Ngugi's Article

In our group discussion, our main focus was on the culture within the language.  Sometimes we teach English without realizing the cultural impact it may have.  Sometimes these differences can change not only the understanding of the language but by the use of it, change people's behaviour.  One story that came from our group discussion was this, students of different ages were in a classroom.  Most of the students were beginners of the language.  During break, the students went out to play.  A few minutes later, a few students came back crying.  The native teacher asked, why are you crying?  They had a fight.  The teacher asked why.  The answer, he is younger than me but didn't use the honorific terms.  He used language as if we were the same age.  The other student said, I didn't mean too.  Then I thought about this story for awhile.  Even for me, being a second generation Korean, I live in this country, I want to respect this culture, however, I don't know which line to cross.  Here is a story about myself, I used to be a director of an English Camp for elementary and middle school students.  The camp was usually around 4 weeks long.  We would have native teachers and Korean university students working at the camp as teachers.  After the first week, Korean university students would just call me by my name, "Huggy".  At first, I was perplexed inside, then irritated, finally angry.  I don't know why, I just was.  The western culture inside of me would not mind,  but since we were in Korea, shouldn't Korean culture reign, therefore I had a right to be angry.  Even though we spoke English, that should not be a passport for them to use the Western culture on me.  In the end, I didn't fight any of them, I didn't have any ill feelings towards anyone, I just wondered where do I have to draw the line.  Where does Western culture end and Korean culture begin, or vis versa?  How does language play its part?  To this day, I am still wondering.  Until a good answer is suggested, I will just go with the flow and bury my own personal cultural feelings away.