World-made Culture

24. Monoculture or TCK Marriage

I just got back from an academic retreat with my peers. Nerdy, but it was good all the same (: We talked late into the night about school politics, cultural backgrounds, christianity, stereotypes, labels and, of course, the future. Though only a few “ethnicities” were present we represented a smattering of cultural backgrounds from all over Asia, the States, Africa and the mix we have all gotten attending our international school. We got on the topic of marriage and who we would be willing to marry. One guy adamantly stated that he couldn’t marry a monoculture girl, particularly from his ethnicity because of the expectations to fit the cultural norm of his ethnicity. I completely agree. Although I don’t view “white” as an ethnicity… (Ethnicity has so much culture packed into it that I regret checking “white” as my ethnicity. There’s SO FREAKING MUCH MORE than the colour of someone’s skin. Grow up people.) I do recognize the fact that I am a citizen of the US, but I also recognize the fact that I will not be able to marry a guy who has only been exposed to one country (and culture). I need to marry a TCK. It’s been observed that TCKs get along better with other TCKs because they have learned in their cultural shaping that they must accept others as they are. I need that. I need someone to accept my random outbursts in other languages, my desire to travel around the world and try new cultures and foods. I need someone that will not be offended when I am not entirely accepting of my birth country, but will keep me in check (in terms of being culturally sensitive). I need someone who understands the importance of reaching out to others in order to bring different cultures together in order to better understand each other. I completely agree with my friend… I need a TCK.

(Source: whumfy, via uncdan)

thepoliticalnotebook:

Picture of the Day: Banks of the Bagmati River, Katmandu, Nepal. A young boy stands amidst the wreckage of his slum home, which was demolished along with many others, leaving many poor slum-dwellers homeless.
Credit: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters. Via.
View more Picture of the Day posts. Submit a photo.

thepoliticalnotebook:

Picture of the Day: Banks of the Bagmati River, Katmandu, Nepal. A young boy stands amidst the wreckage of his slum home, which was demolished along with many others, leaving many poor slum-dwellers homeless.

Credit: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters. Via.

View more Picture of the Day posts. Submit a photo.

myfitness-app:

myfitness-app:

(Source: invisible, via whimsicalmela)

(via in-the-gutter-gazing-at-stars)

(Source: bluprint, via whimsicalmela)

(Source: theohpioneer, via skyaboveclouds)

(Source: , via bordersandhorizons)

(via iamatck)

uncdan:

icecreamscooper:

Political cartoon

American, particularly neo-conservative, thinking once thought that all you had to do was depose the dictator, hold elections, and people would sort themselves out. But it takes a lot to make a democracy work. It depends on so many other factors which have to exist before you can really expect success in a democratic system. This is why Asia had strong men and heavy government involvement for decades.

icecreamscooper:

Political cartoon

American, particularly neo-conservative, thinking once thought that all you had to do was depose the dictator, hold elections, and people would sort themselves out. But it takes a lot to make a democracy work. It depends on so many other factors which have to exist before you can really expect success in a democratic system. This is why Asia had strong men and heavy government involvement for decades.

(via perpetual-nomad87)

In Focus: Glimpses of Humanity in Choreographed North Korea

In a massive spectacle held in Pyongyang over the weekend, North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, addressed an audience of thousands. His appearance was part of a week-long celebration of the birth of the nation’s founder Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Un, who was recently named “supreme commander,” promised to continue a military-first policy, despite chronic economic and food shortages. Foreign photojournalists invited for the celebrations have been sending back hundreds of images — but viewers back home must work to read between the lines. As you view these images, keep in mind that the photographers are strictly limited, only able to capture pre-approved subjects in sanctioned settings. These shapes, colors, and choreographed formations form the image North Korea wants to project. But even photographs like these can give us glimpses of an individual among the masses, inspiring empathy or curiosity. As we look at these members of a long-impoverished, tightly controlled society, we can only study their faces and imagine what they might truly be thinking.

See more. [Images: Reuters, AFP/Getty]

Look at the top photo. None of the dancers are smiling.

(via ohheythereworld)

(Source: fashionstylish, via joyisthekeytolife)

(Source: undertheocean, via bordersandhorizons)

(via heyadrea)

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