How to Appreciate Burma's Culture

Discover hidden-away Burma and the culture that survives despite its repressive government.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• CD Players
• VCRs
• Tapes Or CDs
• Airline Tickets To Burma

1. Pick up a copy of Edith T. Mirante's "Burmese Looking Glass: A Human Rights Adventure and a Jungle Revolution," and discover one woman's journey through Burma/Myanmar to get at the political truths of the country's dictatorship.
2. Read "The Snake Prince and Other Stories: Burmese Folk Tales," edited by Edna Ledgard.
3. Peruse Saw Myat Yin's "Culture Shock! Burma" for tips on how the locals live; this is especially important for etiquette purposes.
4. Learn more about Nobel Peace Prize-winning political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi in her collection of writings from her imprisonment by the Burmese government, "Letters From Burma."
5. Rent "Beyond Rangoon," starring Patricia Arquette as a woman who delves into the politics of Burma.
6. Listen to the traditional sounds of Burmese tuned drums on "Pat Waing: The Magic Drum Circle of Burma" by Kyaw Kya Naing.
7. Check out how the Burmese integrated the European piano into their repertoire after colonists introduced it into the culture. Buy U Yee Nwe's "Sandaya: The Spellbinding Piano of Burma."