三十而立，从了解30+种文化开始 Stand up in my 30s by knowing 30+ cultures

A screenshot from google maps with my statement in green

30+

三十而立

Stand up in my 30s

我超爱生日和挑战的，也从梦境中汲取灵感。今年我曾经梦到自己在和30个人进行视频会议而我只有三小时时间。这些人都是各自领域的专家，而且我真是很想好好和ta们谈谈。但是，我没有足够的时间，ta们也没有。

当我醒来时就有了会心一击的灵感。我和密友以及室友们讨论了实现这个挑战的可能性，想要在生日月和来自30个国家的朋友以及朋友的朋友们聊聊天。我和来自不同国家的室友们试验了这个想法，我们尝试了不同国家的食物，听了不同的音乐，还看了相关的纪录片。

上周日，我和我的新邻居也谈了这个想法。她也觉得这个挺不错，然后提到了现在没有自己的国家库尔德人，在用库尔德菜来维持彼此的联系。

这基本上就是我的梦怎么逐渐成为现在你读到的这个挑战：

三十而立，从了解30+种文化开始

I love birthdays and challenges. And I get inspirations from my dreams. For example, earlier this year, I had a dream of having a zoom call with 30 people, and I had only 3 hours. They are all experts in their fields, and I really want to talk to them. However, I do not have enough time, neither do they.

When I woke up, this ah-ha idea came to me. I talked to my close friends and flatmates about this challenge, talking to 30 friends and friends' friends in 30 countries this July. I trialled this idea with my flatmates (all from different countries), and they seemed to work really well. We tried different countries' cuisines, listened to their music, and watched relevant documentaries.

Last Sunday, I also talked to my new neighbour about this idea. She embraced this idea and mentioned the Kurds, who no longer have their country, use their Kurdish cuisine to feel connected with their people and others.

That is basically how my dream gradually becomes the challenge you are reading now.

Stand up in my 30s by knowing 30+ cultures.

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因为我有在中国和英国生活的经历，而挑战是走出舒适区，知道我不怎么了解但感兴趣的，所以没有把这俩放进去。

但在我和朋友们交流的过程中，偏向于采用更接近对话的半结构式访谈。

所有我因兴趣而问出的问题，只要对方感兴趣，ta说完之后，我也会分享自己对此的生命体验与思考，ta也可以问我问题。想不予置评的也可以不说。也就是说，这个挑战是双向交流的过程，不是我单向的好奇与索取。

Because I have lived experience in China and Britain, and the challenge is to get out of my comfort zone, knowing what I do not quite know but feel interested in, that is why I did not put in these two.

Nevertheless, while communicating with friends, I am sure I prefer to use semi-structured interviews closer to conversations.

All the questions I asked due to my interests, as long as they are also curious, after their answer, I will also share my lived experiences and thoughts over my question. They can also ask me questions which jump to their mind. We both can refuse to comment if we don't want to. That is, this challenge is meant to be two-way communication, not my binary curiosity and demand.

下面是我暂定的初稿：

通过7种方式了解30+种文化

a. 和生长在这(几)种文化中的人聊聊天

b. 读和这(几)种文化有关的书籍与文字

c. 看和这(几)种文化有关的电影/纪录片

d. 品尝这(几)种文化里常吃的菜肴/食物

e. 听在这(几)种文化中成长起来的人创造的音乐

f. 欣赏在这(几)种文化中成长起来的人创造的艺术作品

g. 了解这(几)种文化中的人都接受什么(学校/大学)教育

See below the initial draft list:

Knowing 30+ cultures via 7 channels

a. talking to people growing up in the culture(s)

b. find a book or texts about the culture(s)

c. watch a film/documentary about the culture(s)

d. try the cuisines/food their people usually have. Listen to the music created by people growing up in the culture(s)

f. appreciate the art created by people growing up in the culture(s)

g. know the education (school/university) they have in the culture(s)

下面是我列的表：

My lists are as follows:

Europe 欧洲

1 Cyprus 塞浦路斯

2 France 法国

3 Germany 德国

4 Italy 意大利

5 Spain 西班牙

6 Sweden 瑞典

7 Serbia 塞尔维亚

(backup: Poland 备案：波兰)

