Westerners Vs Asians

Shoot , 6 hours more to work and i am still not able to get any sleep. It has been months since i last update this blog of mine. I believe i have been busy with moving to a new place, a new job with new friends and housemates that i barely had the time to blog.

I recall attending one of those inspiring motivational seminar by those spiritual speakers and one that will forever remain in my memory will be those lessons on life by Dr Aaron Lim. Dr Aaron once said that there are many western habits and western culture that if it is to be compared to Asian culture, our culture has got more diversity and it is not like western cultures are bad but it is just that in our culture we are more tied together as direct family members and distant relatives. In western culture, as a child touches the age of 18, they will be advised to leave the house and start to fend for themselves. Well, not all westerners practise such a culture, but most of them do.

In Asian culture, be it Indian, Chinese, Muslim or so on, we would like to stick close to our family members and if possible live under the same roof be it the same house, or the same village as long as we get to meet each other more often than usual. I have seen my friends who lived in a village that was basically surrounded by his relatives. Each and every house in that village are descendants of the same grandfather or ancestors.

My ancestors came from China long time ago and since he was wealthy at that point of time, he bought a really huge piece of land and divided it to 6 for each and every son to build a house and start a family. Hence, my grandparents and their siblings live side by side to each other.My point is, asians love clinging to each other and are more family oriented compared to the westerners.

It is a good sight to know that asians put their family as the top priority, not career, not backpacking but family comes first. However it doesn't mean that westerners are not loving towards their own family. Westerners are equally as loving as Asians would be to their own flesh and blood however it is shown in a different way.

Westerners leave home at a very young age in search of experience and learning to be independent. Asians , for young asians to leave our homes too long in search of experience and adventure, people will be judging us and relatives will be condemning us for not be fillial towards our parents.

Westerners treat gestures such as a warm hug or a friendly kiss to be a common practise among friends and families. Especially families. Yet, how often do we get to see an asian guy hugs his own father and say " Dad, i love you" ? a lot of us asian guys are too shy or too egoistical to embrace our own fathers and give him a kiss on the cheek. Why? because if any asian guy ever attempt to do that, his father would be furious and will absolutely ask him to behave himself.

It is the differences in mindset that creates a gap among cultures. It is not a sin to kiss our own fathers, but we feel strange and awkward if a son is to kiss his own father within asian culture. I mean long time ago as a kid i used to jump on my father's lap and follow him wherever he wants to go and not letting him out of my sight. However as i grow older, just like any other asian born gentleman,we speak less to our fathers and we're not as intimate as we used to be. It is not because my love for my father has grown lesser, but it is because as kids we know nothing about shame or pride but as adults , if i am to do the same things i used to do as a kid, it will be considered as disrespectful and disobedient.

In Asian culture, there is a saying that Daughters Are The Apples of a Father's Eye and sons are the Apples of a mother's eye. It literally means sons are closer to mothers and daughters are closer to fathers. Is this true scientifically? are our genetics naturally engineered to function in such a way? No it is not . I love my dad as much as i love my mom but from a guy to a guy point of view, by hugging my dad and giving him a smooch is to cross the line of authority .

By doing so , we would be labelled with all sorts of terminologies by those who are filled with traditional do's and dont's. Look at that sissy, his still so clingy to his daddy at such an age! Therefore , in our culture , such a gesture will be a definite No,no!

I am looking forward to live and see the day asian mindset will evolve and liberate ourselves from such kuno thinking and move forward . Today, among youngsters it shows that our mindset have evolved alright but we picked up the wrong contents from the western culture. We learn to be irresponsible and accepting life as a game.