Cultural Post #8

[Berhaun Fesshaye]

Family is extremely important in Ethiopian and Eritrean culture. This makes sense since there’s more of a collectivist mindset than countries like the United States. In my opinion, people usually respect their parents and grandparents more than in the United States. I also think that more people know their distant family more than people here do. For example, when I was in Eritrea and Ethiopia, I met some distant family members and I was amazed how my dad knew exactly how they were related to us. I think most people that I know don’t know relatives more distant than cousins and second cousins. It’s more important to know all members of your family and not just the immediate members. It is also very common for people to have their parents live with them when they get older. People are not likely to send their parents to a nursing home and would rather take care of them when they are elderly. Overall, I think family is just a more important aspect of life because its importance is emphasized early on.

[Berhaun Fesshaye]

Nursing homes aren't popular there either. I think that's more common in America. It's definitely hard to see your relatives often when they live across the world so I have a lot that I've only met once or twice too. 

[Jessica Kim]

I think that this is very similar to the familial importance in Korea since Korea is more of a collectivist country. I remember researching about how in Korea, nursing homes are not really as popular as the US. I also agree that it is very important to know the members in the family.

I do not know my relatives that well and probably only met them once in my lifetime. I would have to agree that a lot of people do knot their distant family members. This is the same case for my friends who were born in America too. 

I see family as the most important aspect of my life and hope that in the future, I can instill this ideal!

[Berhaun Fesshaye]

I can definitely relate to seeing that in between view. My family is a mix of both cultures but growing up here it was sometimes confusing because I did not understand every aspect of American culture but at the same time I didn't understand every aspect of Eritrean culture. Also helping out distant family members is common in Eritrean culture as well. Especially helping those that cannot come to America. My family would let me live with them forever too, but I feel the same as you because I would rather not.

[Taiyaba Ali]

This is so interesting because it is the same thing for Bengali families! Bengalis think that family, above all, demand the most respect, and we have hundreds of different family members. When I went to Bangladesh 9 years ago, I remember there was a line outside of the house we were staying at to meet us, and everyone in the line was related to our family. Its really important to help out the family members who are distantly related to you in Bengali culture, sometimes its not even uncommon to marry them! Its interesting seeing how similar Bengali and Eritrean culture are in this respect. Growing up Bengali-American has made me see a view of family that is in between Bengali and American view, I love my family, but I don't think I want to live with them forever. Do you feel the same way growing up in an Eritrean-American culture?