The Sisterhood of the Traveling Law Teachers
If you haven't noticed yet from my photos, law teachers and professors in Myanmar are almost all women. And by almost, I would estimate it's around 98% women. It's like a sisterhood. Many of them know each other because law teachers get transferred from campus to campus every 1-4 years, depending on what campus. Each university has a rotation schedule-- for example, generally, teachers rotate out of Dawei University every year and every four years out of Dagon University.
University culture is very different here than in the U.S. I keep thinking about our students who wear shorts and cutoff t-shirts around campus, and those of us who show up to work in jeans (guilty!). In Myanmar, campuses are very conservative and still quite formal. Students wear traditional Myanmar outfits of ingyi (the tops) and longyi (the long skirts). Even as foreign teachers, we are expected to dress modestly, down to our ankles with shoulders covered. When I was packing to come, this was a bit of a challenge because after all, it is 90 degrees, and back home, I usually am not so covered when it's so hot!
Teachers and professors also must wear traditional Myanmar clothing. They are definitely the best dressed on campus. Although most women in Myanmar wear longyi, the teachers wear particularly beautiful outfits. Their outfits are so brightly colored. I had to take a photo of some of the beautiful dresses the teachers were wearing today.
I had this same feeling traveling in Africa where the bright colors of women's dresses left me wondering why so much of my closet is black, grey, white, and brown. Already in the streets, some women are wearing Western clothes, which I have to say are much more boring.
It makes me sad to think that this beautiful way of dressing might someday disappear.
University culture is very different here than in the U.S. I keep thinking about our students who wear shorts and cutoff t-shirts around campus, and those of us who show up to work in jeans (guilty!). In Myanmar, campuses are very conservative and still quite formal. Students wear traditional Myanmar outfits of ingyi (the tops) and longyi (the long skirts). Even as foreign teachers, we are expected to dress modestly, down to our ankles with shoulders covered. When I was packing to come, this was a bit of a challenge because after all, it is 90 degrees, and back home, I usually am not so covered when it's so hot!
Teachers and professors also must wear traditional Myanmar clothing. They are definitely the best dressed on campus. Although most women in Myanmar wear longyi, the teachers wear particularly beautiful outfits. Their outfits are so brightly colored. I had to take a photo of some of the beautiful dresses the teachers were wearing today.
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| Me and Freda in our boring blue and black outfits compared to the law student's beautiful red longyi |
I had this same feeling traveling in Africa where the bright colors of women's dresses left me wondering why so much of my closet is black, grey, white, and brown. Already in the streets, some women are wearing Western clothes, which I have to say are much more boring.
It makes me sad to think that this beautiful way of dressing might someday disappear.
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