Culture Clashing

Why Tiger Wood's Character Matters

2009-12-05T08:47:00.001-08:00

I hear a lot of people these days complaining about people who are upset with Tiger Woods. They ask: "So what if he cheated? What does that matter to you?" This is particularly the case, it seems, with Liberals and celebrities. I personally never put much stock in Tiger Woods myself. I don't watch golf. I don't play golf. And I don't know much about golf. I'm a miniature golf man.
But what I do know something about is heroes.

Right or wrong, like it or not, we live in a culture (US) that places high value on heroes. From sports athletes to presidents, from singers to actors, we constantly look for people we can hold up high and say: I wanna be like so and so. The thing we particularly look for in those people is strength of character, right or wrong, because strength of character is one of the quickest ways we can know for certain the person's integrity, and above all else, we value integrity in our heroes. Without integrity, our heroes can't be heroes because how can we look up to someone when we don't feel like we know who they are? We want leadership from someone who believes in something with passion and whose beliefs we share and know will not falter. Someone who lives what they preach, so to speak. As a result, when one of our heroes fails us, we feel let down, betrayed even. And for some people, there is a need to talk about that -- to try and come to terms with it.

It's ironic to me when my writer friends or others in entertainment complain it's nobody's business, because this just shows me how out of touch they often are with the real American people and their cultural understandings. The truth is, we as writers (I am one) help create the hero mythology of our culture every single day. We don't write stories about ordinary people. For the most part, no one would get excited about them. We write stories about characters of extraordinary strengths. We do this because we inherently know that's what our audience is looking for. That's what sells stories.

While I find it disgusting and sad the way the press exploit the personal lives of the famous or even slightly famous to raise their ratings and get dramatic stories, I don't think it's reasonable to expect otherwise in a culture which places such high value on heroes. While many celebrities and wealthy people live in their own culture with different rules for morality and different understandings than many of the regular people may have that does not make them superior or more knowledgable. In fact, it can often make them ignorant and insensitive and arrogant when they try and act like they are superior or more knowledgable. It lacks integrity to demand respect for your own personal life and beliefs and your own art when you show no such respect for the personal lives, beliefs, etc. of others.

So when people ask me why Tiger Wood's Character matters, my answer is: it matters because he was someone whose talent and success made him admirable and got him notice. It matters because he and his people cultivated and exploited his family image to encourage that admiration and hero worship. And it matters because fair or not fair, he chose a life that would take him on path to possible public scrutiny and held himself up like a role model for others to emulate. Since most of the country, outside of entertainment, believe infidelity is far from admirable because it is a betrayal and a lack of respect for a committed partner, it matters that someone claiming to care about family breaks his family's trust be being unfaithful.

To me, it's that simple, and I doubt it will change any time soon. I have been fortunate enough to meet and spend time with celebrities on many occasions in my career, and I can tell you they are just highly paid orrdinary people like you and me. They are talented, no doubt, but there was a lot of luck involved and good connections which allowed them to rise to the top of the stack, and somehow they worked hard enough and were willing to make the hard sacrifices necessary to stay there. In a culture that worships heroes, unfortunately, one of those is privacy and the right to demand that no one care how you behave in private.

So no, I don't feel sorry for Tiger Woods because of this embarrassing scandal. He brought it on himself. And no I don't sympathize with the Hollywood whiners, either. Because if they act the same as Tiger Woods, they will bring it on themselves too.

That's why Tiger Wood's character matters. For what it's worth...

LEave of Absence

2009-10-12T19:28:00.001-07:00

Due to a family emergency I am having to take a brief respite from my blogs. I will be back as soon a I can devote appropriate attention to quality postings. Please pray for us during this difficult time.

Bryan

Kids In Mexico

2009-09-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, I love kids. Always like to laugh with them, joke around, and play little games or just entertain them. I recently started teaching music classes in Mexico and 2/3rds of my piano class are girls under 10. They are all beautiful and cute. But they do keep their distance. My tendency when teaching kids is to hug and encourage them. Usually, in spite of any language barrier, this allows me to develop a good rapport. But in Mexico, they seem to keep their distance, which is a bit disappointing and hard for me to adjust to.

A little cultural background might be helpful. In certain parts of Mexican society, there is an assumption that girls will be the subject of sexual advances from any males, even relatives, so they must learn to keep their distance and even be kept away from males until they marry. The assumption in the culture seems to be that male libidos are so hard for men to control that other actions should be taken to protect the girls, since the males can't help themselves. Before I get lambasted, I am not saying I agree that male libidos cannot be controlled. We are biblically called to self-control so clearly God holds us accountable for controlling our desires and actions. But I am saying that it seems to be a cultural point of view there. Now, ironically, I am dealing with Protestant Christians here, so you would hope that would be a little different, but so far I am suspecting it may not be.

In any case, this presents a culture clash for me, as I have to be aware of how I interact with the kids and really watch myself so as not to offend. It should be easier, I guess, but I am so used to building rapport with kids, and often their parents, by joking and playing with the kids and just having fun. It also helps us bridge our language gap. All of these students, by the way, speak Spanish. A few know some English, but mostly it's the adults who do, not the kids.

In any case, an interesting culture clash that seemed to fit here. Sorry I have not posted in a while. Between vacation, job changes and some new writing projects, I have not had the time.

For what it's worth...

Worship Leadership With The Servant's Heart

2009-08-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

Worship styles and approaches are a dime a dozen these days. Some churches feel more like concert halls. Sometimes, this is the result of the layout and design of the space where worship takes place. Sometimes, it happens in traditional church spaces because of the heart attitude of the leadership or musicians.

I serve a small, new bilingual congregation on the U.S.-Mexico Border. I come here with a servant's heart. The pastor is not perfect but neither am I. I want the music in this church to reach a professional level, but I expect several years will be required. But I am determined to work with them to gradually grow. As important as what I do musically is the attitude I take toward relationships. How I treat people and how I treat worship matter.

Part of the responsibility I have as lead worshiper is to be a good shepherd, herding them into God's house weekly and helping them feel comfortable there. It's not just about my musical style and taste or my demand for what I want. I get some of what I want, not all of it. I am there to serve their needs. I am there to meet them where they are, pour the love of God upon them through my example -- my passion, my music, etc. -- and help them grow to love worship more. In the process, they will come to know and love God more and better. The most important thing is that they can follow and join in as they are comfortable and that they feel loved and accepted there.

If I have to play guitar for a while instead of piano, I don't complain about that. I am His servant and He called me here. If you come to serve on our worship team, you must believe God has called you to us, and you must humble yourself, set aside your wants and needs and serve. I want to see a good servant's heart in you by the way you volunteer to help clean up, and working with me on the tunes. I want you to be willing to do whatever is needed to help God's people worship. Whether they can sing or play an instrument or not, they need you to help lead them, and that's why God called you there.

When I hear people express frustration that the music may not be energetic enough because of this or that or not what they like because of this or that -- to be honest, I think that comes from a self-serving place, not the heart of God. I think serving God requires us to be open to doing things however we need to do them to meet the needs of His people where He has us at any moment. It is hard to do, but it is our call. It is not about professional musicianship or sound or musical styles. It is not about worship that sounds every Sunday like it came off a CD. It is okay to want all those things and to have the goal of getting there, but coming in demanding them as the only acceptable way is not.

You may be a talented musician and a good and Godly man, but you need to search your heart about these things so that you have the right attitude before God. Whether you serve here or end up elsewhere, your heart attitude is very important. I have to check my heart every day. I'm an artist. I have an ego. I fight that demon. But most of all I am a child of God, who has been blessed to be called to serve His people, and am daily humbled by that privilege. And God rewards us when we serve Him faithfully without concern for such things.

I don't want people to walk away feeling like it was a great concert or great music set. I want the worship music so interwoven with the message the Lord is bringing that day that the music itself is almost incidental -- opportunities for God's people to echo their hearts' cry and speak back to him.It's not about my glory. It's not about people saying "Bryan makes great music." If people walk out the door saying "Wow. Bryan did great today," I have failed. What I want them to do is walk out the door saying: "Wow, I really felt the presence of the Lord here today. Wow, God's presence here was so strong today. Wow, God really touched me today."

If they say those things, then something far more important than quality music has happened. If they say those things, they have had a true encounter with the real, true, living God. And not even the most professional sounding, highest energy, best written music can ever top that. Encountering God is what it's all about and that should be our entire focus and the goal of everything we do. If we get blessed in the process that can only come from God's presence not satisfying ourselves.

For what it's worth...

Old-Fashioned

2009-08-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, call me old fashioned, but I am clashing with the consumer culture and have been for a long time. I still remember the days when parts didn't cost as much as the original item, when companies took pride in warranties and good maintenance for customers, when items were actually made to last and companies were actually sorry they let their customers down when a product was deemed inferior. It seems those days are gone, and I mourn the loss.

The change happened, historically, after World War II. All of a sudden, inventors like Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were demoted as heroes to be replaced by accountants, business leaders and managers. These people didn't have the slightest idea how cars or machines worked or even how to make or fix them, but they did know how to cut down on costs in making them, how to cut employees, parts, or design costs to save the "bottom line." "Bottom Line" became the new buzz word. Marketing went into overdrive to convince people that buying new was better than keeping old. Everyone needs a new car, why keep fixing the old one? With this mentality, maintenance and long lasting products were not a major concern. In the process, Board meetings became less customer satisfaction focused and far more stock price/investor focused.

I think we should rue the day this occurred. My laptop screen got cracked once, and it was over 50% of the cost of the laptop to replace it. My digital camera screen cracked once and the manufacturer suggested replacement. Replacement keys for my keyboard went up to $30 or more a piece. And they didn't seem to last they way they used to. Apparently, the way I play, care for my things, etc. is expected to change if I want things to last. Otherwise, I need to plan on upping my investment by replacing or repairing far more often. This makes me rethink what I buy, when I buy it, and whom I buy it from. And it also makes me sometimes regret not thinking harder in making those decisions.

I still don't buy the idea that when you make and market product, you shouldn't be willing to stake your reputation on it. To me, what I put out there is a statement on who I am, and I honestly don't relate well to people who don't think the same way. It matters a great deal to me when someone accuses me of not meeting their expectations. And I think our society would be a better place if more people still cared about that and acted accordingly. Especially manufacturers and service companies. The fact that they don't is proved every time one of us spends endless time with a computer voice on the phone, trying to reach a real person who can help us resolve an issue. I have come to despise those computer voices -- so impersonal and without emotion. I miss the days when doing business with someone was like building an important relationship. It mattered more and I cared about the seller too.

Call me old-fashioned if you want to. But that's what I believe. For what it's worth...

Border Life

2009-08-05T18:20:00.000-07:00

In her book, On The Border Of Opportunity, Marlean Pugach writes: "I want to cross, I want to know the other side, I want to see how life is or is not like mine when I get there, or at least I want to think about it." This pretty much sums up my philosophy toward other cultures. I love to go and explore the differences, the contrasts. I love to see a new way of viewing the world and note how that differs from my own. I love to discover things that break me out of my box. I love to learn and grow.

I have not lived in the borderland very long. But over the past few months here, and several years traveling to and from this area, I have been a bit surprised about the attitude many people here have toward the border. I am aware, having grown up in the Midwest, that many Americans do not share my fascination with other cultures or people who are different from them. Many American shun it and simply write it off as strange and ignorant. I guess I expected people who live in the border region to be a bit more open. I figured crossing over was more of a part of daily life than it seems to be for many people. Instead, people avoid it. Partially, this is due to violence, which is understandable. But even the information on that is so biased and not representative of reality that I find it sad more people are not interested in the larger city just a few minutes away by car across a few bridges.

We love going to Juárez. In fact, we have not gone enough. I am looking forward to my classes starting in two weeks so I can go over once a week. We went there when I taught in June and to buy some groceries. But when we go, we are excited to explore. We like the new foods, musical sounds, etc. We like to explore what's different from what we know and what's similar. For my wife, this takes on different shades than for me, because she's from Brazil. The similarities to what she knows are different than the ones I see to my world. I don't find driving in Juárez as scary as I had been told. We have never felt in danger. And we generally enjoy the hospitality and friendliness of the locals.

I hope people outgrow the fear as the violence calms, which inevitably it will some day. I also hope that some people will start being more interested in who we are as a region. You can't really hope to understand the culture of this place without understanding something about Mexico and the Mexican people. Not to mention Spanish. It's just too interwoven into life here. We have Mexican sections in grocery stores, even whole large stores of Mexican groceries. Spanish radio stations galore in every format. We have more Hispanic faces than Anglos. It is a part of El Paso's identity and it's sad to see people shunning it.

I am looking forward to learning more. Reading every book I can find. Asking questions of people. Exploring. And I plan to continue doing that. To me, it makes me feel a part of things. I wish more others wanted to do the same.

For what it's worth...

Part of Leadership Is How We Present Ourselves

2009-07-29T12:02:00.001-07:00

This came up on a forum I participate in sometimes and it is a culture clash I thought was very interesting and appropriate.

* Posted by J Pettigrew on July 29, 2009 at 6:00pm in Living a Life of Worship

This may have been brought up in another thread, if so then I apologize. My home church is not conservative, but not the most forgivig congregation either. We have had some complaints because some of the musicians on our team have ear rings, tattoos, mohawks, etc...

So it was suggested that only when they are on stage at our church that they tone it down a bit and dress or style themselves a little more conservatively.

These people are strong Christians who serve God with their gifts, inside and outside of the church. Should they really have to change their appearance just to please the congregation???

All comments would be appreciated. I'm really hoping to hear from both sides to better understand why people feel the way they do.

Reply by Bryan Thomas Schmidt

I agree that striving to not offend and sensitivity to others are signs of maturity. The Christian heart attitude is tested in such times. It is similar to the case Paul writes about in Romans where mature Christians had eaten meat thrown from the temples of false gods, because it was still good and they didn't want to waste it. Less mature Christians saw this and questioned their faith. To Paul, the meat was fine and not evil or cursed. But since the immature Christians were being tested by the sight of it, he recommended the mature Christians not do it where they could be seen. Some people in my congregation are against drinking. Others have no issue as long as it is not to excess. When I go to church picnics, I leave the beer at home. When I go to events with church members, I don't drink. The same is true in my work in other cultures. I try and be sensitive in what I say, how I say it, and how I appear in presenting it. So while it may offend your band members' sense of personal freedom of expression, it is not unreasonable to ask them to show sensitivity and be the bigger persons and dress in a way that is more acceptable to those who just can't see beyond their stereotypes.
The goal of worship leading, and your band members are part of the worship leadership in your church whether they say words to lead or not, is to point people to Christ, not to one's self. If your dress is flashy or your jewelry calls attention to you and not Christ, you are not being a good leader. I ask my team members to dress conservatively, but comfortably, and none of them have the issues mentioned. I don't feel uncomfortable asking them, and so far no one has complained that it was unfair. It's just a reasonable expectation of leadership.

It's About The Heart

2009-07-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

One of the challenges of the context in which I so often have been called to work is that there is so much sensitivity surrounding worship issues. From song choices, to choice of words, etc., opinions are diverse and strongly held. When you move into a new cultural context, or between them (as I so often do), you face all the more challenges sorting them out. While sometimes the same issues do appear time and again, the cultural nuances behind them are often different and harder to sort out and reconcile.

