Cultural Learning by Travelling
Travel is a good way to avoid cultural shock
“People without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” -Marcus Garvey
As a Hong Konger, I’m fortunate to be able to travel with my parents at a young age.
Earlier, my dad asked me a question, “Why do children below 12 go on holiday?” I said, “Because they are still in preparatory school, the topics they learn at school are not as crucial as those of secondary students. Therefore, they can go out and have fun. However, my dad challenged me with a response but I have already forgotten what he said.
Afterward, upon my reflection, I realized that one reason children should travel with their parents when they’re young is to learn about different cultures and avoid culture shock when studying aboard. Of course, you can argue against my point, but in fact, there’s no right or wrong answer to this question. You can say whatever you want as this is an open question.
When people travel, they often fail to realize the significance of the place they visit. Most tourists simply arrive at a destination, visit popular attractions and go shopping before ending their day. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the approach as it satisfies their needs.
However, if we view travel from a different perspective, we might ask, “Why do we travel?” Sure, one of the reasons we travel is to enjoy life, but the answer is too generic. To be more specific, we travel because we want to learn about the culture of other countries.
Every country has its unique way of life including social behaviour, everyday customs, belief, and other features. Culture serves as a symbol of a country, such as the kimono in Japan, the panda in China, or the Merlion in Singapore. However, one will not fully understand its culture simply by visiting a country. This begs the question: “How can we learn about the culture while travelling?”
For simplicity, we can talk to anyone from a different cultural background while travelling. Getting to know a person is important if we want to learn the culture. It’s not necessary to talk to them directly about a specific topic but we can always find out more about their way of living and experiences. It’s even better if we have friends from a culture completely different from our own. By spending time with them, we can learn more about their customs, beliefs, and habits firsthand.
I’m lucky to have an aunt from Japan. My dad met her husband ages ago while working in Australia, and they became good friends since then. My parents introduced me to the couple, and I met their daughters when they visited my house when I was young. One of the daughters gave me a Snoopy manga, which I can still remember until now.
These days, I don’t talk to them much due to everyone’s busy schedules. During my trip to Japan, I had the opportunity to meet my aunt, but not the rest of the family who were in India. We talked extensively and exchanged cultural insights. For instance, I learnt that both Japan and Hong Kong celebrate Chinese New Year, and the customs are similar. Married couples in both countries and cities give out red packets of money to children during the festivities. However, arranged marriages are more common in Japan, while Hong Kong typically does not have this practice.
Arranged marriage was once a common tradition in Japan, where parents introduced a man and a woman to consider the possibility of marriage. Based on Trends, 70% of marriages were arranged between families in the past. However, less than 10% of marriages are arranged due to the change of attitudes toward relationships. Many men and women see relationships as messy and tiring, according to a report by Wiseman. As a result, the marriage rate in Japan has been declining .in recent years.
Aside from learning about arranged marriage from my aunt during my visit to Tokyo, there are other fascinating cultural aspects of Japan to explore. Although I could discuss them with my aunt, it might be more effective to do research on my own as there is more interesting information available on the internet.
The second cultural aspect I discovered was during an interview with Japan TV outside a popular soba restaurant with my parents. The journalist told us that eating soba on New Year’s Eve is a cultural tradition in Japan. I did some research on the topic afterward and learnt that the dish commonly eaten is called “Toshikoshi soba”(年越し蕎麦), which means “year-passing soba”. It symbolizes the passing of the old year and the coming of the new year. It is often eaten while listening to the bell struck at temples throughout the country.
Learning about different cultures from around the world is fascinating. It can not only broaden our knowledge but also reminds us that we’re living in a multicultural community where we should avoid stereotyping people. We’re all human and should treat each other equally, despite any differences in behavior or background. We should learn to accept one another and seek the positive in our differences. By doing so, a harmonious and tranquilized society will be created.
To conclude, travelling is an incredible way to learn and discover about other cultures. By engaging with people from that culture, we can gain different insights into different cultures, regardless of their background. In my opinion, this is the most effective way to learn from each other and appreciate the world around us.
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