Cultural Diversity
19 05 11 09:56 Filed in: My Life
It would be a simpler world if everyone were just like me. It would also be a lot less interesting. Travel has a way of reminding one of the cultural smorgasbord of our world. In the last three weeks of traveling in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, Suzanne and I have noticed that not everyone is just like us. Sometimes that is good; sometimes it is not.
I was born and lived the first seven years of my life in England, and so the culture is not entirely foreign. But I live in a different culture now - and England has changed a bit as well - and so we experienced a few interesting moments. Take a simple thing like traffic: The British (and the Irish) drive on the left side of the road, and the driver sits on the right side of the car. It seems backwards, especially when someone invites you to sit in the front passenger seat and there is no steering wheel there. There was one startling moment when I glanced at a passing car to see a child’s head sticking out of what I at first thought was the driver’s window. Normal activities like crossing the street become new challenges that one has to think about before acting (look right...).
The same rules apparently don’t apply to walking. (Stand to the right, pass on the left on escalators.) Walking is a lot more popular. At first I thought it was a plot to make sure that I kept up with my cardio exercise, but it was instead a culture that is not addicted to the automobile. That was refreshing.
TV was less refreshing. The U.S. has received some of the best of British television. In return, we have apparently sent them some of the worst of ours. Who would have expected to see Judge Judy in Britain? But I guess it’s okay since they have a lot of bad stuff too.
Tube etiquette was disappointing. (The tube is the London Underground or subway system.) We rode a couple of dozen underground trains, some of which were packed with people. Not once did I see a young person offer a seat to a grey-haired traveler or a man offer a seat to a lady. Perhaps it is cultural value on equality, but it is not the England I remember.
We experienced gracious hospitality virtually everywhere we went. It is good to know that not everyone perceives Americans as ugly. It strikes me that I have much to learn from people who are not like me.
I was born and lived the first seven years of my life in England, and so the culture is not entirely foreign. But I live in a different culture now - and England has changed a bit as well - and so we experienced a few interesting moments. Take a simple thing like traffic: The British (and the Irish) drive on the left side of the road, and the driver sits on the right side of the car. It seems backwards, especially when someone invites you to sit in the front passenger seat and there is no steering wheel there. There was one startling moment when I glanced at a passing car to see a child’s head sticking out of what I at first thought was the driver’s window. Normal activities like crossing the street become new challenges that one has to think about before acting (look right...).
The same rules apparently don’t apply to walking. (Stand to the right, pass on the left on escalators.) Walking is a lot more popular. At first I thought it was a plot to make sure that I kept up with my cardio exercise, but it was instead a culture that is not addicted to the automobile. That was refreshing.
TV was less refreshing. The U.S. has received some of the best of British television. In return, we have apparently sent them some of the worst of ours. Who would have expected to see Judge Judy in Britain? But I guess it’s okay since they have a lot of bad stuff too.
Tube etiquette was disappointing. (The tube is the London Underground or subway system.) We rode a couple of dozen underground trains, some of which were packed with people. Not once did I see a young person offer a seat to a grey-haired traveler or a man offer a seat to a lady. Perhaps it is cultural value on equality, but it is not the England I remember.
We experienced gracious hospitality virtually everywhere we went. It is good to know that not everyone perceives Americans as ugly. It strikes me that I have much to learn from people who are not like me.
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