In any case, I just wanted to offer the following to meditate on:

Roberta King, a professor of ethnomusicology at Fuller Seminary, has said that when it comes to song: God wants to be understood, and God is receptor oriented. So sometimes the setting needs to determine not only which songs we choose but also which concerns are primary in evaluating songs. But generally, is the message clear for those singing? Is it singable (language wise, musically)? Is it something culturally relevant to their context (not only lyrically but musically), etc.
The advantage we have is that God understands our hearts even when our language or musical expressions are imperfect. So I guess in some ways, the joy of expression, the passion, far outweighs the linguistic and musical correctness. Certainly that is the case for God's reception of things. But then again, just as the sermons teach theological concepts, so do the songs. And many cultures (Ghana for example) use songs to teach Scripture memorization. So again, context does add to determining criteria and they way criteria are prioritized...

But above all, beyond criteria, we are human and frail and have limited understandings. Every denomination and theologian out there, if and when they get to heaven, will find many errors in their way of thinking and interpreting scriptures which surprise them. God alone is all knowing and all seeing. We must remember that our hearts are what matters. Do we really love God? Are we passionate in our faith? Do we follow His commands, including loving our neighbors as ourselves? Are these things obvious to the world around us? If we fail in this area, none of the rest is going to matter a great deal. Being genuine but wrong is likely more acceptable in heaven than being selfish and not authentic in our faith and love for God and one another. If we spent more time focused on that than arguing details of our differences, etc. (which by the way are really little things in the overall picture), we'd be happier and more successful in our Christian walks.

I say this as much for myself as anyone else. It's something I think all of us need to constantly work on.

For what it's worth...

Loyalty

2009-06-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

I am having a culture clash with my own culture these days. It has been a while since I've written here because life has been so full of transitions that I have not often had the time to sit down and reflect, but lately I keep bumping up against a cultural norm that really disturbs me: lack of loyalty. It just seems that today people's loyalties are very fickle. In marriage, in work partnerships, in all relationships, people are not willing to stick it out and work through problems like they used to. I even find myself tempted to do the same. "It's too hard, I'm too tired or too busy, I'll just stop going or stop calling and it will go away."

I hate when I think like that. Some of you may deem me ignorant -- I deserve that sometimes, too -- but I think there is still a place for loyalty in this world, and my culture in particular. One of the best and worst examples of it recently was George W. Bush, whose loyalty was admirable but led him to accept blame for many things others he trusted were doing. It also may have led him to follow them at times when more thought and debate was warranted, simply because he trusted them and wanted to be loyal. So, you see, loyalty can be good and bad.

But there is something to be said for the type of loyalty where people are there for each other through thick and thin. The type of loyalty that makes people run toward each other in times of crisis instead of running away. My Grandma Nora was like that, from what everyone tells me. She was never too busy to drop whatever she was doing and pray for someone or help them talk things through. She was the kind of friend people could depend on. I don't know about you, but I could sure use a few more of those.

There is something to be said for the husband who says "I am miserable. Our marriage is not working. I am very unhappy most of the time, but I choose to stay with you because we promised each other and God, and we need to work this out." That is a hard choice to make these days. And it is all the more rare, too, from what I see around me.

What about Jonathan who was loyal to his friend David even as Jonathan's father, Saul, was trying to have David killed? What about Paul, whose loyalty for Christ was so strong that he was willing to face the very torture and hardship he had once imposed on others in the name of God? How hard that kind of loyalty must have been?

Hard though it may, I think such loyalty is a quality sorely missing from our world today. That's why, despite the price he paid and the mistakes made, I admire George W. Bush for his loyalty, and I hope I can be loyal in the right times and for the right reasons. I hope my loyalty is strong and unfaltering. And I hope I can find some people who will be loyal like that for me, too. The world would be a better place.

For what it's worth...

Culture Shock

2008-11-19T07:24:00.000-08:00

I just heard something which is throwing me thru a loop -- some people who helped make me who I am voted for a political candidate whose entire party and whose values are opposed to all they taught me to believe in. For the life of me, I can't seem to get past feeling that I'm in an identity crisis. If they don't believe everything I have stood for and thought they stood for for 39 years, beliefs I built my life around, which effected so many decisions, even cost me heavy prices sometimes -- then who am I?

It's a culture shock, I guess. I knew the culture was changing and the sense of base values with it. And I knew these people had become a bit more liberal in their thinking, mostly due to the confusing arguments put forth by opponents of traditional values which water them down in many people's minds. It's easy to be led astray when we fail to consult the scriptures and evaluate things in light of the truth of God's Word. How many times do we fail to go to God's Word when we are faced with moral questions which strike at the heart of our core beliefs? Operating on logic doesn't work, because our sinful nature can be confused. We have to operate on faith and let the Holy Spirit speak wisdom to our hearts.

So many Americans who claim to be Christians voted against that this past election for reasons which I still don't understand. It still haunts me to think of so many people being misguided and leading this country down a very dangerous path. But these people -- they just can't be the same people I thought they were if they voted this way. They are too well educated, too smart... And I have lost people whom I looked up to and who were my allies when I felt alone in my beliefs. Now I feel I am alone. Not really. I know others who share my convictions, but I have never felt so lonely.

It has always been hard to stand up in the face of the changing values of a world, drifting away from traditional values. It has always been hard to have integrity. You have to be willing to have a culture clash with the world around you. You have to be willing to be an oddball, march to a different drummer, to not care what others say or think. One high school friend said that was what he always admired about me -- I always was who I said I was. He found it reliable and he respected it, even though he was far different than me. Since then, he has come to share the same values I have now, and he often wonders how I tolerated him then.

I have never been one who wanted to preach my values to others. I stand up for them. I am ready to explain them, but I never wanted to convert anyone or force my views upon them. Not that I don't hope they convert. I just don't treat it like a battlefield. I prefer to let my actions and my life witness rather than try and argue or convince with words. But lately, I feel such a sense of culture shock. The world has changed around me, and sometimes it seems the larger group of which I used to be a part has gotten smaller and smaller. Sometimes the majority who once shared my values, now seems like a minority. It's so disappointing, because the beliefs I am talking about have been at the core of our society and national identity. No wonder the world doesn't seem to know who we are any more or even like us. Who likes someone who doesn't stand for anything or who violates their own values? Not many, in my experience. At least not after high school.

So here I am watching two idols fall. Not idols as in a religious object I worshipped, but people I looked up to and whose example I tried to follow. I never thought I'd stop, but that ended when I found out they were no longer the people I thought they were. And now I don't know whose example to follow. Or maybe I have just put too much into following human example and not enough into following Christ. After all, Christ should be our only idol and our example, right? That is what the Bible instructs. It is what I claim to believe. Maybe God is using this to shock me back into proper focus. Maybe this culture shock is a sign of my own straying from the goal. Am I off course, too? It's definitely time to reevaluate.

For what it's worth...

Don't Miss THE MIDDLEMAN

2008-06-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am going to stray from usual topics because I can't help it. I have to recommend a new show to you.

I have never been a big fan of comic books. It’s not that I dislike them or don’t respect the art form. They just never appealed to me the way that a good fiction novel and my own imagination did. I have read a few, mostly those with tie-ins to movies I loved like Star Wars. They just aren’t my thing. But I love science fiction, and I love tv. And so I must recommend the delightful new ABC Family Show “The Middleman,” which airs Monday nights. Okay, I confess. I am friends with the show’s creator. We went to college together, but we have not been in close touch for several years. So I am not overly biased. Javier did, however, give me the most encouraging words I ever received during my first attempt to break into Hollywood as a writer. And I have never forgotten. In fact, the memory of his words is what has kept me going in my second attempt.

But I digress. “The Middleman” is about a super hero, actually more of a super secret agent, assigned to investigate criminals of a supernatural, science fiction-like kind. And it’s about his sidekick, Wendy Watson, a wanna be artist temping her way through to pay bills while awaiting success -- like so many of us have done past and present. The show has sparkling dialogue and great pop culture references from shows like “Planet of The Apes” to things like the Xbox, on which Wendy honed they very skills she now employs in her temp job fighting bad guys.

The actors do an excellent job selling the material and bringing the characters to life. The production values are top notch. And they even got “24’s” beloved Chloe O’Brien (Mary Lynn Rajskub) to do a guest shot in the pilot as an evil scientist. The show features everything from aliens to talking apes to human beings. And it stays away from cliché, by even making its cliché-like moments (which all of us find hard to avoid at times in our writing) sizzle and twist in unexpected ways. The result is one of the best new shows I’ve seen since, well, “24” or even “Lost,” which coincidentally employed Javier for its first two seasons. It’s clever, it’s entertaining, and it’s just plain fun. Don’t miss “The Middleman.” You won’t forget it.

By the way, it even has elements of culture clash in it as Wendy is dragged into a world beyond her comprehension and adapts handily to it. While in the meantime, maintaining our connection to the world we all inhabit and was formerly her only home. It's interesting to watch those dynamics play out, and Javier being one of the foremost Hispanic writers in Hollywood -- along with the actress playing Wendy who happens to be Hispanic -- I imagine we have only seen a foretaste of the interesting culture clashes to come.

Days 4 and 5

2008-06-06T22:33:00.001-07:00

my

Okay, sorry, I dropped the ball. Between shaky internet connectability, my wife's arrival to join the team, and the loss of my camera (which was stolen), I have had some distractions and difficulties. Our books still did not arrive, but our students did rehearse for graduation today and it was thrilling to watch people who had never had the chance to perform like this perform together, all at once, over 30.

Ryan and Jacob led us in great times of worship the past three days, and we sent Ryan home today. Jacob leaves tomorrow, before the graduation. I wish they could be here for this, but understand well their need to get home. In any case, no new pictures for the rest of this trip, as I have no camera and have to rely on others to provide them. I will get them eventually, but for now, sorry about that. No one's sorrier than me that I have to replace it.

Day Three Report

2008-06-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

Last night went very well. The students joined us in worship, and we had good sessions of teaching. A few late arrivals, but things went very well. We all agreed we're so focused that we aren't even noticing the heat.

Today, we took a tour of the city and visited an overlook showing both sides of the border as well as visited the market and the original mission. We also saw several BEAMM sites. It was a good opportunity to see the context in which BEAMM works and where we have been since Sunday night.

Day Two Highlights: Fotolog

2008-06-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here are photos of key moments from tonight's sessions:

Ryan, Jacob, and Bryan leading worship.

Ryan McMillen teaching keyboards.
Aaron Zapata teaching guitar.

Jacob Tilton teaching guitar.

Worship Camp 2008 Day Two

2008-06-03T06:17:00.001-07:00

This morning we were invited to go to a team meeting for the missionaries, but I decided it was better to stay in and rest. We need to be well rested, because we teach for four hours a night with no air conditioning and not a day this week is supposed be below 100 Fahrenheit. I am sad that the team will not meet all the missionaries, but since last night was our first class session, and we have 35+ students rather than the 10 originally expected, we have to adjust our lesson plans to the situation and the skill levels we now know of our students. And we have to rehearse and prepare for worship as well. These workshops are also intense and I want these guys to be well rested and prepared. That's more important than a fellowship time. The other reality is the meeting is across the border and the travel would take an extra two hours or so.

But we will take a break to go out to lunch and do some shopping today. We also will have a prayer time together and perhaps even devotions. It is good to get to know my own Worship Director better. Ryan McMillen is a nice guy and very patient and gentle. But he also can be more reserved and quiet than I am (I know everyone's thinking how great that is). This is a chance to get to know each other better as people and as musicians which will help us to serve Chesterfield Presbyterian Church better when we return.

And Jacob Tilton is so talented. I hope I get the chance to worship at his church, Fort Worth Presbyterian Church, again. We visited there last May for a BEAMM team meeting related to Mexico, and it's a great location and nice facility, but Jacob happened to be gone that week. Jaxob is also a great guy and fun musician for Ryan and I to partner with. Both Ryan and Jacob worked hard to learn songs in Spanish and we are each trading off leading songs like "Lord I Lift Your Name On High," "Forever," "Open The Eyes Of My Heart," and hymns as well.

Last night I asked Ryan and Jacob to play two famous Mexican songs sight unseen to demonstrate to students how important it is to know music theory. They did well playing "Mexican Hat Dance" and "La Cucaracha" though I know Jacob felt like he didn't overwhelm. It was not about showing off musical skill as much as showing off the value of music theory knowledge, and both demonstrated that well. The songs were recognized and the students smiled and clapped. Here are two songs similar in this culture to our own "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" or "Old McDonald" which everyone knows. Of course, my team might have heard them, but had never played them. So for them to play them off the sheet music so well the first time, made the point I wanted made well.

We had a large group session, post-worship, in Music Theory and I raced through the basics in an hour. Most of the students did not learn it this way, of course. A few already knew things. But the idea was not to teach it as much as get them familiar with the symbols, words, and concepts they will need to learn this week. I think that was accomplished, but I also hope we wet their appetite. I am going to tell them that if they want it, I can come back and really teach music theory. And we'll see what happens. It would serve them well.

After that session, we broke into four classes. Basic Guitar, Basic Keyboards, and Advanced Guitar and Advanced Keyboard. Ryan had two Advanced Piano students and Jacob had around eight in guitar. We had 17 basic guitar and around 15 basic keyboard students. Jacob said he got through more than expected. I felt the same. Ryan felt he got through exactly what he planned. So that is a good first day.

I am having to teach differently than I would normally approach things at the request of the missionaries. They want the students to learn how to play basic chords. But teaching basic chords without the building blocks of notation, scales, etc. is very difficult. Add to that the fact that I have never taught piano before, and I need your prayers. I am winging it big time. But I am just committing it to God and letting him lead me, and the students learned 3 of 7 major chords last night. They also learned the intervals and steps needed to find any major chord. We'll test their retention today, but that is good progress.

Add to that the fact that the terminology is Spanish, which we don't speak. And some of the translators are not always aware of musical terminology. Another challenge for the classes is that we have a mix of ages. We have kids who may well be 10 years old and we have adults in their 40s. That is both exciting and challenging. But we are very thankful just for the opportunity. It is such a blessing to share with these people. No culture clashing so far that I know of, other than perhaps a few organizational things. But God is with us and all will be well.

Worship Camp 2008 Begins

2008-06-02T23:00:00.001-07:00

Here we are. What a team. Worship Directors from two PCA churches and one former Contemporary Christian Singer in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico to teach about worship. We got good rest today and managed to sneak in a three hour or so rehearsal of the songs for the week and talk over worship. These guys are such pros and fun to work with, that it makes it easy on me.

We have some stresses though. Our songbooks are lost in the unholy U.S. mail, which I am going to phase my business out of, because they raise rates and promise better service and can't even make a guaranteed 6 business day delivery in 20 days. I'm not upset at all, can't you tell? Anyway, we also did not get copies made of the visuals for the Music Theory lecture and for the worship songs for the students, so Jacob drew my drawings while I taught.

There were more frustrations than I have had in a while. None of them because of these wonderful team members. I work hard to plan and prepare and when things don't get executed or interpreted the way I intended, things don't go smoothly, and so I am a bit frustrated. But I give it to the Lord. Our travel was safe and our time together in fellowship has been a blessing. And the teaching went well. On top of that, our work as a worship team was smooth as silk.

