Keeping the balance-the roots and the new

Holding on to your roots becomes important only when they are taken away. It is only then in fact when you realise where and what you roots are. I say this as a second generation British person living in Denmark- my original roots form Pakistan are less and less my roots. It is obvious to me while in Copenhagen- that I long for my farleys rusk- occasional fish n chips- as well as the Pakistani food. However there can be a tendency to overdo this heritage- I can see that my values are more British than Pakistani- yes the good old queuing culture has really set my values. However waiting at the bus stops here and being the last to get on, depsite being the first at the bus stop ,made me realise we all need to adjust-change our values and not be afraid that this will take away our identity.

When do we need a change? and what should we change?

Today is another day (in a set of three) where the motivation is low. Is it because I have had a few days break- and the adrenalin from the earlier deadlines has settled down, and with the few days break it has totally disappeared. In any case it is a bit hard to be motivated to start the next job. It could be the nature of the work- research always need a lot of discipline to start a project- and with lots of deadlines it works well, but the lull can be such a motivation killer. Or it could be that the work rhythm changed- working constantly was fine, but then the break came in and destroyed it. So if I change something - what should it be the? the way I work, or what I work with. It is also funny since I am actually good at what I do- but is it the competitiveness in me that makes me good. And would I be good somewhere else- is it that fear that I may not be good that stops me taking the risk and changing.

When we are busy we go to ebay....

Today is one of those days where I have spend most of my working time browsing the net- mainly ebay and bbc news again and again (just in case something radical takes place). Why is it that when we are busy we look for every distraction possible? For me deadlines are the best mode to work, but even then I will only really get going just before they are due- I will and always make the deadlines- but need that pressure to get going.
Ebay seems a great diversion -actually very mindless (and no I did not buy anything..), at first my searches where vintage clothes- but now they have progressed to vintage cars..

What motivates people?

What motivates people.. culture or money? this is a question that i have been thinking about lately. Ambition is an obvious answer, but ambition itself comes from something or other. I have been thinking of this recently as I am currently living in Denmark, where the differences between the poor and the rich, the educated and uneducated is not so visible. The poorest parts of Copenhagen still do not resemble the council estates of the UK - so if there is not much financial reward for effort what motivates them to get educated..?

The new generation-where do we belong?

A new generation is born and where do we belong? - once we have become 'integrated' we essentially are assimilated and fit well in to the society where we have grown up(or moved too). However, at the same time we moved away from the cultures, traditions, even the language of our family heritage. The tension of fitting into the new society is replaced with another tension- the one of our original culture. This may be seen sometimes as denial of original cultural values, or tension in families, or a sense of no longer belonging to the country of origin.

What will happen in the future? will our next generations essential be a new dane- new brit, etc. or will there be pockets of society who wish to stay with their defined identity and hence be integrated yet hold onto their own traditions- a different type of integration in fact one that may lead to several subcultures. A small country like Danmark is not used to the extra layers of society (and it is questionable if larger countries are?- look to recent events in Paris, Birmingham).

The Third Generation

After being born and raised most of my life in London with Pakastini parents, I have for the last two years lived in Copenhagen. I am constantly reminded of my culture. Danes often ask me what I think of the headscarf, the homogenious of the danish society, the amount of foriegners that should be in each school. Their questions remind me that I am not white, and that their first curiosity is culture- I now define myself as 'brown' . Of course -identity is very much linked with culture- but what is the culture of the second generation- I drink, dance, live with my Danish boyfriend, I doubt I could live in Pakistan ( a place where I never lived) without facing a huge cultural diffirence As I think of having children- I am confronted with two sets of issues, 1) how will they be treated (especially in Denmark- where foriegner is usually first generation with issues of language etc), and 2) will I sent my children to schools with first generation foriegners? The children of the second generation now has the complexity of being on both sides of the arguments.