisance by asking questions like "Is there an assembly today?" "What is the exam schedule?" and "What are my students trying to tell me?" on a daily basis. The answers to these questions are written and available all around me! Time to crack down on learning BM so I can be responsible for myself, am I right?

Amidst personal confusion of school scheduling and navigating teacher relationships, I keep forgetting that I'm living in a country I've never been in before and working a job that I've never held before. Cultural adjustment takes time and so does learning the ropes of a new workplace. This includes life's simplest things like getting a hair cut, going to the grocery store, or knowing when the staff meeting is. (By the way, got my hair cut by one of my form 5 students. And I look FRESHHHHH. Like a famous Malaysian soccer star. I should learn soccer so I can live up to my image.)

My point in the above being twofold: One, that it's important to be putting forth a strong effort in adapting to the culture of which one is immersed; And two, that the best effort isn't always going to mean immediate success. It's okay to make mistakes! Learning takes time, and we're all only human. As long as I'm making my best effort, what more can I expect from myself?

The Year of the Red Fire Monkey

It's the year of the Red Fire Monkey. And apparently that's me! Chinese immigrants and Malaysians with Chinese heritage exist in large numbers in Malaysia, particularly here in Sarawak. They're proud of their heritage, and boy do they know how to have a festival! Chinese New Year is 15 days long. The beginning is celebrated with the tradition of "Open Houses" where people float between homes of friends and families and basically party hop. Many young Chinese people, especially those who aren't married, receive "ang pao" which is a Red Envelope filled with money and a little good luck ;) I got one with chocolate in it. That was nice. And on the 15th day, the celebrations are closed with Fireworks and parades in a festival known as Chap Goh Mei. Though Chap Goh Mei seems to have foundations in a sort of "Chinese Valentines Day" where those who are single are hoping for love, I mostly experienced good food, fancy lights, and beautiful dragons.

The Tide Will Recede

No matter how much it floods, or how hard you have to swim, the tide will eventually recede and the flood will be released.

When that happens, it's time to take in some of the beautiful sites offered by Sarawak and the island of Borneo.