Anyway it's almost 1 a.m. St. Louis time and I am exhausted but here are three pics and some comments. We will post more soon. We are looking forward to tomorrow. God Bless!

Culture Clashing Films

2008-05-14T08:40:00.001-07:00

http://www.pangeaday.org/pangeadayFilms.php

To learn about cultures around the world, view these short films celebrating diversity!

Life From The Inside...Cuba

2008-05-05T06:29:00.001-07:00

A new blog worth checking out. Written by a cuban inside about life there.
http://www.desdecuba.com/generationy/

How are you today? I don't care...

2008-04-28T19:58:00.001-07:00

My wife struggles with the issue of the standard every day "How are you?" So common in our culture. Not that she doesn't understand the question. She doesn't understand the reason. "Why do people ask if they don't care about the answer?" That's her question. In Brazil, when people ask, they expect a detailed, honest answer. But in the U.S. when you answer with anything much beyond "Fine" or "Ok," people act bored.

She has a point. Just try one day of answering that question honestly and you'll see how fast the eyes glaze over. "How are you?" "Well, actually, my cat is sick, and my car needs a new engine. And I don't know how I'm going to pay for the vet and repairs, and to top it off, I'm coming down with something..." SNORE! People will become too busy to talk really quick and avoid you the rest of the day. Okay, not most people you really know well, but any casual acquaintances you can count on it.

In the U.S. we have a habit of asking the question as politeness, not genuine concern. And for someone from a culture where genuine concern and interest is more than politeness, it is hard to understand that. Believe it or not, in some cultures people would far rather engage in a meaningful conversation than watch tv or movies. They would even rather be with other people, getting to know them, than eating or doing about anything else. In these cultures, relationships are top priority. So imagine being in a country where independence is the highest priority, and people tend to keep small circles and hold everything in.

My wife is a friendly person who longs for community. To her, when a person asks: "How are you?" It is an investment of interest. Not a polite greeting. She took it as a genuine concern. And when she discovered people's eyes glazing over during her honest answers, she was hurt. And baffled. She doesn't get why people pretend to care, when they don't. In Brazil, people who don't want to get into a conversation or care, just greet others politely with "Oi" (hi) or "Bom dia" (good day). They make no attempt to pretend interest. It's more direct and more genuine. At least to someone from a culture where relating to others is so highly valued.

To me, it's a reminder that we've lost something. Our lack of community, our independent-mindedness, tends to numb us to genuine concern and caring, and separate us from one another. We guard our inner selves like closely held military secrets, and keep our lives and problems from the prying eyes and ears of all but our closest associates. No wonder politicians and others find it so easy to divide us. We hardly know each other. It is much easier to be suspicious and distrusting of people whom we know so little about. And even harder to care about them.

For what it's worth...

Blogger Approach

2008-04-22T08:08:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine recently said: "I don't get into blogs at all. Who wants to know that you're staring at the wall, wearing green socks and bored? If you don't have more to say than that, don't waste my time." I must say, I agree with him, which is why my blogs sometimes sit months or weeks with no posts. I absolutely refuse to post such tripe. I enjoy blogging. I am a professional writer, so I enjoy writing. But I have always hoped my blog posts would not be considered tripe. You might not agree with them or find them interesting, but at least they have substance.

Ironically, it would seem my attitude clashes with much of the blogging culture. There are an awful lot of blogs out there being posted to for weeks on end with such posts, and that's why I, like my friend, don't read many blogs very often. In any case, allow me to recommend a few which I do find interesting:

http://chaodai.livejournal.com/ -- This one, written by an old friend of mine who is producing a tv show he created called Minute Man, is interesting for those who like me want to write television and film or just wonder about that lifestyle

http://www.greyswriters.com/ -- This one is for Grey's Anatomy fans by the writers of the show. It's always interesting, but sometimes they get a little too into themselves and over think it.

http://timeoutforworship.blogspot.com -- this is my new devotional blog. I have been submitting devotions to magazines like The Upper Room and Secret Place with some success. Here is where I post ones which were not accepted for various reasons but which I still think are worthy for those who like devotions.

I will post more, but those are a few favorites for now.

You Want To Be In America, Speak English!

2008-04-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

Talk about a culture clash! Here I am writing professionally now, more than ever before, and I have not blogged in eight months! Time flew by! I have travelled internationally several times, but no major culture clashing incidents occurred. Except this one, so here it is.

My wife recently said something that blew my mind: "You want to be in America, speak English." Now, she was referring to some Bosnians at work, who speak their language all day long. They speak English, too, but they have all these private chats amongst themselves and it was driving her crazy because she couldn't understand. My wife is a talented linguist who speaks four languages and parts of others. She loves language.

What shocked me was, my wife is an immigrant, who frequently complains about how hard it is for immigrants in the U.S. She feels she has been discriminated against in the job market and other situations. I am not always so sure it is as bad as she thinks it is, but then I am not there when the incidents happen, and it took almost a year in the U.S. for her to find a decent job, and I had to pull strings. My wife has a bachelor's degree in English and Portuguese Literature and is a trained language instructor. So don't go thinking she doesn't have skills. But she does love to chit chat, and sometimes she seems a little strange to people. They don't know how to take her. And I tend to think this had more to do with her job troubles than the fact that she's an immigrant, but who knows. She has legitimate immigration papers. She is not illegal. I do know that people are much more wary these days of immigrants because of the government crack down.

In any case, here's my immigrant wife, who is fluent in English, criticizing these other immigrants for not using English. Again, all of them actually speak English. They just like to chat with each other. Bianca told me: "All I hear all day is spreska forska ickska Bryan spreska forska ickska Bianca. So I started talking that way, too, and they asked me where I learned Russian." LOL. She was toying with them, but they thought it was a real language. Like I said, my wife has language skills.

I did find it interesting to hear this from her though, given her rants about anti-immigrant treatment in the U.S., but I don't disagree with her. You don't have to lose your cultural identity to make an effort to communicate in a place you choose to live. Without effective communication in modern society, you will have a hard time getting anything done or succeeding in any way. So I agree with her in a sense. But no one says you have to speak English all the time. Especially when your coworkers are from the same culture and speak the same language. I am sure it eases their homesickness and helps them feel connected to speak amongst themselves in their language. And I take no issue with that. I never heard them speak to customers in anything but English when I was there.

In any case, one of the issues I have seen a lot is people from other countries sticking to their own and not making the effort, and it causes problems. At the seminary I attended, the Koreans hung together so much, they could not keep up with the school work, because their English was not improving. So the school had to make rules about it, and enforce standards for language. Some might call that discriminatory, but in any country, when you attend a school, they have to teach in the native language (except for a few private school exceptions). And you must have a certain proficiency to have academic success. I see nothing wrong with that. It's why I have not studied overseas yet, because my language skills are not up to the challenge. Portuguese is my best foreign tongue, and even in Portuguese, I know I need work.

There is nothing wrong with immigrants forming a support community, of course. Good for them! Good for them for wanting to celebrate their culture and even share it with the community around them. But they cannot ignore the need to participate in the larger culture. You cannot successfully or peacefully live amongst others without respecting and appreciating the larger culture and making some effort to belong to it. Not because you want to lose your own culture, but because you now belong to more than one culture. At least while you're there.

For what it's worth...

Culture Clash of Time & Distance

2007-09-10T04:35:00.000-07:00

One of my wife's favorite phrases to describe places in Rio De Janeiro, her hometown, is "It's next to my house." This phrase is the source of a major culture clash for us. When she says this, I am assuming, okay, we can walk there in five minutes or less. What I discovered more than once: we can walk there in forty minutes or less, if I'm lucky!

An example happened the other day. We drove eight minutes, or around 5.5 miles to Cherokee and Lemp to the Mexican district to shop for some items. My wife kept track of the time and proudly declare that now she knew the Mexican Grocery is next to our house. I said: "It's not next to our house! It's a long way from it." She said: "Bryan! Come on! Only eight minutes! So close!" Sure. Did I mention we drove there at 65 miles per hour on Insterstate 44? Still she is determined that it's next to our house.

In Rio, we had this problem all the time. Bianca would describe places as next to her house, but when it came time to actually getting there, it was far enough, we took a cab. To me, any place we can't walk to on our own is not close. And the term "next to my house" indicates something close. Not so to Bianca. But then Rio De Janeiro is a big city. And spread out. So maybe that's why her concept of close is different than mine.

I wonder if this relates to the concept of time. In Ghana, Mexico, and Brazil I have experienced non-white time. What this basically means is that if something begins at eight, you show at nine or after. And it's not rude. The only exception is something like a movie, which starts on time, after the usual bevy of previews and commercials, or church services. Also, if you show up late for a job interview, it makes a bad impression. Otherwise, lateness is fine. Of course, the one your interview is with will let you sit at least an hour before he or she shows up, but you must be there on time. If you are invited to someone's home, showing up on time is considered rude, and often the host's will not be ready yet (still in the shower, still preparing). In such cases, showing up on time inconveniences the hosts. Yes, I am serious.

Patrick Oster, in his book The Mexicans, quotes sociologists who describe this concept as a form of protest. Mexicans live lives so controlled by factors beyond their control (government, crime, etc.) that when they have the chance, by showing up late, they are saying: "I still own my time." And they usually trickle in over the course of an hour after we start any program there. This last time, in fact, some showed up ten minutes before the end of the program. As one who was raised to be punctual, this can drive me batty. (Some would claim batty's so close I could walk or next to my house). But I have learned, with time, to accept this reality when dealing with other cultures.

However, it's funny how different it seems when dealing with my wife. My wife is late for everything. Not by much, thank goodness, but she'll say "let's go" fifty times before she actually heads for the door. It frustrates me so much, I often head to the car and tell her if she's not there when it starts, I'll leave her. I wouldn't do that (would I?) but it usually motivates her to move things along. That's why I tell her we have to go for most things with plenty of time to spare. I allow for an extra thirty minutes. It's the only way I have of ensuring we can leave in proper time to arrive "white time." Even if it's "next to our house."

For what it's worth...

Peace and Respect For Others

2007-08-20T05:16:00.000-07:00

In an 1867 speech to the burgeoning Republic of Mexico, Benito Juarez, soon to be President, stated: "The people and government must respect the rights of everyone. Among individuals as among nations, peace means respect for the rights of others." How true that is, and how sad that respect for the rights of others seems so absent from our society today. For me, that's a source of constant culture clashes -- trying to reconcile myself with the world of today vs. the world I grew up in and often still wish it was.

People are so divided these days. They don't see shades of grey, just black and white, and you can't be both. You have to choose one or the other. Liberals malign Conservatives as bad people. Conservatives malign Liberals the same way. I rarely find it so simple to line things up. I am a Conservative, but in my younger days I leaned more Liberal. Where that leaves me today is somewhere in the middle. I embrace the biblical traditional values that seem to out of fashion these days. I still believe that living together outside of marriage is wrong, that divorce is tragic, that abortion is murder, and that lying is a character flaw. And there are many more. These make me an odd-ball, it would seem, from looking at the world around us.

How many people expect honesty from others? How many people are truly disappointed and upset when they don't receive it? How many practice it they way they want it to be practiced by others? Most people seem to prefer it for themselves from others, but not want to offer it from themselves to others. Living together outside of marriage and divorce have become the norm. Abortion seems to be the only one that still draws strong debate. Why?

In my opinion, there is less and less a sense of community and responsibility toward one another, and more of an every man for himself climate in this society today. And it is destructive to all of us. Maybe it's just that the most polarized people have the loudest voices or talk the most. Maybe the rest of the moderates, like me, are so shocked by what they see, they don't know what to say or where to begin to respond to it.

For example, I am Republican, but I favor gun control. I also favor more government care for the needy, funding for education, and fairer taxes for lower income vs. favored taxation for higher income. However, I am against gay marriage, and I am against abortion. But I do not believe in bombing abortion clinics or beating up gay people (nor discriminating against them in other ways). I also believe personal beliefs have a place in politics. That's why it matters a great deal to me what a candidate believes. And why I laugh when candidates campaign on their beliefs then deny that they will unduly influence their decisions in office. I say if you really believe something, it will always influence you. A man who claims belief in things and then fails to have that belief influence his decisions is a man with no integrity and nothing to offer (no to mention, confused about his own beliefs).

My own beliefs are complicated and have evolved over a long period of life experience, education, travel, etc. Being an adopted child, born of date rape, certainly influences my view on abortion, for example. Being well educated, influences my belief in the importance of education. My work with the poor around the world, influences my belief that taxes should not penalize those who can least afford to pay them, and that those with more wealth need to do more to help provide for those less fortunate. My belief in Christ influences my belief that violence and murder are not the way to defend your positions, and provide no high moral ground, but at the same time, I believe Sadaam Hussein needed to be removed from power and Al Quaeda needs to be fought like the enemy to all people it truly is.

Other people have had different experiences, such as my wife. And that's okay. We don't have to agree on everything, as long as I feel respected. And that's the rub. Too often, there is no respect these days for people of different beliefs. Maybe that's why the world feels like an unpeaceful place. Why hate seems more and more common, and public critiques of others seem more and more hateful and hurtful. People see no reason to mince words for those who embrace opinions they find completely abominable. The KKK and American Nazi party and others should welcome this change. They no longer seem so radical. They no longer have to feel outcast. Everyone else is speaking hateful things about people they disagree with, right?

The more I have thought about this the more I have become convicted that we have to get back toward the way things used to be if we are going to get back to a sense of peace in our society. Where there is no respect, there is no peaceful coexistence. And I don't know about you, but I like peace.

For what it's worth...

Living in Fear v. Living in Faith

2007-08-15T09:43:00.001-07:00

My wife, Bianca, lives in a world where everyone is suspect, where you cannot trust people, and where there's danger lurking around every corner. I live in a world where you should not trust everyone, caution is common sense, but one can live and move through most days without concern about being a victim of violence or crime, as long as you follow the first two rules. Yes, we live in the same house. Such is the nature of cross cultural relationships.

First of all, a little background might be helpful. My wife, Bianca, was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, without a doubt one of the most violent cities on Earth. The latest statics I can find are from 2002 where the murder rate was 28.5 per 100,000, one of the highest in the world. Supposedly it is only rising. As a victim of Brazilian criminals myself, I can tell you that Rio is one place I do actually feel a sense of fear daily, when walking around. I have been concerned in places like Mexico and Ghana, about possible crime. After all, especially right now, Americans are targets. And I always expect that I am on someone's radar who might wish to do me harm, when I am in public places in other countries. But in Saint Louis, walking around, while I keep my eyes open, pay attention to my surroundings, limit the cash I carry, etc., I don't tend to be afraid. My car was broken into once in 7 years, and I left the back window cracked too wide. But my wife grew up in that world, where caution was a necessity. Yet she was not a victim of crime until we were robbed on the beach in 2005. And they did not rob her, just me.

My background is growing up in a small town of 45,000 people in Kansas, where we all pretty much knew everyone else. Street crime and petty theft were not common experiences of anyone I knew. Violence was a rarity in the local paper. It was a quiet place to grow up. (Too quiet, if you ask my wife, who finds small towns very boring.) But since I left Kansas, I have lived in one city after another: Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Kansas City, and Saint Louis. Since I am 38, and I left home at 18, that means over half my life, I have lived in cities. In that time, I have been a victim of crime maybe 4 times. Identity theft, lost/stolen cell phone, car broken into twice. Outside the U.S., I have been a victim twice: pickpocket in Ghana and robbed in Brazil.

