Learning Journal 4

[Pravaas Gurung]

Having gone to international schools for the majority of grade school, I knew about some of the cultural practices of Korea and India and Pakistan (there were many Koreans in my high school, and aside from the similarities of cultures in the Indian sub-continent, I have also had many Indian and Pakistani friends and classmates.) However, I learned many details of these cultures that I did not know - for example, the settings where traditional clothes are used in Pakistan and the names of the clothing (though I was familiar with what they look like.) Likewise, though there were some things about the Korean culture I knew, I learned many new details. For example, I knew Koreans would often go to bath-houses, but knew little of the whole process they would go through while at the bath-house (soaking, scrubbing, sauna etc.)
However, I knew little about the history of the Philippines aside from some general things such as their being under the Spanish and then the US rule. For example. I found it quite fascinating how many similarities/borrowings from Spanish there were in the language - I was even able to figure out what some of the words and phrases meant before being told, despite the difference in spelling (I know some Spanish.)