insight from international visitors

Being an American for the last 26 years, actually, since birth, one would assume that I would be an expert on American culture. I have lived in five different states (Montana, Nebraska, California, Oregon and Arizona) and visited 43 of the fifty US states. I have friendships that span the country from coast to coast in a variety of socio-economic backgrounds.

However, despite all this knowledge and experience, it is truly amazing what we can learn about our culture by spending some time with someone from another country and culture.

Enter David Makan. David is a staff member of Food for the Hungry in Uganda, working as a development facilitator in the area of child development. I first met David in August of 2006. He is an incredible guy, so passionate about life and his work. He lives and works in the community of Piswa, a beautiful area in Eastern Uganda. It is truly a slice out of paradise.

I really enjoyed my time with David. He really inspired me with his heart for ministry and verve for life. After leaving, I thought to myself that perhaps our paths would cross again someday. They did, and this time they crossed on the other side of the Atlantic.

David arrived in Phoenix on February 5^th and wow, it has been a joyous experience to host David during a portion of his stay. His fresh perspective on my culture has been eye-opening to say the least. Throughout our time together he has made blunt observations about our culture, though not in a harsh and judgmental way.

Upon looking out of the car window, David pointed out that there are so many sidewalks in the United States. Even on the most remote and untraveled street in Phoenix or North Carolina, a sidewalk traveled alongside the road. He pointed out that he hadn’t really seen any Americans walking on these nicely paved sidewalks. However, in Uganda, everyone walks everywhere . . . . but there are very few sidewalks. Such an interesting scenario: those that walk a lot and could probably benefit from a smooth walking surface don’t have access to them, but those that walk very little have access to an extensive network of sidewalks. So, why do non-walking Americans continue to build sidewalks? This was a tough question to answer.

One evening David and I were watching TV together. He was enjoying listening to the news reports regarding the presidential race. However, in the middle of the telecast, they cut in with a story about Roger Clemens and his testimony on Capital Hill. David wanted to know who this man was and why was he important enough to be on the news. It was tough to explain to David that Roger was an athlete who “allegedly” used enhancement drugs to make himself bigger. David responded with a question, “why do all Americans want to be big? What is the excitement with being big?”

David was also curious about the abundance of credit cards, violence on TV and having ice with every drink. He was impressed by the fire department, social security and chicken strips.

All of this created some great conversation in which I was challenged. Why do we as Americans do certain things? Why does our culture permit such excess? Does it all make sense?

So, I implore you to think about the parts of your culture. If you know some international visitors, spend some time with them and ask them what they think about American culture? You’ll be amazed by their observations!

Josh

Exhausted in Phoenix, AZ