From this explanation, it is not obvious that Bianca should feel more afraid of crime than me. Though I am 13 years older than her, I have been a victim of more crimes. Yet I feel safer. Part of the reason, I suppose is my inherent desire to believe in the goodness of people. I used to live constantly expecting the best until someone proved me wrong. As our culture has changed, I have had to greatly revise such expectations. They have been tested many times. But nonetheless, I still believe most people are inherently good and not out to get me. Bianca tends to think the opposite. She doesn't trust anyone. Not even me. Although, I am working on that part.

In any case, the reason seems to be more of the cultural and environmental realities in which we grew up and learned how to face the world. For someone of Bianca's background, with people being shot at in public, killed and robbed regularly, and a general sense of lack of law and order, she grew up to be very cautious and apprehensive. Certain situations, especially, trigger natural instincts of self-protection, which I don't have, because I have a different background. For someone like me, crime was a rarity. Most people were nice, friendly, and generally not prone to harming me. So I felt safe, and tend to regard people as safe until I have reason not to. This does not mean I walk around in a foolish, dilusional daze. It just means that I start out with a more trusting attitude.

To me, I tend to live in faith in people, generally, while Bianca lives in fear. It's not that she's constantly quaking in her boots. It's more of a general expectation that people have to earn trust. They don't start out with any vested in them. This cultural clash is something that happens a lot between small town and big city dwellers, and it happens a lot between Americans and those of other cultures. In any case, it's an interesting (I think) example of how culture effects our outlook on the world -- culture clash in action.

For what it's worth...

Do You Remember...?

2007-08-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the days when people who worked hard were rewarded to it?

Do you remember the days when integrity was regarded as a positive quality?

Do you remember the days when people were honest and decent to each other just because it was right, not to gain something?

What happened?

Sometimes I wonder. I remember, and sometimes I think I am the only person trying to live that way. Every once in a while I meet someone who reminds me that that's not true, but yet I wish it wasn't every once in a while. I wish it was more often.

Sometimes that's why I don't blog. The blogosphere, the internet in general, can be so depressing. So many scams, liars, people being cruel and hiding behind the anonymity it provides. It seems to so often bring out the worst in people. Did I mention popups or viruses or hackers?

These behaviors used to be the exception. Now, more and more, they seem like the rule. Why is that? I think it's a decline in our culture. I think it's a loss of our values. And with it, I think it's a loss of what made us great -- our national identity. We still try and ride the high horse like we did in the old days, only the moral foundation is no longer there. No wonder other nations mock us and hold us in contempt. No wonder we have lost our standing in the world. Who are we to look up to these days?

I guess this is a depressing post. It isn't meant to be. It is meant to be a reminder, and a challenge. If anyone else misses those days, we can only bring them back by living them out ourselves, one person at a time. It starts with each individual. Only by example can we lead.

For what it's worth...

Our Changing Culture

2007-08-10T04:53:00.000-07:00

Bernie Miklasz' column yesterday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch titled "Baseball Is Selling Its Soul Alongside Bonds Mementos" really struck me. The whole steriods-baseball-Bonds controversy has really been bothering me ever since it appeared a few years back. It's a sad statement really on the state of affairs in our culture.

I was just thinking driving to work about how I saw Barry Bonds play years ago. Giants v. Dodgers. My friend had gone to high school with Bonds. And I was a Dodgers fan. So we argued about who was better. Bonds or various others. I was still a George Brett fan, having grown up in KC and been in awe of Brett's 80s hitting streak, etc. It was amazing how a man could so consistently hit like that. I remember starting to feel the same way about Mark Maguire years later here in St. Louis. And Sammy Sosa was there too -- wow, two at one time. But then the word came out about steriods. Just a trickle at first.

There had always been rumors, of course, but this was starting to seem more substantial. And Maguire and others testified to Congress that they had never used them. Only, one could just look at the way Maguire had physically ballooned up over five or six years and suspect that maybe the rumors were true. Maybe his denials were not. And in Bonds' case, the evidence is even more disturbing. So why am I so ho-hum about a guy who has hit 757 home runs? It should be a monumental achievement. But somehow, it just seems so tainted. Bonds was, beyond a doubt, an admirable athlete when I saw him in Los Angeles in the early 90s. But somehow the thought that he and Maguire and Sosa and others accomplished what they did by artificial means just leaves one to wonder if there are any truly amazing athletes out there. A George Brett? A Nolan Ryan? A Hank Aaron?

Maybe we can never go back to the days when there weren't such questions. Maybe that's just the way things has changed. And maybe our society is so capital driven and warped that baseball has sold out. An event like this does bring press attention and sell memoribilia. And so they get richer. Maybe that is all they care about. Integrity seems overrated these days, doesn't it? But it sure is sad to think about. Maybe Barry Bonds deserves to lose his reputation. And then again, maybe enough people don't care how he did it -- just that he did -- that it will never matter in history books.

Perhaps it started with Bill Clinton's claim that he didn't have sex because he defined it differently. Or that the word "is" could be misinterpreted. He seemed to convince a lot of people that morality and integrity in leadership are not important, even from the leader of the free world whose influence stretches far and wide. It continued in many other instances since, and is perpetuated by Hollywood-types who argue that anything they do in the name of art is sacred. Who argue that they have no responsibility to screen themselves or worry about who might be watching. It's pervasive in our culture today: the attitude that personal freedom is more important than personal responsibility. The idea that it's more important that I have total freedom to do whatever I want, than it is that other people live with the freedom to not be offended or see what I do. This argument seems patently ridiculous to me. And it's led to a climate of irresponsibility. I have seen people take their kids to R-rated movies. I have seen people give their kids alcohol. All in the name of this attitude.

It's not the same world I grew up in, for sure. Somehow, I can't help feeling we've really lost something. And maybe we will never recover it.

For what it's worth...

Our Superiority Complex

2007-08-09T05:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292670,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1651502,00.html

I haven't written here in a while. Mostly because I have been caught up in my own culture clash of sorts. I married my Brazilian fiancee April 14th. No, we don't clash that much. But the cultural differences do keep life interesting. Certain recent events, however, brought to mind something I've been thinking about for a long time.

When you write about culture like this, you get a lot of nasty critiques. I have been slammed for talking about issues with plumbing and things in countries like Ghana or Mexico. Some of these critics were Americans. They think it makes the country sound like Third World. I've got news for you -- it is Third World. Although these days, people from those countries prefer the term "developing world" so I will at least cede them that point. But it's funny to me when Americans get so defensive about another culture. After all, Americans more than anyone are pompous about our own Superiority. We so often take comfort and pride in our own successes, even if its unspoken. And even if we think we don't look down on other countries for their "developing" problems, somehow inside I suspect we all feel a bit smug and pleased that our own nation doesn't have the same issues.

That's why it's interesting to me to see what's happened in New York City this week, and in Minneapolis as well with the Interstate bridge. Whether you have ever been there or not, native New Yorker or not, New York is without a doubt a proud achievement of our country. It is one of the world's great cities, and, as such, a big icon for our nation and our culture. Think of the influence it has -- in the arts, in journalism, television, infrastructure... Two of the leading current Presidential candidates are from New York and there are rumors that a third might throw his hat into the ring, too!

When I travel around the world, people always know New York, even if they don't know Saint Louis or other cities. They know the "big apple." And they know America takes pride in her. So here we are, all superior and proud, and New York is looking a lot like the developing world this week. Subways and airports delayed for hours by flooding. Infrastructure torn up by heavy winds and a tornado. Ok, so the tornado is a natural disaster which can't be helped, but what about the flooding?

Saint Louis has similar problems when we get heavy rain. A few years ago, flooding submerged major portions of downtown. There are still neighborhoods that flood when we get more than a few inches of rain. And Highway 64-40 is like driving on a lake every time we get rain of more than a few minutes. In El Paso, flooding left people stranded on a major interstate last Fall and it is happening again this year with the rains. They have neighborhoods and intersections which regularly flood. Standing in El Paso, you can look across and see the differences in infrastructure with Juarez, Mexico just across the way. And it can make you feel proud or perhaps a bit superior. But if we are so superior, why can't our infrastructure stand up to a little water? How can heavy runs shut down major interstates, flood entire neighborhoods and shut down public transportation?

And then there're our bridges. A report in Time magazine (linked above) reports that we are in big trouble all over the country, because governments have not spent money on maintenance, instead prefering shinier, more high profile new projects. And the results are a collapsed bridge in Minneapolis, several deaths, and many other infrastructure problems every year which are less catastrophic but, given the right circumstances (what if bad infrastructure prevented your escape from a terrorist attack, for one) could be just as problematic.

You might argue that infrastructure withstands many and most situations but extreme ones can always arise beyond its capacity. You might argue that engineers are always working to make improvements and find new ways to prevent such problems. All of that is well and good. But I would argue that we're not as different from these "developing" places as we'd like to think we are, especially in such moments, and it does us a lot of good to be in that situation. All of us need to be humbled from time to time. And I think being reminded that even our own developed nation is not above problems is a good equalizer.

Maybe we can be less cocky when we go to places that seem to have less to brag about. Maybe we won't feel like we have it so much better. This would do international relations a lot of good. And it would promote better understanding. Because any time we focus on commonalities and see ourselves as more alike than different, deepened understanding and better communication can always result. When we approach things from the angle of feeling superior, that's when we create barriers and distance that separate us from others.

It's certainly something to think about. For what it's worth...

Cutthroat Business vs. Old Fashioned Customer Service

2007-02-28T10:41:00.000-08:00

I am experiencing a culture clash these days in that everything seems to polarized. There is a general lack of integrity and concern for others who in any way are opposite you. Nowhere is this more signified than American Airlines' handling of my recent travel.

I was flying from Saint Louis to Dallas then to El Paso and back. The flight out of Dallas was delayed first because of a broken copilot's chair. Then we sat there waiting for late passengers for thirty minutes more. THEN we sat there an hour because of a broken wing light. By this time, it was almost 11 and I had had enough. I was not about to go through switching planes and arriving at 2 a.m. It was inconsiderate to my hosts and would severely mess up my sleeping cycle. So I said NO. I want a hotel.

The airline accomodated me with Clarion Hotel. I got to the room to find that every lamp was unplugged, so I used the bare light from the light over the door to stumble around, pulling out beds, etc. to find the outlets. Then the ice machine was broken. When I went down four floors and walked out what seemed like half a mile to the front desk to inquire, they looked at me crossly and asked why I didn't use the ice machine on the first floor -- as if I was a complete bonehead. I didn't even know where it was! The next morning my clothes got wet because the sink would not drain due to an unconnected stopper.

Finally, I made it to El Paso. On my way back, out of El Paso, there were mechanical problems and we had to deplane. The airline ticket agent would not reaccomodate me because she was too busy. I had to wait until they could switch planes, even though they had only standby out of Dallas (we had all missed our connections). I said I would rather stay where I know people than fly somewhere and risk being stranded where I don't. They didn't care.

The flight did leave. They did find me a connection. I got home. But I emailed to complain. After all, I flew 26000 miles last year and gave them a lot of business and money. I still have not heard a peep from them. No apology. Remember Jet Blue? That's how you run an airline. American subscribes to the philosophy of all too many airlines -- we have laws to hide behind that keep us from having to provide good customer service. THEY ARE A SERVICE INDUSTRY! Not even common courtesy seems to be required! If I ran my business like they do, no one would hire me!

I remember the days of "the customer is always right" when businesses worked hard to apologize and make it up to customers who were inconvenienced or disatisfied with their service. Something about this attitude seemed to me to be particularly American. And it was about respect and appreciation. We now live in a culture where such values have gone with the wind. And that clashes with my culture of how I think things should be. It is much more like foreign countries where bureaucracy runs over people with abandon with no thought of such concerns. But I don't want to live in those countries. I want to live in the United States of America -- which used to be a great country and the place everyone wanted to be. It sure doesn't seem so much like that anymore.

For what it's worth...

Letters From Iwo Jima: Culture Clashing at the Movies

2007-02-04T13:43:00.000-08:00

What a monumental achievement this movie is. Its Academy Awards nominations are richly deserved. My knowledge of Japanese culture and WWII history are wanting in this instance and I need to see "Flags Of Our Fathers" to get a view of the U.S. side, but I was blown away by this movie. "Letters From Iwo Jima" takes you inside the minds of the Japanese soldiers. You empathize, and even root for them in the face of the impossible odds -- because they cannot win.

That a first time screenwriter, a Japanse American, got such an opportunity is also phenomenal. She worked with Paul Haggis, Academy Award winner, Clint Eastwood Academy Award winner, and now she may win herself. Talk about the chance of a lifetime! But the achievement is monumental and one wonders how it could have been written without the collaboration of someone with an inside understanding of that culture. It was based on a book, in part, but nonetheless, the Japanese cultural themes are so strong throughout.

The film is the the Japanese side of the Battle of Iwo Jima told from the points of view of the commanding general and those who serve under him. These are ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances. Saigo is a baker who just wants to get back to his wife and the daughter he has yet to meet. Throughout the whole film, he just wishes he was somewhere else. None of the seemingly blind patriotism of some of the others. He just wants to go home and is doing what he must to survive.

The Japanese sense of honor is certainly a key cultural theme, and it is interesting how it takes shape here. At one point, when things are clearly taking a turn for the worst, many officers and soldiers want to commit suicide to preserve their honor, while the commanding General has ordered them not to. Others want to go on. And there is an intra-cultural struggle here against the traditional sense of honor and a new understanding which has emerged in these circumstances.

Another cultural theme is patriotism. Certainly we Americans know much about this, but I think the soldiers in this film evidence a level of it which often goes beyond what most American realize. To fight and die for their country is the highest honor to them, and their will to live, their instinct to survive, is constantly tested by this resolve. What is true patriotism? Is it the man who realizes they are defeated and takes mines out to destroy one last tank suicidally? Is it the soldiers who rather than face defeat, kill themselves? Is it the soldiers who continue fighting on? Is it those who die in the course of duty? Whose is the greater patriotism. The film provides no clear answers but the questions are strong ones that leave you thinking and debating long after the film is done.

Other themes are what most jar us. If we go thinking the Japanese are not like us in any way (which I did not), we might be shocked to hear them thinking of their wives and kids, writing and receiving letters from home, and interacting with one another much as we do. One of the most powerful scenes is when the soldiers listen as their leader translates a letter from the mother of an American soldier they had captured. And they comment that the letters sound just like those of their own mothers. Maybe the Americans and Japanese are not so different, the characters realize. We realize it. And that is the heart of the brilliance at work here.

"Letters From Iwo Jima" puts us in the heads of those whom on the surface might seem nothing like us and allows us to see the world from their point of view. In the process of comparing both films, I imagine, one can see the similarities more than the differences and gain new respect for the long villianized Japanese enemy who so valliantly fought against our grandfathers and great grandfathers all those decades ago. I have yet to see "Flags Of Our Fathers" but it was written and made by the same filmmaking team as a companion from the American point of view, and I have heard it is powerful. I cannot wait to see it. You should not wait to see "Letters From Iwo Jima" either. It leaves you changed for the better.

For what it's worth...

