Throughout these eleven months of the World Race, we have adjusted and acculturated to every new country’s customs and etiquette. We have bowed with our hands together in prayer form to greet our elders in Asia. We rode unbuckled in the open bed of a truck around Africa. We have taken off our shoes when entering peoples homes in Turkey. We have observed the Sabbath on Saturdays in Israel. We have showered with a hose in the garden in Romania. Some of these customs will be easier than others to readjust to when we go through the acculturation process one more time back to the United States.
So here are a few tips about American culture we may have forgotten in our 11-months abroad:
- Hygiene does matter! Showering, brushing your teeth, combing your hair, changing your clothes, using deodorant are all highly recommended daily activities for the making of friends. America has running water, use it! your friends will thank you for it. While our immune systems are probably stronger than ever before, this writer does not recommend continuing to neglect ones health when resources are readily available and accessible.
- Some things are better kept to yourself. Although we were taught in kindergarten that sharing is essential to making friends, what they confused us with was that there were certain things we weren’t supposed to share… like germs and stories about bodily functions. Sharing foods and drinks no matter how delicious with a friend while you’re sick using the same utensils or straw is not suggested as this may be seen as gross and make you very unpopular. Talking about bodily functions openly, about your diarrhea or constipation is not suggested for casual conversation as this may silence your company, cause them to make a face, or burst out laughing hysterically.
- Personal space is wider than a centimeter sphere surrounding you. Most Americans sense of personal space extends to a bubble around them. Standing face to face while breathing down someones neck or sitting on the railing as a seat in front of their seat so that your butt is in their face is probably not acceptable on public transportation.
- Don’t eat everything served to you on your plate. Everything in
moderation. In most of the rest of the world, we already have portions
controlled by those who serve us, especially at restaurants. With the
little resources they have, wasting things is not an option. In
America, we have not mastered portion control and insist on supersizing
everything. - Wear your seat belt or helmet when riding in vehicles. While seat belts may not exist in vehicles in Africa and helmets are suggested but frequently are left in the basket in front of the motorcycle blocking the headlights in Asia, in America, you may find yourself with a very hefty fine or worse an atrocious accident. Use caution when operating motorized vehicles.
- Don’t throw trash out your car window, even if its biodegradable. In America, this is called littering and is often punishable by a rather hefty fine. Trash belongs in those pretty black or green bins located on most street corners and in homes. If you put the trash in one of these pretty bins at the end of your driveway or behind your apartment complex it will magically disappear within a few days.
- Currency is exactly the same value in USD as in USD. $1.00 = $1.00! Math brains no longer will have the privilege of showcasing talents by calculating currency exchange in a matter of moments. Bargaining and haggling is an art that is not appreciated in shopping malls and grocery stores.
- Herd mentality is out the window. Driving to the grocery store by yourself, having a room and a bed to yourself, eating by yourself can be expected. Not all activities must be done in a group or with someone else. You are capable of deciding which cereal you want for breakfast without the opinion of 6 other people. Actually, you don’t have to have cereal at all; you could make an egg white only spinach, mushroom, and tomato omlette with swiss cheese for breakfast just the way you like it.
and a few customs I hope never change no matter where I am; yes, I’m talking to myself here:
- Talk to strangers. Make new friends. Wherever you go, smile and talk to people. You’ll hear many wonderful stories and maybe get a chance to speak into their lives. People want to be heard and loved. Sometimes it just takes an understanding stranger to change the course of someone’s life. You never know how far the impact of a smile and “how are you really?” can go.
- Beauty is found within. So it doesn’t matter that you don’t look like you stepped out of a magazine, just go with your own personal style. So what if those patterns don’t match or those colors clash? Create your own fashion!
- Media is not an option for checking out. While it is very tempting to use music, television, movies to leave the present realities of life, it can become an unhealthy habit of not dealing with life. In most other countries, media is a luxury not a necessity. Escape into media is not an option, so having the difficult conversations with your neighbors, confronting those who hurt you, or choosing to forgive and let it go is your only option. Drowning it out in media input and ice cream is not an option.
- Accept gifts and helps. While you may be able to do it on your own or get that for yourself, it is a joy and a privilege for others to give you a gift or help you. Don’t rob others of that joy. Independence is not always a good thing. God calls us to live in community and to share with one another, that includes allowing others to serve you and love you through gifts. If pride gets in the way, get rid of it and allow others to love you.
- Conserve water. Water is a resource that is becoming more and more scarce. In many parts of the world droughts and water shortages have caused agricultural hardship and contribute to poverty and illness. Clean water is even harder to come by; barrels of water often sit completely open to the elements, insects, dust, and other parasitic creatures. This water is frequently used for bathing, laundry, cleaning, and consumption. Just by turning off the tap when brushing your teeth saves gallons of water every year.
- The world extends beyond America. There are more important things in this world than whose dating who in Hollywood or which referee made a bad call during a soccer game (no offense to you soccer fans out there). There are wars being fought on international turf, and while it may not have reached our backyard yet, it should rock our world. Literal wars are being fought over territory, over people, and over diseases, poverty, and social issues. Get involved!
So while there are many things I will miss and cherish from my cross-cultural experiences abroad this year, rest assured, I will be extremely grateful when I return home and people speak English to me instead of expecting me to know a foreign Asian language.
