As a foreigner living in Colombia, it is my job to represent British culture well. I have to show the world how kind and easy-going British people can be, as well as changing the image some people have about the British as being cold. Whenever you go abroad you are setting an example for your country which the people you meet will remember. On many occasions, people have said things like, "I don't like people from this country." or "People from that country are mean." to me. This shows that one person can make an impression for a whole country, so it very important to make a good one!
My stay in Colombia isn't just about providing examples of British culture, I am also here to learn about another culture and share the best parts of both. I have noticed that some things are better than in Britain here, whereas some things are worse. The idea is to share the good ideas I bring from my culture and to learn about, and maybe adopt, the good ideas from a foreign culture.
Sharing cultures is clearly extremely important. Recently, a festival of international culture took place in my town. It was a very special event with activities and performances throughout the town centre. There was theatre, street-art, traditional and modern dances, storytelling, photography, traditional markets and food, music concerts from both local bands and big, national artists as well as workshops and classes about traditional skills or cultural issues. The guest country was France, so there was a lot of French culture on show.
My town doesn’t usually have many cultural activities, so it was really great to see it come alive for a week and see so many people getting involved in cultural events and helping to spread a positive message about how to live together. Events like this one bring people together from all walks of life and allow them to share their cultures, which is a very important thing in the world today.
Does your town/city celebrate any cultural events? Do you think they are important?
