Communal culture

I was early for my Geopark* trip with my friends. So there I was, sitting in a bakery and coffee shop in Sai Kung that opens early. Knowing I would be early, because I didn’t want to miss this hiking and boat trip that I had been so looking forward to, I had brought a book with me to read, but I never got a chance to read it.

The bakery is right outside a public pavilion where people gather for various reasons, or no particular reason at all. I was fascinated by the people traffic. I couldn’t take my eyes off the place. I saw older men and women, some with Filipino maids, using this public space as their social meeting place. Whereas young people use online social media, seniors use these physical spaces to stay connected.

I recalled the pictures I have taken of seniors gathering in public places. Then, suddenly, it dawned on me: This could be one of the major differences between aging in the East as opposed to the West.

Where in American and European cities would you find scenes such as those shown in these pictures? I would say that these are cultural manifestations of aging, differences between a collective-oriented culture versus an individualistic culture.

*The Geoparks initiative was launched by UNESCO to recognize and preserve sites of significant earth science interest.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.