Taste of Multifaceted American Cultures

Written and Edited by Rosette Leung, Hong Kong

Athens, OH – Sitting on a delayed flight from San Francisco to Ohio, what comes to the mind of the SUSI scholars? Time files. One week to leave Athens, the ‘home’ of the scholars. If every flight is an adventure, here is the journey of how the scholars experienced American cultures for their first time.

The first stop: Chillicothe

Tecumseh! The outdoor drama with real actors, horses, and gunfire effects was fascinating. Based on the scripts written by seven-time Pulitzer Prize nominee and Emmy recipient, Allan W. Eckert, the show performed in a valley of the Sugarloaf Mountain, Ohio was based on a true story about a Shawnee Chief Tecumseh who scarified his life for uniting the Indians and resisting the Americans during the 1790s.

In many countries, varieties of shows, operas and plays are very important cultural products for community revitalisation. In China, the Beijing opera, is a mixture of traditional culture and Chinese nationality. The Phantom of the Opera performs in the Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, is a European cultural representation of romance. 

Unlike the global popular operas showing in theatres, the Tecumseh drama is more realistic than many of the European plays. It informs local and international audiences about a rarely-known history of the Indian heritage in America. Although the show was  only part of the Ohio history, the resistance and integration of multi-cultural ethnicities have certainly contributed to the unification of the America.

The SUSI scholars took photos with the Tecumseh actors after the show. 

(Photo courtesy of SUSI program assistants)

The second stop: Cleveland
Drove away from the university and headed to a downtown with blocks of high buildings, Cleveland is an unfamiliar place to many scholars but most could recall the place won this year’s NBA championship, and Lebron James, a prominent NBA player, was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the team Cleveland Cavaliers. But the journey to Cleveland was nothing to do with basketball. 

Out of many scholars' expectations, Cleveland has significant contribution to political development in the US. The Quicken Loans Arena, situated in the heart of Cleveland, was the venue that hosted the Republican National Convention (RNC) this July. Coincidentally, the SUSI scholars were given a chance to visit the media centre of the Convention Center just days before Melanie Trump delivered her suspicious plagiarised speech from Michelle Obama.

       A ‘corner’ of the RNC Media Centre in Cleveland.

Not far away is where the Ohio Statehouse situated – a government building where the Democrat delegates and the Republican delegates discuss bills and legislations of Ohio. The postmodern design of the Congress building and historical painting on walls adduced the doctrine of democracy and freedom of speech that are honoured from the past to the present. Journalists and journalism scholars, what are more precious than freedom to speak for themselves and the unprivileged? Sending a Tweet or a blog post just need a click in a second, but it is still not guaranteed in many countries across the world.

Do you know who are the philosophers in the left and the right statues?

The third stop: The Amish Country
Many scholars, including myself, were impressed by the American cultures in the Hollywood movies: modern, fancy, liberal, and a little bit crazy. But in Ohio, people are more dedicated in  preserving their traditional culture instead of promoting new culture. Dissimilar to the American culture demonstrated in the Hollywood movies, the Amish Country, which locates in the Holmes County of Ohio, has a unique culture that many scholars have never seen before. Most Amish people do not own cars, mobile phones and other electronic goods. The telecommunication and internet services were very weak and often disconnected. With very limited public and private cars, carriage is the major transport in the Amish Country, and  “totally unbelievable”  as described by many scholars. 

The Amish Country is a place with greenery.

By spending four days and three nights living and interacting with the Amish people, the SUSI scholars experienced a wonderful journey in the Amish Country – a journey that bought them back to the older centuries of America. Living without disturbances, the Amish lead a happy life in their little world. Lester Beachy, also the author of a book Our Amish Values, said, “we Amish people noticed the emergence of new technologies such as mobile phone and tablet computer, yet we decided not to take a step forward because face-to-face communication is what we treasured the most.”

A huge carriage displayed in the Amish Country museum. 

