Thick. British. Accents.

By Sahana Selvaraja

Don’t get me wrong– the two Hannahs that spoke for us at MEW were absolutely enlightening, but their accents were the main thing that most of us could focus on. I lost count of how many times I was so immersed in their thick British accents that I would forget to actually focus on what they were preaching. 

I did listen! But their accents were my favorite part.  

“My mind is blown! I never really thought that I had barriers in my relationships until this,” said Yuna Lee (11) after the first MEW day where the Hannahs talked about how people put barriers in their relationships. 

They used an analogy where you take a friend out to eat but you keep putting your baggage on the center of the table. The first bag Hannah (with the glasses) put on the table was labeled “EXPECTATIONS” in bright red, and the second bag she put on the table was labeled “RELIGION.”

They weren’t wrong. Sometimes our expectations of people make us overestimate or expect them to be a certain way, but that really brings tension. Expectations cause us to mistrust people or not be patient with them. They cause us not to accept people. And this is really common in our world today, especially with how social media portrays certain people groups. TV shows love to exaggerate stereotypes of certain races, and some people actually take them seriously. As an Indian, I would like to clarify, I do not talk like Apu from the Simpsons. 

We also use religion as a way to distance ourselves from people because we think they are wrong. Muslims have a complicated relationship with Hindus, and even within a certain faith, like Christianity, certain denominations are hostile towards each other because of their differences (Catholics vs Orthodox Christians). 

“But we shouldn’t be doing that! They only make people uncomfortable with our differences, and we begin to assume things about each other,” said Annabelle Low (12). 

And I completely agree. I am so happy that the Hannahs decided to address this topic at an international school like Dalat, where we have a diverse community. Sometimes we might make generalizations about each other because of our different backgrounds (and not always intentionally!), but this MEW encouraged us to let go of those expectations and get to know each other more kindly. Thank you, Hannahs!