Little Miss Sunshine: Culture Clash in the Movies

2007-01-27T11:03:00.000-08:00

At first glance, you might not think of Little Miss Sunshine as a culture clash film. It's about a white family of Americans, after all. But the story is rich and complex in its exploration of the family dynamics and there are several culture clashes at work. You have the gay male vs. straight male clash between Greg Kinnear's Richard, Alan Arkin's Grandpa and Steve Carrell's Frank, the homosexual brother-in-law. There's also the teenager vs. adult conflict between Paul Dano's Dwayne and Kinnear's Richard. You also have a clash between Richard's belief in winners vs. losers, and his family's clear awareness of their own imperfections, which seem all the more blaring to them every time he discusses winners. You have the Grandpa's exhibitionist/totally open attitude clashing with Kinnear's and other's more reserved attitudes.

All of these various cultures intersect and interact in rich ways which lead to great transformations for each of the characters, and that is the substance of the story as it reveals itself to us over the course of 102 minutes. It take surprising turns and the characters make surprising choices, and once you see it, you have no trouble at all figuring out why it's so highly acclaimed as one of the best films made all year. So often we think of culture clashes solely in the context of interrelations between people from one country and another. But there are cultures within those countries themselves. And that is what Little Miss Sunshine reveals and explores so richly.

And it does so without judgment. We might make judgements ourselves, but not the movie. All are presented in their various views in well rounded ways. All have their own motivations. And all are sincere. They are all respected for who they are, even as they come into conflict with one another. But in the end, they also come to mutually respect and learn from each others' differences at the same time. And we learn with them, because there's something we can relate to in each of these characters. That is what makes the film so rich and rewarding a viewing experience. It is a rare film, indeed. Not to be missed.

I personally run into my own culture clashes daily. From the superficial boss who makes snap judgments about those who work with him and sticks to the first impression no matter what to the stepford admin assistant who somehow thinks if you are not as "dedicated" or "excited" as her, you are not a valuable employee. People use their cultures to make assumptions and interpretations about people every day. Any difference, no matter how slight, can be used to justify writing someone off or judging them inferior in some way. To me, all of that is ridiculously arrogant and self-indulgent. So often the people you are judging, judge you right back in ways you couldn't possibly imagine, because you are too busy feeling perfect or superior. Don't worry. They are doing the same.

I learn more and more through my corss cultural adventures not to make such silly, ignorant assumptions about others. And Little Miss Sunshine reminded me especially not to do it when it comes to my own family, or even closest friends. Biblically, of course, I'm reminded that we are all unique parts of a larger Body, and God fully intended for it to be this way. He made us all uniquely in His image, and so we have no place judging others or placing ourself as superior to anyone else. It would be a better world if more people lived with this in mind, I think. But all I can do is do my part not to contribute to that negativity, to keep this in mind myself. Little Miss Sunshine is a healthy reminder. It will be one for you, too, if you allow it.

For what it's worth...

Ugly Betty: Culture Clash on Television

2007-01-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

My favorite new show, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is the culture clash comedy UGLY BETTY on ABC. This show is so smartly written and well acted. And it examines culture clashing in every episode. Based on one of the famous Latin American soap operas called telenovelas, and smartly adapted for American audiences by Silvio Horta, UGLY BETTY tells the story of an imperfect looking Mexican American woman. She may be the first Hispanic female lead of a hit television series. She is chunky, but not really ugly, with braces. And she is blue collar, but smart, from the world of so many Hispanic Americans, interacting daily, through her job at MODE Magazine, with people who are mostly white and rich and think they are smarter than they really are.

Episode after episode, Betty proves to be the smart one, who helps the others out of their own messes in spite of herself. She struggles: with fitting in, with her father's medical issues, with family finances, with relationships. Real struggles every viewer can relate to. And she struggles with how to fit in and succeed in a world that by merely looking at her condemns her to failure. How many people can relate to that? I can. I have lived it. And I bet most of you have as well. How many of us have seen the superficial world around us and been skeptical? How many of us have sworn we would never be like that? That is what Ugly Betty does. That is her ugliness. Ugly only to the world that is too superficial to recognize what true beauty really is.

That's the shows brilliance. It takes someone from the margins who is so much like the rest of us and shows that she is indeed so much like us. And in turn, we share her life on the margins, we experience her world, her point of view, and we find out that the world around her is not as attractive or desirable as we though it was. We sympathize with her marginal world, and we see the world through her eyes. And if we let it, we might even change the way we think about our own lives, our own world. We might change how we think and what we do about it. And we might even become better for the effort.

We are also surprised to find that the characters we most expect to be unsympathetic are instead sympathetic. The playboy boss with the silver spoon is the most likable secondary character, outside of Betty's own family. With the exception of the English props manager, almost everyone else she works with is so superficial and self-absorbed that it is difficult to like let alone relate to them (for most of us). They have their moments, but it is Daniel Mead, the boss, who really surprises. He doesn't know what he's doing, which is why he needs Betty, and he knows it while living in constant fear that everyone else will know it too soon enough. He has made a mess of his life and wishes he could change, but he seems trapped in old patterns and demons. Underneath the fame and fortune, he's also a nice guy, who actually cares about Betty and respects her, unlike most of the others. And he gives her the opportunity to shine. He's a good boss, and one we can't help but like.

If you have not yet checked out the show before GREY'S ANATOMY, then I highly recommend you check it out. Episodes are available on abc.com as well. You can watch them completely. And every one is entertaining. But more importantly, every one makes you think. Great cast. Great writing. Great subject matter. Presented in an entertaining way. So much so you almost forget you are learning and feeling along the way. This is what great television is made of. And I hope we all continue to learn from this study in culture clashes for a long time to come.

Congratulations to Silvio Horta and Selma Hayek and their team for this fine work. And to America Ferrara for truly representing what America is all about.

For what it's worth...

Culture Clash of Expectations: A Reality Check -- Appearances

2007-01-10T17:33:00.000-08:00

One thing I have been discovering and pondering a lot during the past three weeks in Brazil is how my own realities have shaped my reactions to some things in Mexico, Ghana, and Brazil in ways I was not so much aware of before. For example, houses are often crammed together in smaller plots and share adjoining walls. One house is painted one color. One is painted another. Sometimes the colors, to me, do NOT look good together at all. Sometimes, the same house is divided internally into two smaller dwellings, and each half is painted a different color. This has always clashed with my internal senses of order, etc. And I am finally taking real notice of it.

I am not a home owner. I have rented apartments since moving out with my parents, but as I prepare to marry, I am pondering at least a rental property and the new responsibilities that brings. I always shied away from mowing lawns, gardening, etc. as well as other things like carpentry, painting, etc. I will have to learn about these things or hire someone to do them for me. Or my house will not meet my neighbors' or friends' expectations. And probably not those of my wife or myself.

As I drive around Rio de Janeiro, and in Juarez too, I saw many places where houses were dirty, in need of a paint job, some looked run down or poor. But at times, I would enter and find quite charming, nice homes. There's more to looks than appearance, my mother once advised. And that seems to be the case here. Between the torrential rains and the lesser infrastructure, leaving more dirty and dust flying around to stick to wet walls, and the costs of paint, workers, etc. people in Ghana, Mexico and Brazil don't appear to put the same premium on keeping houses looking prim, shiny, and clean that we U.S. citizens do. Or maybe it's just a losing battle and they have their hands full with more important tasks of daily living. It is not something I really thought about until this trip. I just reacted to these things, without pondering why they are the way they are.

Another thing is space. Generally, people seem to live in less space in these countries. In all three countries, you can have 10 people living in a house with two bedrooms, and small ones at that. You can have three people regularly sharing a bed. Even as adults. It is not uncommon. It is not unnatural. It is the way things are. It always seems to threaten my sense of personal space when I think about this. But right now, my fiancee Bianca is sharing a bed upstairs with her cousin and Grandma, her mom and stepdad have a bed, and I am the only one who has my own. I am lucky that way. But that is because I am a foreigner. I also have air conditioning in a sealed room which Bianca, her Grandma and cousin do not have. Truly, I feel guilty. But no one complains, and probably would never dream of it. This is the way life is.

The house is recognizably smaller than the house I grew up in. The entire upstairs is her Grandma's separate space. Millions of people all over the world live with such shared spaces, and it is always striking to me. I am not judging it wrong or bad or terrible or anything of the sort. It is just not how I grew up or how most people I have known in the U.S. have ever lived. It is a challenge to my cultural mores, as a result. And I am pondering more and more not only how lucky I have been but how ignorant most of us in the U.S. are to basic realities for the rest of the world.

Anyway, there is more to looks than appearance in these cases, as I have been learning. And so I have to reevaluate my own perceptions in light of the new information. I have to react to things differently. So many things that are normal to people in these other places -- like having to do something beyond turn a knob for warm or hot water, toilets that don't flush paper, or houses that don't look uniformly shiny and cleanly painted all around the neighborhood or event he same size and shape -- challenge my cultural values. And I have to change and grow from this so as not to judge people in ways that are unrealistic and unfair. That is a daily process, I find, as a frequent cross cultural taveller. I am getting better and better at my inner compass, but I still have a ways to go, and probably always will.

We always have to remember that other people have just as valid an experience of reality as we do even though theirs is far different from our own. I ran up against this recently on a website that claims to be "the most balanced on the web" about Juarez. It is balanced because the webmaster believes everyone who disagrees with him is biased and negative. If you share that view, you will find in balanced as well. For me, it always seemed grossly unbalanced, because it did not share views from other points of view, just the one. I had joined a discussion forum and tried to share some alternative views, but was lambasted by the owner and a couple of other members for my "disrespectful" and "insensitive" views. Certainly some of them know more about Mexico than me. And certainly I have moments of insensitive and disrespectful views, but when I looked at the things I wrote and asked others I knew about them, we felt it was more a case of "dissenting views" than the other two. Certainly, no one likes criticism of things they think fondly or or places for that matter. But some criticisms are valid because they relate to things people may experience or face, even if you don't. And denying those realities is not balanced. It is biased and it is setting people up for greater disappointment or frustration because they were not well informed than if you discuss them realistically. Besides that how disrespectful and insensitive is it to publicly insult someone instead of just sending a private message and suggesting that their comments might appear biased? Especially for a webmaster?

I am not on the site now, but it was really shocking to me to see someone who claims to want the most balanced site rejecting someone who was not fighting with anyone or whose posts had not generated any public complaints, etc. I was not breaking any rules posted on the site, or attacking or insulting anyone deliberately. I just did not agree 100% with the views of the majority, who have a very narrow view of their world and don't like their boat rocked.

If you are going to interact cross culturally, you will have to widen your view. If you are going to interact cross culturally, your boat will get rocked. And if you are going to write about that, people -- hyper-sensitive as they are these days -- will object to it at times. They will insult you, call you insensitive and disrespectful, etc. And they will remain ignorantly unaware of their own lack of respect or sensitivity or that other points of view have any validity. In most cases, freedom of expression dictates that even if you feel that way, you don't discriminate against people. But this was an exception. The webmaster had even suggested he'd like more things from me on the forum like I write in my blog. Then he says I and my blog are "disrespectful" and "insensitive." Either he didn't really read it before he said that or he is a confused person. Whatever the case, you cannot have it both ways.

Most readers, for whatever reason, have not chosen to comment on this blog. I am disappointed by that, as I know people are reading it from the emails I get and responses in other places. And those comments come from both foreigners and U.S. citizens and have been positive. One Brazilian even said he appreciated my willingness to work hard to see things from multiple sides. I am grateful for that. I know I am not successful in every entry, but I do try, and it is always on my mind. Some things are still seen with blinders on that will take time to tear down. It is that way for others looking at my culture. That's not a bad thing.

We need to spend the effort to try and understand each others' points of view to get past all that and work through the conflicted feelings it creates. Most people, like those on the Juarez website, are just not interested in putting forth that effort. I am, which is the whole reason I created this website. If you are, too, and you read this, please comment. If you find something shortsighted or offensive in what I wrote, post a comment. We can discuss. All I ask is (as posted in my disclaimer) that you be respectful and not use foul language. I can deal with contrary opinions. And I am willing to learn from you. But you have to be open to learning too or it won't work.

One final warning: beware of wolves in sheep's clothing...beware of wolves in friends' clothing, too.

For what it's worth...

Tres Hermanos v. Walmart

2007-01-03T18:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is not a culture clash in the typical sense it occurs in these postings. It is more observational. For those readers who Americans, you might recall the running commentary about how Walmarts are like trees -- they are popping up everywhere (ironically, they pop up in place of trees, so the trees themselves are going away). In Juarez, I don't know about the rest of Mexico, this was Tres Hermanos. But here's the thing, Tres Hermanos is a chain of shoe stores. That's what they sell: shoes. Now, maybe I am just not that into shoes (okay, I admit I am not), but why in the world in downtown centro Juarez would there be 7 separate Tres Hermanos stores in a 2.5 block area? Seriously. And not one carried the same shoes we saw in the others. I know because in the first store, I found the shoes I liked and wanted but they did not take credit cards, so we went around to all the others looking for the shoes. None had them. We tried other shoes but none fit or looked the same. Finally, we had to actually organize a trade between two separate franchise stores to buy them at one with a credit card machine. A lot of effort for shoes.

But leather is cheap in Mexico. Cheaper in price than the U.S., not cheaper in quality. You can find low quality, of course, as you can with anything anywhere. But you can get leather items of high quality for 50% or less of the U.S. price just by crossing the border into Juarez, and on my November-December trip, I was determined to take advantage of that opportunity. I got the shoes, but it was a lot of work.

Even though Walmarts are prevalent here, I had never seen anything like 7 franchises of the same store in such a small area. And I looked to see if other franchises popped up the same way and so far did not find one. It is an area where tourists go to shop, and leather is a big item, so I can understand why they want to capitalize on it, but how can you compete against so many feel franchisees, and even more, who knew there were so many varieties of shoes that every franchise could carry different ones. I am sure there were a few carry overs I didn't catch, but largely they were different. Both Wilbert, my Mexican host, and I noticed and laughed about it. It was Imelda Marcos Disneyland.

Anyway, I wanted to comment on that because it is interesting as I travel to see how much U.S. style merchandising and commercial activity is permeating the outside world. I have commented here before how disappointed I was to see so many American restaurants transplanted across the border, because when I go to another country, I like to feel like I am in a different country. And seeing Applebees, Dennys, McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Wendys, etc. all over the place just detracts from that. But even more than my personal desire to escape into a foreign landscape, I am wondering if these are things that are deserving of export. Is this really what we want to say about our culture to foreigners? Does this represent the culinary best the country has to offer? Is Walmart or Sam's Club so great that it really needs to infect another culture? I shop there, I admit, but that is more about necessity than it is about being a fan.

I don't know what degree the native stores try to emulate U.S. stores, but they sure have grown more and more to resemble them. From store layout, to advertising, to product lines, etc., I see such a familiar pattern. And I wonder if they just do it because it is good business or if they do it because it works here. I suspect some of both. But I have not been to business school. I don't know if someone is teaching at Mexican Universities classes on marketing the McDonald's way. I do know that some brands such as Nike and others sign contracts with those who sell them requiring certain kinds of displays and store setups. And so that could play a role in this phenomenon. But I am not one to believe we have it all figured out so everything should be our way. Those who do are arrogant and ignorant in my opinion. But what concerns me is that perhaps others from foreign countries buy into that. I think that would be a shame.