“Do Amish children receive education?”, “Can an Amish marry someone not from the US?”, “How do you kill time without mobile phone?” These are the questions asked by SUSI scholars who were curious about the community of the Amish people. They were very eager to know more about the identity, marriage, education and social security etc. of the Amish. Surprisingly, the Amish felt themselves living in a wealthy and healthy village. As a Chinese proverb says: “seize the day, and enjoy what it brings you”, in the minds of the Amish people, there is nothing more precious than living and enjoying lives with their beloved ones.

The Amish are also called the Pennsylvania Dutch.

The fourth stop: The Little Cities of Black Diamonds
The Little Cities of Black Diamond in Shawnee took around 30 minutes’ drive from the Ohio University. With only around 600 people of populations, the SUSI scholars took an adventurous journey to the early coal mines in Ohio. Some SUSI scholars were disappointed when they see no mines and mining activities in Shawnee, but they later realised that heavy pollutions and fatal accidents due to early mining activities were buried and mourned in abandoned mining sites and graves of African-American who were once the forerunners in labor union movements in Ohio. Like travelled through a time tunnel, SUSI scholars visited the Robinson’s Cave and the New Straitsville Moonshine Company, some of them enjoyed samples of distillations produced by the Shawnees.

A SUSI scholar tried the distillations produced at the New Straitsville Moonshine Company.

To battle with the fading population and the missing pieces of history, some warm-hearted Shawnees have made use of the social media sites, such as Facebook and blog to inform the ‘outsiders’ about their life histories and efforts in conserving the natural scenes in Shawnee. Though setting up an archive for preserving Shawnee’s history takes time, the social media do help a lot for connecting the Little Cities of Black Diamonds to the outside world, including the Ohio University and the SUSI scholars.

The Robinson’s Cave in New Straitsville, Ohio.

"New" Linda Theater established in 1930s. Movies were displayed with motion and sound. 

The fifth stop: San Francisco
San Francisco has long been named and regarded by the Chinese as the ‘Longstanding Gold Mountain’ for remembering the history that many Chinese migrated to San Francisco to join the gold rush in California. According to Wikipedia, a division of Wikimedia Foundation, the Voice of America and the State of Federal Government are still using the name ‘Longstanding Gold Mountain’, but this name has not been mentioned on the Wikipedia page about San Francisco in English. Clever SUSI scholars noticed about the lost in translation on Wikipedia, yet the speakers from Wikipedia denied the differences in translation have bought much inconsistency in content, and they emphasised that zero censorship has been imposed on the open and collaborative site.

The SUSI scholars listened attentively to the speeches of Wikimedia representatives.

If Wikipedia is a giant online encyclopaedia, the San Francisco Giants is a giant of the Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. SUSI scholars were so excited to be toured in the AT&T Park. The Park is famous as it is the ‘home’ of the MLB Giants. Although there was no match in the park during the day of visit, the scholars were able to see the live report centre, hotel rooms, and press conference room etc. in the park – all of them represent the growth of sports marketing contributed to the globalization of sports. But sports journalism, a profession that rely on truth and accuracy, continues to serve as a major information provider about the news of the Giants.

AT&T Park – outside view

AT&T Park – part of the inside view

Similar to Hong Kong, San Francisco is a cosmopolitan city that welcome people from a multicultural background, and is one of the largest and most famous LGBT communities in the world. The SUSI journey in San Francisco ended with a mouse and the sea (Pier 39). The Walt Disney Family Museum displayed the works of Walt Disney, and explained how different Disney characters were created. From Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, to Pinocchio, Three Little Pigs and Cinderella, almost every Disney character in the museum has ‘grown up’ with the Americans, as well as the children in the rest of the world (including me again).

Every scholar must have read a number of publications that accused the conglomeration of Disney was an expansion of U.S. soft power. There were long criticisms in academia regarding Americanisation, cultural industry and hegemony. In the U.S., Disney is a giant company producing forms of entertainment. But in the eyes of millions of people around the world, Disney is the representative of America popular culture.

