Acceptance

The Fall term is finally over and Winter break is here. Oh my, I've actually not been writing for more than a month...

The Early Childhood Education course has been a very wonderful experience for me. I feel so privileged to be able to have the opportunity to learn about the preschool education system here, as well as to understand a little bit more about the American culture.

I know how many Chinese who have embraced a more westernized way of thinking are always being labeled as a 'kantung' (or potato in hokkein, which is brown/yellow on the outside but 'white' on the inside. It is not a very pleasant term. However, as I get to know more about the American culture, I must admit that there are some very good values in it, and most of the time, the so-called westernized thinking had been very misunderstood amongst some Asians.

One example is that whenever one talks about the Western culture, some conservative Asians will think Westerners are just very liberal about things like pre-marital sex, cohabitation, and other taboo subjects that are not to be discussed amongst Asians. Upon finding out more about American culture through conversations with my classmates, these are subjects that are equally frowned upon by Caucasian parents. An unwed mom is also considered to be 'living in sin' by her parents.

The only difference is that most Americans are probably more accomodating towards mistakes that had been made. While an Asian unwed mom may have her parents disowning her, a Western parent may volunteer to look after the baby, while the single mom can continue her studies or work.

Other incidents which really touched my heart, is the western attitude towards children with disabilities. I am a frequent visitor to the library over here, and most of the days I'm there, I will see a Caucasian mom with 2 adopted Indian children. One of the children has got only one arm and walks with a twisted leg. The other girl seems to be suffering from malnutrition. Yet, the kind of love and patience the parent shows to the 2 children is amazing. Adoption is very common here, and some of the western couples are more than willing to adopt abandoned children with disabilities.

The other incident is that of a mom with a daughter who has down syndrome. The mom is never ashamed of the down syndrome child and in fact, the down syndrome girl would wave and say hello to everyone to the cafe whenever she comes along. The cafe is often very much liven up by the presence of this amazing girl.

Since living here in Corvallis for more than a year now, I have seen much warmth and kindness in this little town of ours. I know I'll definitely miss this place when we return to Singapore.