Seeing the world through the eyes of a young child living in
two different cultures
I never really thought of my childhood as being unique or
different, until a tour member on our last journey to Bali simply stated “how
unique of a childhood you had, spending half of it in Bali, learning their
customs, beliefs and values and the other half living in the United States
learning a completely different set of norms.”
It was at this point that I was able to revert back in time to my
childhood and how I felt living in both Bali and the United States.
In Bali as a young child there was no electricity, water was
brought up in buckets from the river gorge below our home. I was taught to eat
with my hands; I spent most of my time with the Balinese family whose land we
lived on eating bananas and rice. At
that time of my life I felt “Balinese”, in my eyes there was no difference
between who I was and the people who loved and took care of me like I was their
own.
I remember my first time back to the United States after
living in Bali for over a year, my first instinct was to use my hands to eat
(who needed silverware). I was of course, immediately told by my parents that I
now needed to eat with a fork and knife. I was very confused and did not
understand why, I remember very much preferring to eat with my hands to using
silverware. This was just one of the very many cultural differences that I had
to get used to after being back in the United States. 
As a teenager I refused to go back and visit Bali because I
didn’t want to leave my friends. Little did I know at the time how lucky I was
to have such an opportunity. Returning to Bali as an adult, I do not take any
of it for granted. It still feels like home, the smell, the sounds and the
people have stayed the same. I now know that the way I was raised was unique
and very special. I feel so very fortunate to have been raised in two different
cultures.
Did you travel growing up?
If so what was your experience?
Namaste!
Gitana Omi
Tour Guide
Tour Guide