Euroasia 欧亚大陆

8 Russia  俄罗斯

(backup: Turkey 备案：土耳其)

Asia 亚洲

9 India 印度

10 Japan 日本

11 Kurds 库尔德人

12 Saudi Arabia 沙特阿拉伯

13 Singapore 新加坡

14 Thailand 泰国

(backup: Sri Lanka 备案：斯里兰卡)

America 美洲

15 Brazil 巴西

16 Chile  智利

17 Cuba 古巴

18 Haiti 海地

19 Honduras 洪都拉斯

20 Peru 秘鲁

21 United States (Florida, New York)  美国

(backup: Bolivia 备案：玻利维亚)

Africa 非洲

22 Angola 安哥拉

23 Egypt 埃及

24 Kenya 肯尼亚

25 Libya 利比亚

26 Morocco 摩洛哥

27 Somalia 索马里

28 South Africa 南非

(backup: Tunisia 备案：突尼斯)

Oceania 大洋洲

29 Australia 澳大利亚

30 Fiji 斐济

(backup: Papua New Guinea 巴布亚新几内亚)

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I also drafted my birthday statement on 4th June 2021 after my first dose of vaccination. They will give a glimpse of the questions I may ask in my interviews with the people from the above 30+ cultures.

If there are people you think you can introduce me to or yourself as a good person to talk with, please let me know!

2021年6月4号接种完疫苗后，我还草拟了自己30岁生日的宣言。这些内容可以窥见我大概会在采访中问不同文化的人什么问题。如果你有觉得我可以联系一下的人，或者你自己就是，欢迎引/自荐！

At 30, I stand up for no violence, say no to contributing to nor be the recipient of physical violence or emotional violence.

三十而立，我为非暴力而立，拒绝施加和接受身体暴力与情感暴力。

I cannot stand the ignorance, arrogance, or demeaning from anyone, including myself.

我不能忍受无知、狂妄、轻视，无论这种言论来自谁，包括我自己。

At 30, I stand up for gender equality as a feminist, say no to sexism.

三十而立，我为性别平等而立，作为女性主义者，对性别主义反对到底。

I cannot stand the gender role stereotypes, mainstream or expectations just due to my sex.

我不能忍受性别刻板印象、拒绝接受只因我的性别而引起的主流或期待。

At 30, I stand up for racial equality as an anti-racist, say no to racism.

三十而立，我为种族平等而立，作为反种族歧视者，对种族歧视反对到底。

I cannot stand the racial superiority coming from something you did not even choose to be.

我不能忍受任何形式的种族优越感，来自根本就不是你选择的肤色与族裔。

At 30, I stand up for a sustainable, eco-friendly life, living with care and less waste.

三十而立，我为可持续的生态友好生活而立，用心生活，减少垃圾。

I cannot stand the convenience, fashion and travel around at the price of polluting the Earth.

我不能忍受便捷、时尚与到处去旅行，付出的代价是对地球的污染。

At 30, I stand up for left-behind children and teenagers, and their resilience lives in me.

三十而立，我为留守儿童与青少年而立，我们身体里都有一股韧性。

I cannot stand problematising and labelling them; we are mindful of our independence.

我不能忍受把ta们问题化、标签化，我们觉察到了作为个体的独立。

At 30, I stand up for education as lifelong development,  essential for every single being.

三十而立，我为“教育是终身发展”而立，它是每个人的必需品。

I cannot stand the outcome orientation, marketisation, or technician use of so-called education, which actually serves so many stakeholders but not receiving it.

我不能忍受结果导向、市场化、工具化所谓的教育，考虑多方利益，却忽视受教育者本人。

At 30, I stand up for geography as it shows a different view to live and imagine.

三十而立，我为地理而立，因为它显示了另一种生活和想象的角度。

I cannot stand reciting the lists of places without appreciating the differences and similarities while respecting their existence and culture.

我不能忍受背长长的地名而不是尊重它们的存在与文化，欣赏它们与自己生活的不同与相似