If a major disaster forced me and my family to move to another country with a different culture and I was only allowed to take three items with me that reminded me of my family culture I would bring: a photo album, a teddy bear and a cookbook.
I would want to bring a photo album to visually represent my upbringing and to have pictures of all of the people that were part of my family that may no longer be with me.
I am adopted and the only item I have, besides my name, from before my adoption was a teddy bear that I have kept very near and dear to my heart since then. He was a childhood friend when needed and even though I am an adult now, he still reminds me of the tough but also the good times of my childhood.
I would also bring a cookbook, well actually it is a notebook with various recipes passed down from my grandmother to my mother to me. My grandmother passed away when I was 10 but one memory I hold on to was her amazing baking. Because it is one of the only artifacts I have from my grandmother it is very important to me.
I would want to bring a photo album to visually represent my upbringing and to have pictures of all of the people that were part of my family that may no longer be with me.
I am adopted and the only item I have, besides my name, from before my adoption was a teddy bear that I have kept very near and dear to my heart since then. He was a childhood friend when needed and even though I am an adult now, he still reminds me of the tough but also the good times of my childhood.
I would also bring a cookbook, well actually it is a notebook with various recipes passed down from my grandmother to my mother to me. My grandmother passed away when I was 10 but one memory I hold on to was her amazing baking. Because it is one of the only artifacts I have from my grandmother it is very important to me.
When doing this exercise it made me remember when I left the USA to study abroad and I had to limit what I packed with me to just 3 suitcases. Obviously I needed clothes but I also wanted to make sure I had some reminders of other things that were important to me including pictures and other reminders of home. Even though I wasn't staying forever I was reminded often of things that I was used to that we had in America that they did not have in Ireland. My parents sent me a few a care packages, mostly filled with food items that they did not have, but it just reminded me of my American culture.
Good idea about the cookbook, Candice. Family recipes are very much part of our culture and when we use the recipes we involve our senses to bring back strong memories.
ReplyDeleteCandice,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post and reflecting on my own, I realized that feelings play an important role in our family culture. We would decide to keep the article that gives us stability, besides bringing us good memories.
Thank you for sharing your personal experiences!