Anyone who is honest and reads on the topic will easily determine that U.S. economic might dominates the world on a number of levels. The resentment towards us by foreigners is not just Bush and Iraq related as some Democrats might love to have you believe. There are other deeper, underlying causes. And it is something every U.S. citizen should be aware of and consider. For example, I am becoming more and more careful about using the term Americans. I did not realize until I travelled in Latin America how much we U.S. citizens are resented for our arrogant presumptuousness of adopting this term to describe ourselves. Those who live in Latin America and South America are not at all happy when we exclude them from the concept of being American, because they live in America, too. So I am learning to change how I think about this term and, in the process, myself. It is hard to change the habit, and I do still use it when it seems appropriate in context, but I also try and be sensitive about how I use it, when, and with whom. U.S. commercial power is another issue.

We have long acted like Colonial powers with our money, even in countries who are not our colonies, never were, and never will be. Independent U.S. companies and the government acct on their own or conspiring together to force various concessions or demands upon foreign governments and private businesses all to get what they want and have an advantage. An advantage that most of the time we do not deserve. It is not right that we should think because we have money, power, and success, that we have an entitlement. And yet this is how we behave commercially throughout the world. It is so pervasive that strong companies in the U.S. do it to each other. Look at how Walmart uses its buying power to negotiate with suppliers, etc. This has been discussed a lot in the news. Walmart can afford to sell items less than their competitors, thus keeping their competitive advantage, primarily through this practice. And it also helps them keep unions out of their workforce. So Walmart makes advantages for themselves at the cost of suppliers and their own workers. Now, they are transplanting this around the globe. I don't know about you, but I am so proud..............NOT!

But Walmart is just an example. Thousands of companies do this every day, including biggies like Bank of America, Texaco, IBM, you name it. It is our way of thinking about business, and it is unfair and offensive to other countries. If you were on the receiving end of this, you would resent it as well, and I think that we need to recognize that and make some changes. Our foreign policy needs to change, too, of course, but it all combines as one package -- the image of "America" around the world. And that image is not pretty anymore. It is not respected or admired or desired as it once was. And it is not seen as glossy and shiny either. Instead it is dull, oppressive, and pompous.

I don't hold the U.S. President solely responsible for changing things, because the government cannot dictate how private businesses or even tourists conduct themselves. We are all responsible, and until we take this responsibility seriously and stop acting as if we are God's gift to the world, we will continue to see growing problems in our international relations, including safety issues for "Americans" around the world. I, for one, loving to travel as I do, find that greatly disconcerting. Perhaps I am the only one. But I hope not.

For what it's worth...

What to Expect on a Visit to Juarez, Mexico

2007-01-02T22:13:00.000-08:00

A lot of people ask me when they hear of my travels what it is like. So perhaps I should take the opportunity to offer a perspective on the place I have visited most recently. Certainly there are a lot of rumors out there about Juarez, Mexico. As a border city, it has a long history of bars attracting college students and others across the border where drinks are cheaper, prostitution less frowned upon, drugs perhaps easier to come by, and the laws about age limitations more lax. Because of a long series of serial murders of women and drug gang activity (the two primary causes), Juarez also has somewhat of a reputation for violence. Add to that illegal border crossings which of course are common in the largest city on Mexico's border, poverty, and other items, and some might have found as I did that the mention of a visit to Juarez is often greeted with a number of warnings about such things.

In three visits to Juarez, two for a few days, one for over a week, I have encountered none of those negatives. I will admit to being concerned for safety, as I often have been in travelling -- most notably in Rio De Janeiro -- but I will tell you that I felt much safer than many other places I have been, even when I was alone. And I felt that these reputations are similar to many things: negatives get the most press. People do not like to write about positives because it is less juicy. Of course, I also must say I did not spend time looking for any of these things either. That being said, if you don't look for them either, they shouldn't bother you in Juarez.

There are some things I think might cause culture clashes to the average American. Those are what I will comment on here now. No one likes to hear negative things about their city, and overall, my experiences are mostly positive, but I also think it is better for people to go with more awareness than less, so that their reactions are lessened when they encounter cultural differences, and their enjoyment is less effected as a result. At least that is what I hope, so here I go.

1. Driving in Mexico is a trip. I have not yet been behind the wheel, but I have sat passenger-side front on numerous occasions and I think it is, to say the least, a true adventure to drive in Mexico. You hear warnings about making sure you have insurance. Of course you should. You should do that anywhere. And since everyone tells me Americanos get the blame for accidents first, no matter whose fault it is, it would be foolish to go in without insurance and a greater sense of a need for precautions. Drive like an old lady. That is my recommendation. Get a good map and know where you are going, but drive defensively and with extra caution. If you do this, you will not have many problems. Mexicans do drive aggressively. Some might call them "crazy drivers." I saw some things that amazed me, similar to things I have seen in Brazil. Rules of the road seem to apply only to those who wish to abide by them or when cops are around who feel like attempting to enforce them, otherwise, it is every man for himself.

2. Shopping at Mexican Markets is not for the faint of heart. The bargaining experience, as I comment on more in depth in an earlier posting, is not something for everyone. Some love it, some hate it. I strongly dislike it, mostly because I do not want to take advantage of the vendors, but I also do not want to feel like they took advantage of me. Prices are often marked up for you simply because you are American. Now granted, we are talking about items which are often handmade and in the US would be sold at two to three times the opening asking price, but nonetheless, I do prefer to get a market value price in that context rather than an inflated gringo one. At the same time, I totally realize how hard these people work and how little they earn, and compared to them, I am rich (though not at all by American standards). So if you want to get handcrafts and an authentic Mexican experience, go to the market, but be prepared to be assaulted by hundreds of new best friends, and be prepared to bargain. (For tips on how to approach this, see my earlier post).

3. Mexican food in Mexico is not the same as Mexican food in the U.S. One of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles was a Mexico City-style Mexican food place. And I enjoyed it particularly because it was different from Mexican food I had eaten anywhere else. But I was surprised how different everything was in Juarez. The people I work with there love it, Mexican and U.S., and in time, I will adjust too, but, for example, I love enchiladas, and none of those I found were very similar in looks, taste, etc. to what I have eaten before. So I was a bit disappointed. The flautas, however, were the best ever. Tacos were different but not in a bad way. Still, if you go, prepare to try the food, but prepare for differences, so you won't be disappointed.

4. Bathrooms. I also posted about this earlier and sorry to bring it up but three things to be prepared for here. First, toilet paper is not a god-given right. Toilet paper is something that most public restrooms outside of tourist places like hotels and shopping malls just do not provide in Mexico. Bring your own. Unless you don't mind buying it at the last minute, if you know what I mean. Second, toilets in Mexico like Brazil are not often up to the challenge of paper. This means that after you use the paper, you must deposit it in the receptacle (usually a small trash can). I am probably not the only one who finds this kind of gross, but trust me, what is grosser is what happens if you flush and the toilet flows back on you. It is also hard to explain without Spanish and somewhat embarrassing, especially in a private home, or where there is only one toilet. Just be aware. Third, hot water is a luxury many people live without. In most hotels, you will not have a problem, but in private homes, hot water is not something to take for granted. It may or may not be available without using a kettle on the stove. So if you don't like cold showers, keep this in mind.

5. Spanish. You don't need Spanish in a border town, but if you want a true cross cultural experience, take it upon yourself to learn some. If nothing else, it shows respect. The effort itself shows you want to communicate with them and that you feel their culture is worth some work to understand. You have no idea how much that means to people until you see their reaction when you speak to them, but it always moves me every time. You will find a mix of English and Spanish speakers. You will find a lot of people who understand more English than they speak. You will find Spanglish, a pigeon mix of the two languages. And you will find some people who understand nada (nothing in Spanish, for those who have not learned yet). But for the most part, it won't be an issue unless you make it one. Take a phrase book or pocket dictionary, and find humor in whatever difficulties arise, because language is funny. And then you will be fine.

6. Customs agents are not your friend. Customs agents will never be your friend. That is not their job. But if you treat them with respect and respond calmly as asked, with short, direct answers, they should not be a problem either. Provided you are acting honestly and within the law. That being said, take time to find out what the law is. The US Border Patrol and other websites offer lists of forbidden items, so read them. There are also many books. I say, the more you know, the better your experience will be.

7. While the water in big cities is supposedly okay these days, unlike the past, just drink bottled water, and probably use it to brush your teeth as well. It is readily available at good prices, so it is better safe than sorry. I have found that traveller's diarrhea is just a reality when you travel to various places. Most people experience it at least once in protracted periods over a few days abroad, whether in Europe or the Third World. So don't increase your risk of experiencing it by drinking the water. It is treated with different standards from the U.S., so it may still cause your body to object in various ways, even if it won't make you deathly ill.

I can probably think of more things to write here, and I will edit the post and add them later, but that will be it for now. Many of the things here you will encounter similarly in other places in the world. The bathroom thing applies in Brazil and Ghana, for example. The driving thing also applies in Brazil and Ghana. The customs thing as well. Others might be more unique to Mexico. But I do think you will enjoy visiting Juarez. It is an easy way to get your feet wet in a day for neophyte international travellers, if nothing else. But I urge those who can and are willing to have an adventure to go beyond a day trip and get outside the tourist areas and really try and experience Mexican culture and life. Don't do it on your own. Find a guide or a friendly Mexican, of course. You do not want to end up in the wrong area. But you will be richer for the experience. And so will the world we live in, especially on the US-Mexico border.

For what it's worth...

Christmas In Rio

2007-01-02T06:39:00.000-08:00

Well, since I wrote about my anticipation of Christmas in Rio not being what I am used to, I should write about how I experienced it now that it happened. First, my comments were not meant to denegrate other people's cross cultural expressions of the Christmas holiday. Just to relate my own reactions to perceived differences. And this post is intended to react to those after the fact.

Christmas with Bianca's family was very different than I am used to. I enjoyed it because of the relationships. We had a relaxing day at home. Watching some movies, read emails, talked to her family, ate, etc. But I will say the traditions I have treasured most of my life as the epitomy of Christmas were pretty much absent. Not judging their expression as wrong, mind you, just saying it is not much related to my own. That is as far as the family thing goes. But it was still delightful in its own way because I was with the one I love.

As for the community, of course, Christmas feels different when it is 107 outside and it did not cool down until this week. It was in the 100s all last week and the week before. So, it did not bring images of snow, etc. to mind. But there are lots of Christmas images around from decorations at shopping malls, stores, and other businesses to those in homes. Bianca's family does not have a Christmas tree, but they have various Christmas items around. They don't do the exchange of presents my family so enjoyed, but we did give presents. It just wasn't set aside for a particular time, with bows and wrapping, etc. the way I am used to. But the shopping malls, the sales, the deocrations all struck a familiar chord. Some of the Christmas displays at the malls must have cost a lot of money and taken lots of time to put together.

There is also Christmas music on the radio and playing at various places. This, of course, always makes one nostalgic (at least me). And it is fun to hear Brazilians, many of whom speak little English, sing the words in English, memorized from just such moments repeated time and again.
We even saw the world's largest Christmas tree, floating in the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. It changed colors regularly and was quite a site, and they also had lasers and water dancing (a combination of fountains, jets, etc.) all against an amazing background as you see in the picture above. Then we sat and ate crepes and pastels and talked. It was indeed special and moving. I guess I got new sentimental memories after all.

So Christmas in Rio was not all strange and unfamiliar. It was just different, and overall, that is not always a bad thing. Most of us, if we are honest, will admit to hating change. And we will also admit to struggling with it when it cannot be avoided. One of the reasons I love cross cultural travel is that I get the opportunity to deal with change and am forced to deal with it. I have to dig deeper inside myself, look at things with more introspection and intensity, and to grow in our expectations of and understanding of the world. Christmas in Rio has helped me with that, and I think that's a blessing.

Disclaimer

2007-01-02T06:29:00.000-08:00

It is funny how people react to honest expression. I never claimed to be the world's foremost expert on cross cultural realities, nor did I expect to find that honestly blogging about my cross cultural experiences would be an issue for some people. People love to pass judgment and snap judgments at that. They read a few words and they automatically assume they know who you are. So silly.

Anyway, if you read this blog, please don't do that. If you are a foreigner reading this blog, don't take too much offense that I see the world differently or that I report on things since as both positive and negative. You do the same when you travel and I am sure you would have just as much to say. I try and be graceful about what I write and how I write it, but all of us have prejudices we are not always aware of. My daily quest is to overcome those prejudices and reeducate myself, but it takes time. As much as I am aware of them, I acknowledge them, and I hope you can respect that, as many people do not.

For anyone else, I am writing this blog as much to relate honest experiences and reactions as to provide positive information. And sometimes the reaction to those experiences is negative, but I always try and put a positive spin and my heart's desire is that people who read would desire similar experiences themselves, because I think the world will be a better place the more everyone interacts with each other, especially cross culturally.

That being said, the purpose here is to discuss culture clashes. Not to pass judgement on them. If you cannot do that, then you shouldn't read it. But there are culture clashes occurring every day and if we never discuss them, we will never get past them or stop them from occurring. So be it what I will, I will write honestly. And I will try my best to be respectful and sensitive. But at the same time, it will be mostly from my point of view, as I have no other point of view to write from.

However, as I said from the beginning in October 2004, I would welcome comments and discussion as long as they are not vulgar, rude, insulting, denegrating, or otherwise inappropriate (disrespect being inappropriate). I will gladly respond and we can learn from each other. It does no good to share my point of view, if I am not open to yours. And I cannot become a better cross cultural citizen without learning from others. I do however have it set that I have to approve comments, so if you are of the type I said won't be welcome, don't waste your time. I will not allow it on the site. Otherwise, let's discuss.

Finally, a definition of culture might be somewhat helpful. When I talk about culture, I am not just referring to the rich cultural heritage of architecture and arts, etc. Nor am I just referring to history. I am referring to daily life. Those who look at the cultural heritage are right to wonder what toilet paper and other daily minutae mentioned here have to do with culture. But those minutae have everything to do with daily culture and that culture, I believe, is what most visitors have the most struggle with or at the most immediate reaction. So that is what fascinates me the most. Everybody deals with different aspects of daily life in unique ways. That is as much a part of their cultural reality as music and design. And it is what makes us different in ways that are more immediately noticable for many people. So I choose to include those things in my definition of culture for the sake of culture clashes, and I discuss them here.

Thanks.

Christmas Culture Clash

2006-12-21T05:11:00.000-08:00

When I think of Christmas, I think of carolling, gathering around a tree the family decorated together, an advent calendar, opening presents one by one, each in turn, the special breakfast caserole, rolls, etc. my Mom makes. These are the sights, sounds, and memories I cherish. This year, I face a culture clash. It is my first Christmas with Bianca in Brazil. Last night, I tried to get her to tell me what their traditions are and all I could get was "talk and eat and talk." That doesn't sound like a complete Christmas to me. I hope I discover she's wrong and that there are traditions so common to her family she doesn't recognize the traditions. I hope it is still festive and with a sense of magic, because I have had some Christmases without that, and it is always disappointing.