A Liberty Magazine cover with Mickey Mouse in 1942, a year during the WWII.

From traditional to modern, from rural to cosmopolitan, the SUSI Program has opened a door for the journalism scholars from 18 countries to travel and to explore the multifaceted American cultures.

Next station: Atlanta. Ready to leave in 3 hours. Sleepy but feel excited.

New Christians Celebrating Christmas in Cambodia

By: Olivia Harlow

Produced & Edited by: Olivia Harlow 

At last Sunday’s annual Christmas-themed church service at the Phnom Penh Church of Christ, Christmas lights decorated the stage, teens reenacted the Bible’s Nativity scene, and a preacher dressed as Santa flung candy into the air.

The congregation was packed with hundreds of Cambodians and several expats. One of the attendants was 24-year-old Phally Ken.

Ms. Ken, who started attending church services in 2013 and was baptized this July, is one of many Cambodians who recently converted to Christianity and celebrated Christmas for the first time this year.

“This Sunday is the first time Christmas has meaning to me,” said Ms. Ken, adding that although she’s attended church for two years, this is her first “real” Christmas. “This year I feel it, I am thankful for it.”

Cambodians gathered after school at the Phnom Penh Church of Christ on Christmas at a party that included various games, dancing, and a massive Christmas feast. 

To celebrate, Ms. Ken—who currently works full-time as a hotel receptionist and part-time as an English teacher—made paper snowflakes with her students, bought herself champagne and chocolates, and attended multiple Bible studies this week with friends.

Additionally, on Christmas Day, she attended a party at church, with dancing, games, a huge feast and a gift exchange.

Ms. Ken said she used to be Buddhist, and that when she first started attending church, she was still unsure of her religious beliefs. She explained that because she comes from a family with “no love”, the compassion she found in the church helped her to feel whole.

After speaking with different pastors and studying the Bible more closely, Ms. Ken said that she became convicted.

Sothea Ket—unlike Ms. Ken, who no longer visits pagodas or practices Buddhism—said that although he too attends the Phnom Penh Church of Christ and considers himself Christian, he also still believes in Buddhism.

“Both Christianity and Buddhism are the same in some ways. It’s interesting. For me, it’s not picking which one is better. It’s whichever one helps me and gives good advice for my life,” he said, adding that he feels rejecting Buddhism altogether is ignoring his cultural roots. “These people who are pure Christian become Western. You know, Asian culture is Buddhist.”

Uong Vibol—former pastor and founder of the National Christian Churches Network Council of Cambodia—doesn’t religiously practice Buddhism, but agrees that it’s important to appreciate its cultural aspects.

Cambodians teens participated in a dance contest at the Phnom Penh Church of Christ's Christmas party. 

“I think it’s part of Cambodian culture. We are Christian, but still Cambodian,” he said, adding that he believes practicing in worship is much different than practicing culturally. “For me, as a learner and seeker, although Buddhism is not the true God, he is a good philosopher and a good teacher.”

In recent years this attitude towards Buddhism and Christianity in Cambodia has become much more accepted, yet according to Khon Dara—Deputy Director of Ministry of Cult and Religion—only about 2 percent of Cambodia’s population identity as Christian.

That said, Mr. Dara explained that very few churches—all within Phnom Penh city limits—existed in Cambodia in the 1990s, and today there are over 1,397 registered churches nationwide.

According to Mr. Vibol, the number of Christians has also increased since the 1990s, when only about .075 percent of Cambodians were Christian.

Mr. Vibol has been an active Christian for 30 years now and said that recently he’s personally witnessed about two or three people be baptized in his church community each month.

“More people open their heart and understanding today, especially young people,” he said, adding that he sees children and teens getting more involved in youth groups and Bible studies. “They come to understand Christianity, sharing the Gospel, and they still have a choice. They choose it.”

Even though the number of Cambodian Christian believers remains relatively small, their faith is strong.

