Cultural Awareness

Last week, we learnt about cultural awareness. Before then, I had not really thought about what it meant to be cultural aware. I kind of just thought cultural awareness meant being aware of other peoples cultural background. But, I did some additional research and found a definition of cultural awareness - I discovered that it means much more than that. 


The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing states that ‘cultural awareness’ recognises that we are all shaped by our cultural background which influences;

• How we relate to other people
• How we interpret the world
• How we perceive ourselves

Never the less, my family have taught me to respect other peoples cultures. I try to not make any judgements about my friend’s culture. I do not judge people based on the colour of their skin. I believe that I am very accepting of others. 

I understand that within any culture, people’s values, beliefs and behaviour vary enormously. I feel that I am aware that different cultures exist as over the years I have made many friends from many cultural backgrounds - lebanese, greek, chinese, vietnamese (just to name a few). Also, I attended high school in Darlinghurst, where their were students from all over Sydeny from a wide range of cultures. I got the opportunity to learn about their culture's values, beliefs and behaviours. Although, I do not really know much about my Chinese heritage. I was not raised in a traditional Chinese household - I was born in Australia, my parents were born in Australia and even my grandparents were born in Australia and we do not speak the language. We consider ourselves to be more Australian than Chinese. I am not embarrassed or ashamed of being Chinese - that is just the way I was raised. 

As Michael Jackson says “It don't matter if you're black or white”.

Please visit http://www.culturaldiversity.com.au/practice-guides/cultural-awareness  for more information about cultural awareness. 

Until next time! :)