Don't get me wrong, I don't expect it to be the same. And I will be excited by the differences. In case you haven't guessed, I love cross cultural experiences. But I also have a fondness for the sentimentality of the holidays, too. Being with Bianca is indeed the best present of all, after Jesus' birth of course, but still, I will miss my family and our traditions, and hope that whatever happens I can still feel a sense of Christmas. and I am aware that may take years. Because this is my first Brazilian Christmas and I don't understand the culture or her family well enough yet to accept or appreciate it fully from the cultural standpoint. Differences still stand out to me more than they probably should. That is just part of the growth process in learning a culture.

As Bianca said, we will make our own traditions next Christmas as we start our life together as spouses, which can encompass traditions from both cultures. We can decide what we want our Christmases to be like. I look forward to it. In the mean time, my expectations are culture clashing. I know, not right to preconceive or prejudge, but it's hard not to. To be honest, I have not had many Christmases that captured the magic I still remember so fondly from childhood in the past decade or two. Once you go to college and you are not kids anymore, Christmas changes. I had hoped with my nephew's birth, we could recapture a bit of that, and we did. But still, it is never going to be the same. And I guess I have to get over that.

There are rich cultural traditions of Christmas in most cultures. When I was in Juarez a few weeks ago, the decorations at their mall were stunning. In fact, they had actually trees growing through the tile. It was impressive. And the decorations were opulent and well done. In Brazil too, having been there just after Christmas last year, I know there will be decorations and the whole atmosphere. And that is neat to see, especially given that the temperatures lately have been 107 yesterday and 106 the day before. I mean, if it can't feel like Christmas, the least it can do it look it, right? But anyway, it is their summer. And when I am in Arraial Do Cabo the first weekend in January, enjoying crystal clear ocean waters, sand, etc. I will not mind it looking like the tropics in the least.

I guess all I'm really saying is that I hope there will always be magic to Christmas no matter which culture or location I experience it through, because Christmas should be magic. The birth of a Savior for the sinful world is magic, and we should always remember it that way.

THE GREAT WALL OF FEAR

2006-12-20T19:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, so here is my take on the culture clash of the great US-Mexico border wall. While I disagree with anyone who argues that the risk to our borders of terrorists is not an issue, -- it is whether it has happened in the past or not because of the new climate of the world in which we live -- I agree the wall is a ridiculous proposition, but I am also sure it will never happen. It was political. The Republicans, of whom I am one, wanted to look strong when they were fighting for election victory. It is too impractical to ever actually be built, though there will be postering about it for years to come no doubt.

I also think blaming Congress alone is silly. The American people are as much to blame. I travel in country and out frequently, and I can tell you, I have discussed this issue with lots of people. The American public at large is woefully ignorant. They actually think if immigrants did not come in to take low wage unpleasant jobs, then Americans would have more jobs. But I have seen the jobs they are talking about and no American would take them. They are unpleasant and they require long hours, low pay, and little dignity. At least most of the jobs. American companies are looking to cut wages every way they came. Removing immigrants would just result in them trying to find other ways to meet those needs.

Additionally, the American public seems to be woefully suffering from memory loss. Immigrants founded this country. It used to be everyone could proudly trace their roots back to immigrants. Now people just think of themselves as Americans with some God given right to live here and prosper and they don't remember the circumstances of our nation's founding. Why shouldn't people faced with the level of poverty in Mexico try and seek a better life for themselves and their families? Just across the border in West Juarez last Saturday I saw conditions reminiscent of African villages. And just across a dry river bed were visible signs of a lifestyle that seemed royal by comparison. I would try and cross and so would you. If we really want to change immigration, we need to allow our tax money to be used to help the Mexican government build infrastructure, provide education and training, and get those people jobs, houses, plumbing, clothes, food, etc. to eliminate poverty. Only then will they stop desiring or needing to immigrate. But most Americans would roll over in their graves before they would allow money to be used that way. Because we have no sense of poverty.

There is poverty in the U.S. in places like the mountains of West Virginia and the inner cities of Chicago which people are so far removed from they never think about it. We do nothing about it, and we do nothing about this either. And that is a shame. Because our real problem and cause for concern is our woeful lack of concern for the world. We so often move to better our own interests without concern for others' needs. We are the sole superpower. With that comes great responsibility to fight injustice and police the world. But with it also comes a responsibility to use our wealth to better human kind. And we do not do much of that. You can argue we are one of the largest donor nations on Earth, but we allow those donations so often to sink into miring pits of corruption and bureacracy so that they never have real impact. Get out on the dirt with these people. Go to their homes. See what they deal with. Spend a night as I did in a home with no heat, where the walls are so cold the cold transfers to the pillows and mattress leaving you no escape. Eat table scraps turned to soup. I am not doing enough either. And I know I need to. We all do.

To me, these things are the real heart of the wall issue. And as long as we continue to use stupid diplomatic ideas to try and resolve them (ignore them really), we will continue to be hated and mocked around the world. And nothing will really change. And we will actually have reason to fear people attacking us with hatred. Why shouldn't they when we selfishly sit back and prosper, wasting millions of dollars on ipods and fancy cars and other meaningless things while they are fighting to survive.

Immigrants suffer so many humiliations to be here, even legally. And what they go through from their families who are less fortunate than them is also so much harder than anything most Americans ever face. It is admirable that so many of them do so much for others, when they have so little themselves. We should admire them for it, and we should seek to learn from them. Our culture is richer for all the immigrants. We would not have any Mexican restaurants, Chinese restaurants, Brazilian restaurants, you name it, if it weren't for immigrants. For one thing, even if those restaurants are owned by U.S. citizens (which not all of them are), those who staff them are most often immigrants who work hard at lower pay than any of us care to acknowledge or would be willing to do ourselves. We owe them for so much. Not just food. Clothes, music, sports, etc.

What do they get for it? This giant legislative slap in the face. This giant taken for granted political statement. And are they angry? Yes. And so am I.

American Bashing

2006-12-13T09:36:00.000-08:00

One of the most frustrating and disappointing realities of cross cultural interrelations that is all too common these days is American bashing. Not just bashing the country, bashing anyone who lives there as if they are to blame for anything the countries has done, does, or ever will do that is disagreeable to the basher. While I am conservative and Republican, I don't agree with everything our government does, has done or will do. I don't feel 100% or even 70% represented most of the time by our leaders. Sometimes it is less than 10%. I think our current foreign relations stink. And I think our President, though I personally admire him for many reasons, has a bad habit of expressing himself in ways that make it worse. Either he has bad advisors or he is winging it. But some of the things he says are very insensitive and I can understand people's negative reactions. What I am frustrated and disappointed about is that I am so hated for it.

I frequently contribute to Brazzil magazine for instance. And even when I try to engage people in chatting with their comments, no matter how polite or respectful I try to be I get arrogant condemnation back. They don't try to understand me or give me any credit for trying to understand them. They hate me and they hate America and they lump me in with all of it with no awareness or consideration of who I am as a person. This seems to be particularly true with Brazilians for some reason. I never encountered it in Mexico. I did encounter it on a smaller scale in Ghana. To be honest, I think if you want to call someone else arrogant you need to not be arrogant yourself. Otherwise, it is hypocrisy. And yes, I know this applies to me. I said they are arrogant in their condemnation and I mean it. I feel free to disagree with anybody. I avoid insults and I try to always hear what they are saying and be respectful. I cannot abide people who don't have such common courtesy.

Okay, I do fail sometimes to hear people or be as sensitive as I had hoped. But I am the first to apologize and to try harder. And while my country has made many errors and mistakes and even done wrong at times, that is not my decision or my fault. I don't blame Iraqis in general for Sadaam's crimes or Al Queda in Iraq either. So why should I be blamed? And truthfully I don't know a lot of Americans who read cross cultural websites or go as tourists to places and interact with people who don't try to understand, appreciate and respect the culture. So the types of Americans they are lumping us in with tend to be the kind I don't even know or associate with myself. Have we really broken down that much in this world? If so, it is not a good sign.

I failed to see it and approve it until today, but my friend Chuck wrote in July about the fact that many of our complaints are often the result of our desire for something better. And that is definately where I coming from in this posting. I go to Brazil and Mexico and Ghana and other places with a sincere desire to learn. I eat the food. I try things. I try and learn language. I ask questions. I try and understand why they do what they do and why things are as they are. I make a sincere effort. Of course, I have cultural bias. Cultural bias is what makes the people spewing such hatred at me speak as they do. But the difference is, they deny their bias. I can admit mine. And I am often painfully aware of it. I work hard to overcome it. But as I often tell Bianca, my fiancee, she has to help me. She is Brazilian, she sees the world through different eyes, so she has to help me see and understand with those eyes. It cannot just happen. I need help. And I make the effort. So I sure wish people would make the effort too.

Okay, enough griping. I just wanted to point out this phenomenon and ask you all to pray about it and remember it. It makes things very tough for those of us working as missionaries. And it is making things very difficult for Americans everywhere in the world. And the problem is only going to get worse and become more of an issue in cross cultural inner cities, if we do not do something t0 change it. We at least have to make an effort to talk to each other more and attempt reaching some understanding. We have to set aside hate, prejudice and anger, and try not to react in kind when it is hurled at us. It is very, very hard. But the problem is not getting any easier so neither can be the solution.

Shopping in Mexico: LOVE IT OR HATE IT

2006-12-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, some people love it. They love the bargains! The variety! They love the game! I hate hate hate it. Shopping in Mexico or Brazil or Africa at markets. It is such a hassle. I am learning to be much better at it. But I still hate it. Nonetheless, it is a quintessential cross cultural experience. And there are differences everywhere you go.

In Ghana, they shout obruni obruni everywhere you go. There's no way around it. White people just tend to stand out, and they don't discriminate. They do it to everyone. And so you become a target. To them, all white people are chosen of God and blessed with wealth, because they see rich white people on tv and in movies. Clearly the white people's world is so much different than theirs that God must have ordained it. So when white people come, if they can just get their attention, maybe they can actually make a little extra. You are a target and no amount of silence or even looking away will deter them.

In Mexico, it is similar. But here you are the gringo. And gringo's mean money. They come with cash to spend. So all of a sudden, it's "my friend, I have something for you." They say this in Ghana, too, but it takes on a more annoying spin in Mexico, I think. And in Mexico the prices are much higher. In Africa, even if you don't bargain at all, most of the time you are getting steals. Even though the starting price might be cut down to one-third if you made bargaining attempts. But in Mexico, they know Americans can afford more, and they go for it. The scenario is something like this: you show the slightest interest in an item. Bam. They are all over you. And they always have more beautiful items you just have to see.

In Brazil, skin color is so varied that you only stand out when you speak English. So they only hassle you when they hear you speak or if you look foreign or flash money. But then it is full on. And they have the best deals. Here haggling is not so easy. At least to me. Because the prices are somewhere in between Ghana and Mexico. I don't like to take unfair advantage but at the same time, I want to get a good deal. Most of the things I am buying are hand made and somebody worked hard to make them. I actually feel somewhat guilty taking them for such little prices. But at the same time, why should I pay gtossly inflated prices compared to what they might get from someone else?

So what do you do? First, I am learning to never look too excited about anything. Unless I know it is a good deal. For example, in Mexico I found guayaberas at prices almost better than the prices where they are made way south. My Mexican companion Wilbert even commented on it to others that he was amazed the prices were so good. The most expensive of them was $35 and satin. So comfortable! They were all good quality, he told me. So I did not try and bargain too much, though by buying two, I got $5 off each. I bought the third one by itself later, so I paid more.

Second, I go low. They will not sell if you are too low. So just go for it and work your way back up, but know going in how much you want to pay and stick to it. They will not take a loss. they will not sell it if they cannot make money. So you have nothing to worry about.

Third, be willing to walk away. For example, while looking for a particular chess set, I saw a clay painted sun which intrigued me. It was a unique color scheme from the others I have seen. I asked how much it cost. I did not say it with entusiasm. Just tossed it off: Cuanta cuesta? Of course, any sign of interest and we are off. He said "That is a very nice sun, senor. Very special. I make you a good deal. $18. Very cheap." I looked at him, shook my head and said $10. He said, "oh senor, please, it is very nice. $16." I stayed at $10. He stayed at $16. So I said "Your problem is, I don't want it. I just thought it looked interesting. Have a nice day." As I started to walk away, he said "14, senor." I shook my head and kept walking. I went to look at another vendor. A few minutes later he came running after me. "Please, my friend, ok, good deal. $12." I said $10. Finally, I bought it for $10. It helped that I was the first sale of the day because vendors are superstitious about the first sale and believe it is bad luck to lose that sale.

The point is, shopping in these places is tough. That's why I recommend places in Juarez like JJ's Market and Casa Bonita where the prices are set and the owners have reasonable expectations. Nothing I bought at JJ's was more than one-third of sticker. He knew I would buy a lot and come back so he just hit me with great deals right off the bat and it worked. I spent $100 in his store. At Casa Bonita his prices were a little higher, but still reasonable, and he had a good selection. I will go back to both, get what I can and only go to the market for what is not available there, because I hate the hassling crap. But if you want the real experience, you definately have to experience the market once.

Love it or hate it, it is a way of life there. In Africa, watching the natives bargain was a real education. These people were tough. And if you get lucky, they will remember what you wanted and go back instead another day to buy it for you at African prices. Then you will save amazing amounts because the fact they were seeing a white man just made prices double right off the bat (double is generous, usually it was quadruple). In Brazil and Mexico it is harder, but some enjoy the game. Not me. Still, I am richer culturally for the experience.

I in no way want to leave this post without commenting on the fact that these people are mostly genuinely poor compared to most of us. I don't write this to encourage you to take advantage of them. In most cases, the work is worth more than they make. However, I do feel that there is nothing wrong with desiring fair prices in the process, market value, and trying to not let them make you pay much more than most people who know a little bit more about it would have to. They will not sell if they are losing money. So try and get them to a price that is reasonably fair to them and you, and be happy. Trying to push them to make no profit is completely not at all what I have in mind, and I hope no one who reads this will do that.

US Tribute with Tex-Mex Taste: a Serendipitous Find in Brazil

2006-12-11T17:11:00.000-08:00

A brief pause in my musings on Mexico for another Brazil article which was just posted at http://www.brazzil.com/content/view/9757/78/

US Tribute with Tex-Mex Taste: a Serendipitous Find in Brazil

Written by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
Monday, 11 December 2006

I am a fan of history and modern day living museums are particularly inspiring. I love to walk the streets of Ouro Preto, Mariana, and other Brazilian historical cities, to let my eyes pan the insides of the amazing old churches of Brazil, or even step back in time with a visit to a Fazenda. But imagine my surprise when I found a place in Rio which took me back in time with a glimpse at my own country's history.

It's not a museum but it is clever marketing - an experience restaurant in Botafogo in Cobal do Humaitá, a shopping and dining area with many cross cultural dining experiences.
Restaurante Rota 66 (Route 66) is a theme restaurant founded in 2001 which features great Tex-Mex food and an interior decorated to pay tribute to the United State's first coast-to-coast highway, founded in 1926, Route 66.

Okay, so it actually only stretches from Los Angeles to Chicago (not really coast to coast) but that is how it is recorded in history.

Certainly Route 66 is an indelible part of American cultural history. People make treks to follow its remains, visiting popular sites along the route. Restaurants and stores along its route use it in their marketing. Considering that it passes by blocks from where I live in Saint Louis, finding such a place in Rio intrigued me.