“I am not broken in heart anymore,” said Ms. Ken, adding that she used to not know the meaning of happiness. “I was born again. God is so awesome. He can do everything.”

The Native American Culture.. a look into the past

Yousef Kazim, 2014 SUSI Scholar

In our first cultural trips as SUSI 2014 Scholars was to the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Ohio, which was a great opportunity to have a closer look to mounds and earthworks that were built by Native American hands almost 2,000 years ago.

The most interesting thing about those Hopewell Indians earthworks that they were in the form of circles, squares, and other geometric shapes and in different sites, which might force you to ask yourself: how come that those Hopewell Indians knew that much about geometry and architecture?

During that visit, I tried – for the first time in my life – to practice a new thing which was Video Editing, and to be honest, it was a good start, and I wish you share the result of that experience through having a look to my "Native American Culture" short documentary.

Call and Post: Blood and tradition

By Fernando Venegas Traba (Chile)

One of the main things that the general public, and a pretty respectable amount of journalists thinks about our profession, is that we have to be objective. We should check the facts, organize the information and communicate it to the public. Well, I have never agreed with this point of view, don´t get me wrong, I believe that we must be accurate, that we must pursue the facts to built a good non-fiction narrative that gives an idea of what is going on in our societies, that we must contrast sources,but I don´t think that objectitivity is possible.

Basically because we are always making decisions, when we choose to cover this instead of that, when we choose to use a source over another one, when we took a photo, we use an adjective or even when we decide the headline, we are, at all time, using our own experience and subjectivity. 

This doesn´t mean that we are blind, or we are slaves of our own perceptions, what it means is that we are always, talking from somewhere, from our experience, culture, religion (or non religion), values and even political point of view. When we acknowladge this, we can start to compromise, to take a stand, not to lie, but to be real honest in our approach to reality.

Constance Harper (Associate Publisher/Editor)

This is what I saw in our visit to the Call & Post, a niche newspaper, founded in 1916 by the inventor Garret Morgan, centered in informing the black community of Cleveland, from a black community point of view, and they are blunt honestly in recognizing this.

As you may have deducted, by seeing the photographies and reading the texts at this blog, we are quite a colorful group, and in the day of our visit, the questions and subjects that we rise were pretty direct, most of them not very politically correct in a society like this one (U.S.), but importants and necesaries to understand the culture and the focus of this publication. Racial issues, editorial focus, salaries, subjectivity and objectivity were discuss by our group and a number of the staff at the Call & Post. It was at least refreshing to see the honesty and how up front they were with their answers. They declare themselves as a commit newspaper, interpreting the reality from an african american point of view, because it is necessary, because the history of the USA has been hard with the black community, and is part of their job to give voice and opinion to those, that in many times, has been abused or forgot by the goverment or the society.

Felicia Haney, Journalist C&P

It was really interesting, and certainlly makes sense that in a place like Cleveland, with a population integrated by a 51% african american, the Call & Post is a very important media. With a circulation of 20 thousand, this newspaper reviews al of the topics that this particular community needs to know, and also, the ones that they are interested in.

This paper is made of flesh and spirit, of real truth, not only the one supported by facts, but the one that is achieved when you are clear in your point of view, in your way to see the world. The Call & Post is ink and blood.

Fatima: Single Mother, Social Outcast

By Rachel Ferchak

Tighza Valley, Morocco

A pair of henna-covered hands works swiftly and almost effortlessly. Her movements come as habit, like a science. At first, the woman digs into her white plastic box, which resembles a tackle box, and pulls out a handful of bags of multicolored, pinhead-sized beads. Rustling through the plastic bags, she finds five shiny beads with perfectly coordinated shades of amethyst and dark lime green. With an inch-long piece of sterling, looped at one end, in her right hand, she scoops up the beads one-by-one. She repeats the process until she has six pieces of coordinated sterling.

