I had to post this. It's a list of things that folks from other countries are amazed, or puzzled, about when it comes to living in the good old USA. One of the greatest blessings I had as a Protestant minister was dealing with the International Missions field. Because of that, I came into contact with a wide range of people and got to know folks from Africa, Asia, S. America, Europe, the former USSR. I met many in grad school as well. Enough to learn that others don't always see the US as we do.
My favorite story was from a friend who was Nigerian. We were chatting about his first experiences in the US. At the time (early 90s), he had just come to America a short time before, and was still getting used to things. As we talked, he told me about the one thing America had that blew him away. Trains. He said our trains were freaking huge! In Nigeria they have left over medieval train equipment. But in the US, he said the first time he saw a train go by he almost jumped backwards. Even though my Dad was a train engineer, I never really thought about how unique our rail system was.
And the list goes on. Not all of it was complementary. Some of it involved being shocked at how critical Americans are of our own heritage and our own culture. But one thing for sure, they managed to point things out and comment on topics that I never thought about.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Let me know your thoughts