Travels in America Latina

so that you can add comments, i have changed my blog to http://shonainelsalvador.wordpress.com.

It is hard to define my culture "as a Canadian" without relying on stereotypes that reflect a dominant (and usually very inaccurate and misrepresentative) view of what it means to be Canadian. I don't want to perpetuate the myth of Canadian culture as defined by Tim Hortons and Molson beer ads. i.e. likes hockey, beer, is usually friendly and relaxed, has a beard, etc. etc. (Although when corporations tell us what our culture is, it tells us a lot about the way we work!) Still, these definitions ignore the culture of these who originally settled "Canada" (First Nations groups), and many diasporic and settler groups who have since brought their cultural influences. (i.e. Africville, Nova Scotia and other Black communities, Chinatown, Quebec, French communities elsewhere, etc.) The most dominant settler group, British or some sort of Anglo-European mix, is what I belong to, or at least have been assimilated into.

But without making this a long sociological rant, I just want to define how my culture is different from those in other parts of the world. I might be talking a bit more about the "surface" cultures because it seems to be a reflection of "deep" culture. I think the iceberg diagram is great, but I don't know if it did such a good job interconnecting these things.. at least the way I see it. Anyways, for example, the food I ate growing up was like Kraft Dinner and Pizza Hut. These are not dishes, or recipes, they're brand names. But it's all the same where I'm coming from. Here's another thing with all these "cultural dishes" - they're really fast and easy to make. Both my parents work full-time so everything's rushed, and family isn't as important as it might be in other cultures. Work is prioritized and family is usually secondary if there is time for it at all. Interdependency is seen more as freeloading in what should be a competitive environment. I also have lived in one of the most diverse cities in the world, so there are a lot of cultures I have been influenced by. It's sort of a daunting task to explain that one, but I think most predominantly, as a kid, I was so into taekwondo, I spent more time practicing and travelling with korean and vietnamese coaches and teammates than my own parents. That sport is built on very strong, traditional Korean values and morals like discipline and collectivism. I think experiences like this have challenged my "ethnically prescribed" culture. Also, I have always been sort of "counter-culture", so I don't really see this culture as a reflection of me, but no doubt it has affected me in my everyday interactions, how I see the world, and how I am critical of it.

This is my travel itinerary:

May 19th-June 3rd: Attending Spanish School
June 3rd-August 31st: Teaching at English School