What happens to a particular culture depending on where it is based and its own particular history? From the outsider's viewpoint, it seems as though the Chinatown behind which I lived in San Francisco feels the same as Singapore's local shopping area with the accompanying assumption that Shanghai would be similar.
Musing on the significant Indian population in the South African city of Durban reminded me of a conversation I'd had about a year ago with a Chinese Singaporean friend in San Francisco. Since she's currently based in Shanghai [I hope you add your insights!] it seemed to me that she was in a unique position to provide some insights on how things may 'look the same' but be very different. Our conclusion was that just because they were all ethnically Chinese, it didn't mean that they were all the same. Social norms and languages evolve over time - and when separated by miles of ocean from the origin, this evolution would follow its own path, mingling with the local influences and becoming something else all together in its own right.
This was brought home to us when a dish that we'd ordered in the local Chinese restaurant in SF was an unexpected surprise for both us. That it would carry the same name but have changed significantly in its consistency and cooking style led us to think about why and thus this insight. I've seen this with the Indian population in Malaysia, majority of whom are descendants of indentured labourers the British transported to work in the rubber plantations of colonial Malaya. While they speak Tamil, the language of Chennai and are Hindu for the most part - their language and cuisine and norms and customs have evolved in a seperate path from that in the home country.
Now I wonder how Durban's Indian population would have changed and adapted and evolved away from their roots and on a different continent. Perhaps I'll get to find out soon enough. I wonder if a similar observation can be made in Canada, New Zealand or Australia as compared to Great Britain? Or is that an entirely different concept altogether?
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