The Hello

I am writing this with a cup of Japanese green tea beside me, with an open packet of the Filipino polvoron dessert, on a desk littered with memorabilia from the British book series Harry Potter, and in the Middle East. To top it off, I am half Singaporean and half Greek. 

The idea of culture has always interested me, especially how the lives of many modern people have become a medley of different cultures. The borders of a country are no longer barriers for its culture, and with the internet we can explore many different lifestyles without even having to leave our seats. In this way, it seems that many of us have become citizens of the world; experiencing media, food and clothes from every corner of our planet. 

Another aspect of culture that I find interesting is how different people have different interpretations of it. Growing up as an interracial child, I spent a lot of time wondering why we didn't all speak the same language, or have the same religion. I always thought it would save a lot of time and hassle if I only had to learn one language - not three. Reflecting on a question like this now, one can begin to see the importance of language in a culture. If the whole world spoke the same language, it would be much harder to feel a sense of "belonging" to a particular country. It brings to light how much a culture is defined by it's language - how there are certain words that are 'un-translatable', how some idioms express sentiments that are inexplicable to someone from a different culture. 

Personally, I have found that I think significantly differently when I am speaking Greek as opposed to when I am speaking Mandarin. I behave differently as well, with Greek speech punctuated using many hand gestures and Mandarin speech accompanied only by little nods of the head. It is sometimes unnerving to think that it is the same person speaking these two languages, I act so differently when in either of these characters. From this I learned that language not only gives you a sense of belonging, but transforms you into another person to fit the culture of the language you are speaking. 

Sometimes it's not even necessary to speak a language to be changed, however. Although I would not consider myself an anglophile, the majority of the media I watch is English with me being a big fan of Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and countless other English Youtube-rs. Due to this, I have found myself trying to emulate a British accent, and using many different words when I'm doing this, using phrases like "Haven't the foggiest" or "Blimey" that I would never use ordinarily (I even seem to enjoy tea more when I'm in this state). 

Through these different roles that I go through, however, I like to think that I am more or less the same person. I enjoy reading, art, puns, science, hats and interesting trivia - irregardless of which Athena I am being. The last book I read was Captain Corelli's Mandolin (thanks, Mr. Paul!), and I strongly recommend it for its prose and the feelings it evokes (as well as the many surprisingly accurate observations on Greeks). 

As for dreams, I would love to work in science as well as musical theater later on, although admittedly I'm unsure of how well they'll work together. Another (rather new) hope of mine is to be able to hone my writing skills, since today's post explained some facets of myself that I didn't quite understand. Hopefully I'll be able to sort out more of my beliefs through writing. :) 

On hindsight, this blog post may seem a little haphazard and stiff... Probably because it is my first attempt at writing a personal piece, hopefully the writing will become more lyrical with each new post. The photo that I feel best describes me is: 

Athena T. :D