D Nell

52275876

Within this blog entry I will be discussing the concept of "where I know from."

I was raised in a traditional, religious, Afrikaans environment. A lot of my views were shaped by the church within our town. I was taught religious views and practices from a young age, with emphasis on loving one's family and friends as well as one's neighbours and enemies. Love and family is a central concept within my household as well as the community within the town. However, my views may differ from my neighbour's views as we were brought up in different households and this means that where I "know from" is different to where my neighbour "knows from." 

These concepts taught to me by my parents were passed on from their parents as well as their grandparents and I will pass it on to my children eventually as well. I can safely say that because of these principles which I have learnt, my views of the world have definitively been influenced in a positive way. We build our beliefs around the church and the values of the church. As a result, it allows us to treat every individual around us with the same respect and understanding.

However, my mother's side of the family rely mainly on family rather than religion. My grandfather was Italian and my grandmother is Hungarian. Growing up around my grandparents there were a lot of European influences, not necessarily in terms of the way we speak or behave because I was not brought up within those countries, but my grandparents passed down some of the culture in the food they would make. Traditional Hungarian and Italian dishes made by my grandparents would pass down some of the influences and culture of both Hungary and Italy and it was in this way that I would get a taste of the European culture.

Above all else, they valued family and believed that dinner was a time where we all could sit down and all share the same cultural experience. I may not "know from" a European standpoint but I have some insight into the cultural and social spheres of these two European countries.

Both my father and mother's side of the family value traditional family values and as a result I "know from" both sides of my family. I "know from" a religious aspect because of my father but I "know from" a more social and European aspect because of my mother.

It is difficult to describe where I "know from" because I am not entirely a part of each culture. However, I still share similar views to those in the respective cultures. I just "know from" a different environment.