This week is a fascinating class on cross-cultural adaptation. What an eye opener it has been so far! The teacher is none other than John (or Johannes) the Dutchman. He is one of the staff members here at Mountainside Missionary Training Center in the bustling town of Libby Montana. John is a dutch citizen but is married to an American. They were missionaries in Romania for years before they settled here in Montana. John is obviously experienced in cross-cultural living. He started out by telling us a funny story about misunderstanding culture in Romania. Apparently you never bring an even number of flowers to anyone unless the recipient is dead. Odd numbers of flowers are appropriate to give to a live person. While in Romania, John bought a dozen roses for his wife for their anniversary. The florist looked at him with sympathy and said, "Are you going to the gravesite right now?". John, not realizing this was a cultural faux pas and not wanting to ask what the florist meant replies, "Yes, yes I am." It's a funny example about how we can act inappropriately in a culture without realizing it.
We have discussed how the rest of the world views us Americans. Apparently it's not good. Foreigners often find us brash, rude, disinterested, arrogant and exuding "entitlement". In Uganda we are called "muzungu" which loosely translates as "man with no need". America is the land of opportunity and optimism. Anyone who lives in America has pockets lined with gold. We think we know everything about everything. We go into other countries without familiarizing ourselves with their culture and cause misunderstandings. Did you know that 80% of missionaries in the world are from the USA? Another student here with us who has been in Europe for the past 18 years described Americans as "BIG". We eat big, talk big, buy big and dream big. (This other student happens to be an American herself but has the advantage of seeing the culture from the outside). So basically we are big, fat, loud and often culturally inappropriate Americans. I have to say that I don't completely agree with this. We tread on dangerous ground when we start generalizing about any people group or culture.
My American blood tends to boil a little at the assumption that we are all these raging, spoiled morons. The issue should not be which culture is best or the most accurate. The issue should be respect and tolerance for different ways of doing things. I hate to use the word tolerance because a lot of abuse can occur. We are not to be tolerant to blatant sin and count it as cultural differences. But we should be tolerant of different approaches to life. When we strive to understand why people act a certain way their culture is easier to understand. For instance, in Uganda pedestrians do not have the right of way. You will be run over if you try to play chicken with a driver while crossing the street. I asked a national why this is because it seemed so rude. He said, "We have been beaten down by people for so long in our country that we have come to accept this sort of treatment." So while I was thinking drivers were just plain rude it really stems from years of abuse.
I don't have this all figured out. I am apprehensive about going into a culture and making huge mistakes. I never want to live up to the stereotype of a big, fat, loud American. I want to learn to appreciate the beauty of a different culture and to blend my own culture with it. I do not want to go to Uganda and make them into American converts. My hope and desire is to live a life like Christ and to win them to Him by the love we show, not to debate which culture is better.
We have three more days of this class. I am grateful to be wrestling with these ideas and to be challenged as to how I can enter a culture with humility. As the time grows near for us to leave for this foreign land please pray for our cultural sensitivity. Pray that God will grant us favor with the people and that we would be filled with love and respect for them. Pray that we would represent Christ not an American dream.
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