The last week or so, I have been pondering over my family history.
My family has been through some turmoil in it's time, and at times it has been a treacherous journey.
But now that I am a parent and I look back at my upbringing, I question what is culture?
When I was growing up, at times I felt like, here I was, compared to some of my friends of Anglo Saxon decent, my traditions, be it food, or language or festive traditions, they were polar opposites. And yet we all seemed to get along.
And within my families history and my own cultural background, what am bringing forward to the next generation, to my children.
When I was growing up and my mum used to try and get me to watch her cook. Me being the self obsessed tween, just wanting to hang out with her friends, had no time for cooking these extravagant Macedonian dishes.
But now I crave them, now I want eat those dishes, that fragrant smell that will take me back to memories of mum cooking a abundance of food, the concept that there is nothing put to waste, recipes that had been passed down, from generation to generation, from daughter to daughter.
Within the Macedonian community there can be a this judgmental mentality, where by you have to look a certain way, behave a certain way and have materialistic gain. At times it can be superficial.
That side of things I'm not interested in, and never have been. I always have looked the way Ive wanted and been who I am, I do not strive to material gain, I strive for self knowledge, and awareness.
A sense of culture can come through in multiple facets, it doesn't necessarily have to be your ethnic background, to me culture is a common thread you have with people, it can be social, ethnic or behavioral.
It's the perception of belonging.
I have taken what I wanted from my cultural background, a sense of family and community, and a sense of spirit.
My family has been through some turmoil in it's time, and at times it has been a treacherous journey.
But now that I am a parent and I look back at my upbringing, I question what is culture?
When I was growing up, at times I felt like, here I was, compared to some of my friends of Anglo Saxon decent, my traditions, be it food, or language or festive traditions, they were polar opposites. And yet we all seemed to get along.
And within my families history and my own cultural background, what am bringing forward to the next generation, to my children.
When I was growing up and my mum used to try and get me to watch her cook. Me being the self obsessed tween, just wanting to hang out with her friends, had no time for cooking these extravagant Macedonian dishes.
But now I crave them, now I want eat those dishes, that fragrant smell that will take me back to memories of mum cooking a abundance of food, the concept that there is nothing put to waste, recipes that had been passed down, from generation to generation, from daughter to daughter.
Within the Macedonian community there can be a this judgmental mentality, where by you have to look a certain way, behave a certain way and have materialistic gain. At times it can be superficial.
That side of things I'm not interested in, and never have been. I always have looked the way Ive wanted and been who I am, I do not strive to material gain, I strive for self knowledge, and awareness.
A sense of culture can come through in multiple facets, it doesn't necessarily have to be your ethnic background, to me culture is a common thread you have with people, it can be social, ethnic or behavioral.
It's the perception of belonging.
I have taken what I wanted from my cultural background, a sense of family and community, and a sense of spirit.
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