#culturaldiffusion

[cronovonbankin]

When you befriend the local Korean couple at the store and swap homemade Kimchi. #koreanfood #kimchi #2ndinfantrydivision #armytanker #asian #culturaldiffusion

[momodione]

SAKOUBA! #africansbelike #goodtimes #culturaldiffusion

[steffysheriff]

Enjoying Spanish reggae at a falafel shop #culturaldiffusion #falafel #winning (at Rainbow Street, Amman, Jordan )

[brooklynninjainchina]

Fall Break Life Lessons~

After we left the Kaifeng and the Shaolin Temple in Zhengzhou, we went to Xi'an, a part of China famous for it's ancient history, it's city walls (it's actually the Historical Mulan's hood!), as well as having a large population of Chinese Muslims. 

While I was in Xi'an, I walked into a store and while I was looking around these store worker girls came to me and asked where I was from. When I explained I was African-American, they laughed, one literally slapped the other and said "see?! I TOLD YOU she was African!" And I noticed a black faced figurine bowl (not too unlike a "mammy") in her hand. I don't like being made a joke of (who does?) so I walked briskly out the store in a huff. Then in my anger, the thought occurred to me " I can either be angry, or I can educate. Or I can at least learn, and figure out why those figurines were there in the first place." I chose to educate and be educated.

I walked back, and noticed that there were also Maasai figurines next to the Mammy. I asked them why those African cultural figurines were there and where they came from, and they told me the figurines were made in a China, in Yuenan. So then I asked them why would Chinese people make African cultural things, and her answer surprised even me: The Heritage of the people in Yuenan is not too far off from Africa, actually, so they make the figurines and basically express their closeness in doing so. Then I said in Chinese "啊，明白了。我们都一样！“ "Oh I get it! We're all the same!"  Then she said "Yeah."

...And to think I would've never known the story behind those figurines if I went away in a huff and stayed that way.

It’s quite the experience being here so far. Because to some people, I’m the first real life Black person some people have ever seen, it basically means I get to bear the responsibility of representing an entire race of people on my shoulders (at least the way I see it.). And if I react with anger because of something someone did, to others it’s not ” Oh, that girl is crazy.” It’s ” Oh, Black People are crazy.” On one hand its an honor to be a bridge and rep my people. But sometimes it’s unfair when I can’t just go off on people like I might if people tried to pull the kind of stuff they pull here, back in NYC.