Mart-deBlog

Now, I have always hated any kind of national feeling or artificial proudness within myself and, of course, especially in others. I don't believe one has to be defined by their background culture and I do not believe one is an automaton in social structure. As long as you valuate the outside influences yourself, you control almost all their influence.: Loving Dutch soccer makes you hate German soccer makes you not enjoy a bradwurst (put overly simple, i. know.) but then you can chose to like a bradwurst anyway. That is what I still believe and hope to believe until I die. However, being on exchange does put some nasty complexities in this nice and simple picture. Don't worry, I don't miss Holland at all but being completely outside a culture and outside a society - as I am here in hong kong - completely stagnated my indivual change. No matter how I act, it never feels like I am acting outside the box of my typical character. Here, it just seems I cannot act differently from "who I am." So, this thought: could it be that personal development happens only by pulling the cultural strings? by valuating the bradwurst? Do we need cultural bonds to be free?