authenticliving80

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Project 2 Visceral Cultural Experience

I really enjoyed both parts of this project. Experiencing a temple lunch with many from the Asian community had some challenges when it came to understanding and describing various menu options, but overall, it did not feel overwhelming. The music they played on the big screen of various Thai boy bands was great and really added to the experience! When I go somewhere like that or the Hmong Village, people have usually been very friendly, but other times they are rude to me and nice to those who are not white. When this happens, I feel like I am invading their territory and feel embarrassed. Most times, people are very kind. These past experiences make me realize how as a white person I have limited experiences like this, while others who are not white may run into this daily.

The Salvation Army experience was far more difficult for me and before going in I felt a sense of panic in my body. Since I love talking to people, I was most concerned about how I was going to answer questions if people asked me. Thankfully, I was not asked much other than my name, but one woman said she really enjoyed my positivity and asked for my phone number. I started asking her other questions and redirected the conversation, which appeared to satisfy her. I felt a mixture of curiosity, sadness and disappointment with some of the ways people acted toward others. As I looked around, I noticed there were not many smiling faces. I bet it would be hard to smile if you were experiencing many difficult circumstances at once. It made me realize that even if I have hard things, my basic needs are being met. I am very blessed and fortunate for having a car, roof over my head, and food to eat.  I think it is very important for all of us to get out of our comfort zone continuously as a reminder of how others live.

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Wat Promwachirayan Buddhist Temple

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Lunch at Wat Promwachirayan

Sundays from 1030-6 from late fall until the end of March in St. Louis Park This temple offers a buffet! It was delicious and authentic. There were many hands at work to keep fresh food coming out. I saw several Buddhist monks coming in to enjoy lunch as well. Dressed in their traditional saffron robes. They were extremely busy when I got there at 1 p.m. If one does not sign up online, you need to wait in an overflow lot just to park and then they text you when you can move to the temple parking lot. Once you park at the temple, you get put on a waiting list for a table inside. I went with a friend, and we had to wait outside for about 35 minutes. Luckily, it was a warm day, and we enjoyed talking with people and being outside. There were people from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and India in line with us. Once we were inside the temple, we were sat at picnic tables close to other people. It felt very communal being in close proximity to others. It was much closer than American restaurants seat people. Some people who worked there spoke English well, while others were more difficult to understand. I had to get creative with my questions while navigating the menu options! Most people were very kind and patient when I asked questions, some seemed frustrated or got someone else to answer when we had a language barrier. In those instances, I felt awkward and thought they must feel that all the time being part of our culture. We ate the traditional Pho or beef noodle soup with Thai basil, lime, and cilantro as well as some other pork and fish dishes with vegetables. It was a fun experience, and we plan to go back before it ends.

Website for the buffet: thesundaybuffet.com

If I was going to counsel someone of Southeast Asian descent it would be imperative for me to develop cultural humility toward them because they are the experts of their culture (Bui et.al, 2022).  I want to show that I value creating a balance of power in relationships and will continue to pursue educating myself on their culture to create a safe space for them to grow and heal. I need to be aware of the generational trauma many of them have faced when coming to America from refugee camps as well as how they heal as a community. Culturally, they feel extreme levels of shame when a family member is experiencing these issues, so the family being supportive would be a very important part of successful treatment. When I read about men in Thailand experiencing alcoholism, it mentioned the reason they went to treatment was to learn to control their drinking not to quit. Many had used a form of treatment in a temple that utilizes Buddhist prayer practices and meditation along with herbs (Hanpatchaiyakul, et.al, 2014). This tells me that finding a method that they believe in and one that will be supported by their family is imperative for change.

In an article about Filipinos and treatment it stated,” Studies report that Filipinos are generally reluctant to open up to strangers because they believe that seeing a professional means they are crazy, and this will tarnish the reputation of the family, they prefer to seek help from family, friends, religious leaders and folk healers” (Hechanova et.al, 2018, p.3). When people in this study decided they wanted help sixty percent of them said their primary motivation to get sober was their family. (Hechanova,et.al, 2018).

References

Bui, J., A. Waters, R. Ghertner, E.H. Allen, L. Clemans-Cope, K.J. Taylor, and C. Ramos.    “Addressing Substance Use and Social Needs of People of Color with Substance Use Disorders.” Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 2022

Hechanova, Ma. R. M., Alianan, A. S., Calleja, M. T., Melgar, I. E., Acosta, A., Villasanta, A., Bunagan, K., Yusay, C., Ang, A., Flores, J., Canoy, N., Espina, E., Gomez, G. A., Hinckley, E. S., Tuliao, A. P., & Cue, M. P. (2018). The Development of a Community-Based Drug Intervention for Filipino Drug Users. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.1017/prp.2017.23

Kulnaree Hanpatchaiyakul, Henrik Eriksson, Jureerat Kijsompon & GunnelÖstlund (2014) Thai men's experiences of alcohol addiction and treatment, Global Health Action, 7:1, 23712, DOI: 10.3402/gha.v7.23712https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v7.23712

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Resources

Housing-

507-328-7175/ housingstability@olmstedcounty.gov

Echo Center-206 4th St. SE

The Landing- 507-884-0423

Mental Health/ Substance Use Resources-

Zumbro Valley-507-289-2089

MN Adult and Teen Challenge- 507-288-3733

Victims of Domestic Violence

Women's Shelter and Support Center- 507-285-1010

Family Service Rochester-507-287-2010

Family Support

Family Promise- 507-281-3122

Olmsted County Child Welfare Services- 507-328-6400

Thrive! Family Resource Center- 507-258-9055

Free Meals

Christ United Methodist Church-507-289-4019

Community Food Response- 507-281-5061

Open Table Food Truck-507-288-2649

Health Care Services/STI Testing

Community Health Services-507-529-0503

Planned Parenthood-507-288-5186

Good Samaritan Medical Clinic- 507-529-4100

IMAA- 507-289-5960 (helps other cultures with interpreting and paperwork etc.)

[authenticliving80]

Salvation Army- Rochester

There were so many people inside and some outside that I did not want to take pictures of anyone. I took this photo from KTTC.

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Salvation Army Lunch

I decided to go to the Salvation Army in Rochester for my free lunch. The day I went, they served chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, salad, and a cookie. They offered water and cranberry juice to drink. The food was pretty good and there were around fifty people there. I am ashamed to say that I had severe anxiety about doing this activity. I am extremely extroverted but felt nervous and out of place. I had to give my first and last name to the women inside the door before proceeding to the lunch line. As I waited, I looked around for a seat. I noticed some people looked neat and clean, while others had tattered clothing and looked like they had not showered. i felt deep compassion for them and became more curious than uncomfortable at that point. After I got my lunch, I approached two women and a man and asked to sit with them. We had a great conversation! They all had very interesting stories. One woman was in her nineties, but did not look a day over seventy-five! She had lost three spouses to cancer and was a survivor herself. I enjoyed talking with all of them.

I had never been in this building before, so I took a look around. They had places for people to shower, bathrooms, a food pantry and a library. In addition to lunch, they also offered blankets to people and had various dates that they would give out coats, shoes and other winter gear. It stated on a poster that much of the outerwear and shoes were new. The volunteers were very kind and had been doing this for a long time. By the time I left, I had told them that I would be interested in volunteering! I am thankful for this experience.