Tool in hand, she makes a small loop on the other ends so the beads won’t budge. Then, she places three of the sterling pieces onto a question mark-shaped sliver of sterling, tightening the loops as she goes. Within 10 minutes, she has finished a pair of earrings, which she sells for 50 dirhams. Earring-making is just one of the few ways she supports herself and her 8-year-old daughter.

Fatima Ouahassou, 32, moved to the village seven years ago, just months after her daughter Ikram was born. A family in the village offered for her to live in a two-room home, rent free; thus, she moved to the village because it was all she could afford, considering she had no income and no family to help her. Prior to the birth of her daughter, Fatima’s boyfriend ran off, leaving her pregnant and alone. Nearly everyone disowned her because having a child out of wedlock is shameful in the Muslim community. But she kept her child regardless, though she had offers from people who wanted to buy Ikram from her.

In tears, Fatima recounted her story for me…

Moving to the village was one of the hardest things she has done, mainly because of the rumors floating around about her. Fatima said that nearly everyone in this village refers to her as a “whore” or “prostitute” because Ikram doesn’t have a father. She said Ikram suffers as well.

Most of the young girls either make fun of Ikram, or the girls’ parents won’t allow Ikram to play with their daughters. At school and around the village, Ikram said she is subject to ridicule and gossip about her mother, which often makes her cry. Sometimes she tells her mother, other times she doesn’t, because when she does, she and her mother cry together. She hates seeing her mother cry.

By this point, Fatima said that she has explained the situation to her daughter and she said Ikram understands. However, Fatima said she is sending Ikram to live with her grandmother in Ouarzazate in September in order that receive a better education than the education offered in the village. But Ikram said that she is leaving because of constant mockery by other children. Either way, both Ikram and Fatima believe that Ikram will have a better life in the city because many children are in the same situation in the city. Also in the city, Fatima said, people are not in each other’s business, and most even keep to themselves.

Caring for a child on her own is not the only major trial Fatima has had to overcome. When she was a child, her father did not want her in the home, so he sent Fatima to live with her grandmother. When her grandmother died, she left 16-year-old Fatima on her own. And she has worked to support herself ever since. Later, after Ikram was born, Fatima discovered a growth on the right side of her jaw, which turned out to be a dental abscess. In 2007, with the help of Angela (a nun from Ouarzazate) and Claire (her sponsor from the United Kingdom), Fatima had extensive surgery to take out the abscess that could have taken her life.

Regardless of her situation and the setbacks of her past, Fatima tries to continue life as normally as she can. She managed to work out a deal with a shop owner from Ouarzazate, who allows her to sell clothing to women in the Tighza region (her village and the three surrounding villages). Fatima receives a portion of the clothing sales, making about 100 dirhams per week. She also makes a little extra money by helping Carolyn around the kasbah and by making small tapestries. The remainder of her income comes from Claire, who sends her 300 dirhams per month to help with Ikram’s expenses.

Despite everything in her life, Fatima will always greet you with a gentle and joyful smile, the kind of smile that will warm your heart and brighten your day.

(Ikram shows off her Berber dancing skills, while Fatima knits.)

For more information on my trip to Morocco, check out my website, "Rock the Kasbah."

Japanese Porn Industry, an Open Secret

By Chu Yang

Edited by Hiram Foster

Rie Takahashi looks like any other 26-year-old girls in Japan, but she is special. When she was 19, she worked at one of the bathhouses in Kanazuen, of Gifu, to the west of Tokyo.

The bathhouses in Japan are not places where the clients take baths but actually stand for “soaplands” where male clients engage in sexual activity with female prostitutes. A number of soaplands are usually located in one area. Kanazuen, with 64 soaplands, is one of the well-known areas in Japan.

(Image provided by Tyoron2 of Wikipedia.com)

Takahashi was one of the 1,500 girls who are working in Kanazuen. She worked there for almost one year. Every night she wore formal dresses and worked from 6 p.m. to 12 p.m. She took a taxi to her work place from the station, even just 10 minutes’ walk, to keep her whereabouts unknown. However, one of her parents’ friends found her entering one of the soaplands and told them. They were shocked and angry with her, so she quitted the job.

