Newsletter (2017-2018) January 2018 Newsletter | Page 8

wisdom. When you explore another culture, the
culture you are accustomed to causes you to be
fascinated, but it also makes you unique. We are
amazed by the Sunday Roast, Christmas mar-
kets, beer festivals and Scottish dancing, and
they might be amazed by our hot pot, red en-
velope money and written Chinese characters.
People are attracted to the differences; that is the
charm of culture.
A Glimpse of
Romania
By Candice Yip
Culture can be a burden. There are expectations
among people of the same culture, even if you
do not want to follow all the concepts in your
culture. For instance, in Chinese culture, we do
not accept compliments easily, even though we
deserve it. The proper way to reply is by either
denying the compliments or complimenting the
person back; otherwise Chinese people could
think you arrogant. Sometimes it constrains us,
to act “right” for other people, even if we do not
agree with what we are doing.
A photo of volunteers and students with Down syn-
drome at the Raluca Educational Center. .
Culture can be anything, but culture is made of
people. We are the most important part of cul-
ture. Learn culture, respect culture. Try to un-
derstand other cultures, to break down walls
between cultures, and to think critically about
your own culture, in order to be you as a unique
individual.
In the summer of 2017, I joined AISEC and went
to Romania for six weeks to do voluntary work.
During that time, I stayed in Ral