Hello All~

Of all the assigned RPC readings on the 9/1 section of the schedule, I felt like the two that really had an impact on my mind were Barthes's Toys and Ho's Craving the other, mainly because I can very much relate the authors' sentiments with my own childhood.

Barthes's Toys made me realize, first of all, how different cultures view "childhood playtime". Assuming that Barthes's essay holds true- that French toys are miniatures of adult appliances- then I am astonished about what this says for French culture. Coming from the Philippines and growing up here in the States, I was used to more "conventional" children's toys, such as action figures, LEGO blocks, foam guns, and stuffed animals. What I played with were toys that expressed "childhood" and "innocence"- in the United States and in Southeast Asia (At least in the Philippines), we like to spoil our children by giving them something lighthearted and "fun". We don't start introducing children to the real world until they grow out of those little amusements and desire something more. My childhood contrasts with the type of playtime described in the essay, the type of playtime that is geared less towards "playfulness", but rather focusing instead on productiveness- getting the children used to the real world. Personally, I think children should enjoy their time as kids and have more "spontaneity" in their playtime, because the real world sets in quick and hard.   

In reading Ho's Craving the other, I found myself being able to relate extremely quickly to the author. Specifically on the point about being a "guide" for a cultural experience, I believe that some of my friends view me in that manner when I take them out to eat Asian food. The first time I took a few friends out to eat with chopsticks, all of them stared at me as I began to pick up my noodles, just so that they would know how to properly use a pair of chopsticks. They also kept glancing at the way I distributed the spices and sauces to each individual dish, eventually copying me and acting like everything was natural. It's a bit funny really, but food isn't everything to learning about the cultural experience. I'm Filipino and eat Filipino food nearly everyday in a household that gossips in Tagalog, but I can never understand what it means to "be" Filipino in terms of emotions and priorities. Perhaps it's because I came to the states when I was only five years old? In all honesty, it's a bit sad that I can seem like an expert about Filipino food when I treat people, but in actuality my cultural knowledge about my home country is lacking.