She still had the expensive gifts the customers presented on her birthday and other holidays, like a Prada bag. Unfortunately, her customers also left her with unwelcome gifts, sexually transmitted diseases (STD).

Yuki Nakama, 26, an English teacher in Hida Takayama High School, used to be one of her good friends, but after she worked in the soapland, Nakama didn’t contact to her anymore.

“She was a good friend, but I didn’t want to talk to her after she worked there,” Nakama said. “That is such a bad thing, and her life has changed a lot.”

Sex and Japanese Culture

In Japan, sex-related workers are still not accepted by Japanese society, especially for old generations and women. Not only are girls who provide sex-related service not accepted by the society, but also actresses in adult videos rarely find a way to return to the mainstream after earning fame in this industry.

Michika Tsuda, 23, a Japanese senior studying Chinese in Shanghai International Studies University has strong opinion on the sex industry. “Actually, I think pornography is not necessary.” Tsuda said. “I do not understand why it exists in the world, to satisfy men or to make more money?”

Most Japanese still keep a fairly conservative attitude towards sex-related topics. Few people talk or joke about it. Within families, parents barely mention this in front of kids. Sex-related conversation will only take place among several close friends or between couples.

Although talking about sex-related topic in public is considered a social taboo, the prevalence of pornography in Japan is surprising. People could easily access pornography through convenience stores, rental stores, bookstores, cell phones, Internet, even the vending machines, almost everywhere in Japan. Also, the adult videos in Japan are well-known for its variety of genres. Some of these genres even make people in other counties feel sick, like rape sex, incestuous sex, and child pornography.

When walking on the streets in Japan, it is usual to see this interesting image: a man buys an adult magazine from a convenience store, then he immediately puts it into private sections when he walks out the store. The mindset most Japanese are insisting is that desiring for sex is acceptable, but speaking out or showing this hope is not right.

“We always try to hide our emotions and needs,” said Takatoshi Egmi, 28, an English teacher in Meijo High School, Nagoya. “We are educated to be modest and restrained in public. Showing interest in sex easily makes you look lustful, and that goes against my education. But, you know, sex is an instinct, the harder you try to inhibit, the more extreme ways you have to find to release the pressure coming from the control.”

This unique mindset in the society makes most girls in this industry are afraid of being recognized by others.

The Industry

Kanazuen area operates a website named “Kana-Zoo”, listing information of all the girls who are working in there. The website categorizes the girls into different types, like mature women, amateurs, Lolita, and so on, so web users can filter girls by types, time length they serve, one to three hours, and price, ranging from ¥15000($200) to ¥25000($300) per hour.

It’s as if the girls are waiting in display windows to be picked up by customers. Most photos the website shows are edited by blurring or pixelization, while some girls simply cover parts of their faces with a hand.

In spite of socially unacceptable job, most girls still choose to work secretly. Not like the girls in some developing countries who have to earn their bread by this job, most of the girls in Japan work for extra money to buy luxury products, like Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton.

“I do not think most of them have to live on it,” Miki Oba, 22, a college student in Nagoya, said. “In Japan, it rarely happens that someone has to sell her body to make a living. I think they want to make a lot of money to buy expensive bags. In Japan, some girls are crazy for that stuff.”

Naoto Higuchi, 24, a Japanese graduate student at OU feels the same way.

“If someone wants to make a living, she could probably find a part-time job,” said Naoto. “Some might have no choice, but for most of them, this is a better way to earn more money in short time.”

Hideyuki Tanaka, 22, senior in Ohio University, has a more tolerant idea of sex industry.

“Generally, people don’t think the girls are working but selling bodies to the public,” Tanaka said. “But I do not really care so much. There is demand in the market, so supplying the service is not a bad idea. I think they are working, just like other jobs. Men need the girls to satisfy their demands, so they should respect them. Otherwise, the girls are not tools of releasing men’s lust. I think that is totally wrong.”