Bianca and I found it when I was looking for a place where she could experience Mexican cuisine - a personal favorite native to the area where we will be living after our marriage next year. Our original destination was another Mexican place at Cobal do Humaitá, which was closed the day we went, so we wandered through and found Rota 66. Being a current resident of the Route, we just had to stop.

The interior of the restaurant, surrounding the large bar, is decorated with Route 66 memorabilia from Road Signs to Lady Biker signs to neon signs and various other items connected to the Route 66 theme. There is seating at the bar or at tables on two levels. Service was fast and efficient and the owner herself stopped by numerous times to be assured we were well taken care of.

Open from 11:30 to 4 daily for lunch and nightly for dinner, the restaurant is located on Rua Voluntários da Pátria, number 448. While it is priced for tourists, rather than Brazilians, the food was worth the price.

Appetizers include nachos with guacamole or various salsas or melted cheese, flautas, quesadillas and batata apimentada. They offer a variety of combinations for main courses ranging from tacos to burritos to enchiladas, to salads and sandwiches. They even have ribs and T-bone steaks as well as Picanha Texana.

Bianca and I went for a combination featuring flautas, tacos, burritos and enchiladas with an appetizer of fried potato balls and quesadillas so she could sample as much food as possible. It was a little more expensive than a simpler combo but perfect for two people and there wasn't a single item that didn't exceed expectations.

Drinks include pretty good margaritas, including strawberry and frozen, as well as soft drinks and a variety of beers and mixed drinks. And the desserts are impressive as well. But then who has any room left for dessert after the delicious food. Certainly this is among the best Tex-Mex available outside of the U.S. Southwest.

Our combination with margaritas, bottled water, sodas, and appetizers ran around US$ 38, which is not bad for two people. Quantities were sizable too and we both left feeling as if we could not eat again for days. In fact, we even took leftovers with us.

I do recommend one caution: for Brazilian palates unused to the spices common to Tex Mex, having plenty of water on hand is a must. Bianca had a few anxious moments waiting for the water to arrive to relieve newly discovered sensations about which she was still forming an opinion.

It was interesting to watch her reaction to the various differences between Brazilian cuisine and Mexican cuisine. It was certainly a surprise for her to note how different it was from her own culture.

Her reaction was favorable for everything but the burrito which I found mild, but she found too spicy. Given that her friend who lives in Mexico City had told her Mexican food was abhorrent, it was a rich experience to see her enjoying it so much.

For an American in the world of Rio, despite having visited Rio three times, it was fun to be in a place that seemed less unfamiliar and more like what I was used to. So often you find foreign cuisines represented differently than we are used to in our own culture when visiting representative restaurants in other countries, but that was definitely not an issue here. Everything tasted the way I expected it to taste and they even got the details right from guacamole to the choice of cheeses to their salsa.

Additionally, I enjoyed discovering Tex Mex cuisine of such quality in place I never expected and sharing it with someone who had never experienced it. So often you find foreign cuisines represented differently than we are used to in our own culture when visiting representative restaurants in other countries, but that was definitely not an issue here. You will too.
Restaurante Rota 66 - www.restauranterota66.com.br/

Bryan Thomas Schmidt, M.A. is the Founder and Executive Director of Anchored Music Ministries, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri, USA, which provides leadership development training in the worship arts around the world. He has traveled four times to Ghana, West Africa, four times to Brazil, and also worked in Mexico and the U.S. Anchored Music teams have also worked in Bulgaria, and Italy. His articles have been published in newspapers and magazines around the U.S. He has also served as guest lecturer and instructor in Missions at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He can be reached at www.anchoredmusic.com.

American Musical Invasion???

2006-12-10T12:54:00.000-08:00

One concern I have cross culturally from my recent time in Juarez is the proliferation of American music on the market there. I know American music tends to dominate everywhere but the artists I hear, especially in Christian music, are clearly imitating musicians in the country to the north. You don't hear a lot of Christian Norte music, cumbia, or Mariachi, at least that I found or heard about. Even my favorite Mexican rock band, Mana, which is quite popular all over Latin America, is clearly modelling itself after U2 and other groups.

I find this disappointing because Mexico has a rich cultural heritage all its own, musically, artistically, architecturally, etc. So why do they feel like the American sound is the most valid expression? I was similarly shocked in Brazil when I found that most churches there sing American worship songs and hymns translated into Portuguese, with the same arrangements we hear in the U.S. Vineyard even set up Vineyard Brasil music using the background tracks from the U.S. versions with new Portuguese lyrics sung by Brazilian singers. Oh sure, I like some of these songs. But I liked them in English. My like for them says nothing for any appreciation of Brazilian culture. And Brazilian music has influence the world over. Bossa nova, samba, afoxe, etc. all heavy influences on American and other Western artists.

So I am wondering where are the artists who are truly attempting to write indigenous music in Mexico? Emphasized by their cultural heritage? Is the Mexican public truly so out of touch that those artists quickly fall into bankruptcy because none of their work sells? If so, I may have to work hard to teach cultural appreciation to my students there. And, as a foreigner, that will be a real challenge.

I like American music. I am an American musician. I am proud when people enjoy my music, whatever culture they are from. In fact, it works out nicely because I play like an American musician so if they didn't like American music, well, I'd have a hard time finding an overseas audience. But I take great joy in discovering the unique musical traditions of the areas where I travel -- buying and listening to CDs, live music, etc. Reading about it. Studying it. I even love to let it influence my own style and approach as much as I can. I love to learn songs in different languages and have my own translated to sing. So I am not against American music. I just feel that music is a unique language at the heart of any cultural system, and when a people are more focused on another culture's musical language than their own, I think they are missing something.

Maybe you don't agree. But I sure wish I understood why this is happening. Even in a place like Brazil where Americans are so often badmouthed and hated these days. It is amazing how people can pick and choose aspects of a culture while disliking others. The unfairness of their hate because of their dislike of the President aside, isn't there irony or even hipocrasy in despising a people but enjoying the fruits of their culture at the same time? I sure think there is.

Anyway, I hope to discover why this is the case and encourage a reevaluation and renewed appreciate of their own culture with whomever I work because part of what I gain most in going there is the result of appreciating, discovering and studying the cultural richness of their cultural milieu. I would hate to think that I left them appreciating their own culture more than they do.

Toilet Pressure: Africa/US v. Brazil/Mexico

2006-12-07T14:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have to ask this question because it causes me a culture clash. Why is it that in Africa they have better water pressure for their toilets than they do in Mexico or Brazil? In Africa you can flush the paper. In Mexico and Brazil you have to throw it in a trash can. Yes, this is gross. But this is a huge problem for many westerners who travel there. I, for one, manage to forget at least once every trip and the resulting embarrassment is not fun. (Not to mention the potential overflow). At least this time, I did not do it in a private home, but a hotel. They are probably used to it.

Africa was weird because they did not have running water for our showers but the toilets were superpower flush. I mean, you felt the power. I don't get that either, but it's another issue. Their toilets were at least able to handle things similar to the US.

I realize it should not be a big deal to remember this, but somehow old habits die hard. And I do think that it is something people who visit should be aware of so as not to inconvenience themselves and others. The only explanation I have got is that plumbing systems in Mexico and Brazil outside of fancy tourist hotels are not strong enough to handle the paper.

To be honest, given other factors about Africa, Brazil and Mexico are still often more comfortable places to visit for Westerners because of more modern conveniences and sanitary conditions, at least where I have been. I am sure you can look and find all sorts of things. I did visit an area of Juarez, last Saturday, which looked much like Africa -- dirt streets, cobbled shacks, no plumbing or electric. It is a hard life for those people and I am sure sanitary conditions are not up to Western standards nor ordinary conveniences either.

But in Juarez, at least, I felt while some things seemed less modern at times, it was clean and not startlingly different. Except for food and language and dress perhaps. And don't get me wrong -- I love exotic places with differences abounding. I do. I love the sense of adventure and seeing it for myself. I enjoyed sleeping in the unheated home last Saturday night because I had not done that and I know many Mexicans and others around the world experience that every day. To truly understand them, I need those experiences. It was hard for me, as I wrote, but it was a blessing. And it is also a blessing that I don't have to do it every night, too.

To me, one of the saddest realities is that basic functions like plumbing are just not standard in so many places. And until they are, we will see ongoing crime, starvation, violence, etc. Everyone talks about building a wall between the US and Mexico as a stop to immigration. I say help the Mexican government meet their people's needs better and shore it up for the long haul and immigration will be way less of a problem. After all, people are coming here to escape such conditions. If those conditions were not so common, they would have less reason to go elsewhere. The wall is not a solution, better infrastructure and jobs are. Of course, a lot of Americans, sadly, would roll over in their graves at the thought of using our tax money to do the Mexican government's job. That's because the immigrant connections of most people here are generations past and they have lost their sense of connectedness. That's one reason I love my opportunities to travel -- they connect me with people from other places and remind me why America was founded and what so many people went through to make it what it is.

Clash Of The Linguas

2006-12-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

One interesting culture clash I have begin to take more notice of, now that I travel a lot, is how spoiled immigrants here are compared to those in other places. In every country I have visited -- Ghana, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, etc. it is assumed that if you come there, you will make an effort at learning the native language. Schools teach in it, signs are posted in it, everyone speaks it and thus so should you. Sure a few hotels and restaurants and shops which cater to tourists have people who might speak some halting English or even be fluent, but these are the minority. The obligation is on you to make the effort.

It is interesting to me how this contrasts with our own attitude of creating Spanish catering schools, shops, etc. for Hispanic immigrants (just as one group for example). We are too nice to actually require them to learn our language. Instead, we will conform to them. Why should they be penalized for being in one of the largest nations on Earth and not knowing the language. How absurd of anyone to think they should do that!

To me, this is another example of the culture clash of values presently ongoing in our own culture. The Feminist-Homosexual-Political Correctness types who want everyone to feel loved and happy and wholy accepted and never see anyone offended. I say these groups because they are leading voices, not because they alone believe this. It seems to be the opinion of a larger and larger segment of our population every day.

Take it from someone who is very sensitive, loves immigrants, travels a lot, and works hard to understand and empathize with other cultures on a regular basis -- we are not doing them a favor! This idea is actually hurting them. It is helping take away their motivation to participate in a land they are calling home. And in the process we lose -- we lose their voices, we lose their full participation, we lose the opportunity to learn fully from them and allow them to help shape who we are and to know who they are. And that is a big loss. There is a lot to learn from other cultures.

I had never given this policy much thought until missionary friends on the border said they think our country should require people to learn English and stop spoiling them by trying to cater too much to their own lingual needs. It was then that it hit me how right they are. Why should someone who moves to another country be offended that they have to learn the local language? I was not offended when I needed to do this in Brazil or Mexico (as I am now). It makes sense. Interpersonal communication is necessary to everyday life. So of course one has to learn it to function for long periods in such a place. Now that I have thought about it I am actually more offended that some of our fellow countrymen actually want me to believe I should feel sorry for people who just have to make the same effort I or anyone else would to go to their country when they come to ours.

Okay, some people are already offended by this. Que pena! Too bad! God made a multicultural world with many languages to enrich the world. If we stop trying to benefit from learning from each other, we are the losers. And we are going against His will and design. And maybe some people want to live that way, but I don't.

And before you get started whining about how hard it is to learn other languages, don't waste my time. Of course it's hard. But no harder than trying to live in another country without being able to communicate. If it was easy, we would all do it. But that is beside the point. Besides, part of what people in other cultures have told me they like about my efforts to speak their languages is that my efforts shows respect for their culture. So why can't immigrants to America make some effort to respect our culture. Most of them came here because they desired aspects of our culture in their lives anyway, so since language is at the heart of a culture, one should expect an effort to be familiar with language. It's natural.

I am not anti-immigrants. I am not pro-assimilation. They don't have to lose their cultural identity to live here. In fact, I strongly desire that they don't. After all, as I said above, we have so much to learn from them. I am just suggesting that a fundamental requirement of daily life anywhere is knowing the local language enough to communicate basically with natives. And that requires effort anywhere in the world. They expect it of us when we go to their cultures, so we have a right to expect it of them. We deserve the same respect for our culture which they want us to have for theirs.

Something to think about...

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin', Dang My Behind Is Frozen...In Mexico

2006-12-04T17:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have not written in a while, but I have not had as much cross cultural travel lately. But I just spent 9 days in the Southwest between El Paso and Juarez, Mexico, and I have several things I can think of. First, Saturday night.

Saturday night I went to stay in the home of this wonderful sweet Christian family from one of the churches I visited. The husband is an elder and breaks his back in one of the well know maquiladoras, factories in the borderland. His wife sews and raises their two cute girls. They live in a lower class neighborhood, I am guessing, in a small house with a bathroom, two rooms, and a family room/kitchen. Their house was nice though sparsely decorated. But what got me is they really have no heat. They have one heater in the wall near the bathroom.

Ok, so I have been to Africa. FOUR TIMES, I have been to Africa. I have seen no AC, no heat, no windows, no plumbing, dirt floors, thatch roofs, etc. I have seen toilets that are a trench or even just a hole. But man I can tell you one cold night in Mexico really challenged me. I don't know how they do it. These people are wonderful. Their house is small but they keep it nice, and have some nice things, and they make the most of what they have. This is in NO way a criticism of them. It is a commentary on my needs, mostly. And the culture clash that resulted from being deprived. So even though they don't speak Spanish, if someone reads this who knows them, it is not meant to say anything bad about them, because I have absolutely nothing bad to say.

They took me in after having met me once, maybe twice. They let me stay under their roof even though I arrived at 11:30 and don't speak their language. They made their home my home. They slept in a room with their two daughters so I could have a room. And they fed me well. They were very gracious. The food was good. And they had music on. So we sang. I did puzzles with the girls. I even sang hymns in Spanish with the Mom, though my Spanish is horrifying (I am certain of this). So no issue with them.

But this week there was snow in Juarez. It did not stick. It is rare to see snow there. But what happened is, while the snow did not stick, the temperatures dropped all week, and that night, I am guessing, it must have been in the 30s or even the 20s. And the cinderblock wall next to the bed was so cold, that the pillows got cold. I had three blankets and I was able to sleep, but I woke up always cold the few times I woke up. And there was NO hot water. Yes, people live like that all over the world. And despite several times in Africa, I have not been able to adjust. In Africa, we used pitchers with coils to heat the water. I need to buy one of those things for myself because the Africans provided them. I need to travel with one. Because I did not shower. I self-determined that I did not stink, and so I did not shower because the water felt like ice. And so, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

In defense of my pathetic self, I might say that I had developed a bad cold two days before and was sick and did not want to be sicker. I did have to sing that day. And I was far from home. But really, my only excuse is, I can't take it. I cannot take the cold. I am weak. And yet people live with it every day. All day. It never ends. I wish I knew how they do it. I wish I were a better man. Not so spoiled, perhaps. I wish I could do it myself. But I just couldn't.

So I send my respects to those who do. You have strength of character I do no possess. I am sorry you have to suffer that way, but even as I say it, I KNOW you do not consider this suffering. You don't mind cold showers. You have not been spoiled by hot water like me. And you are just happy to have running water at all. I am ashamed at my own wealth and privilege -- the privilege to know that hot showers exist at all. I hope to keep learning from those less privileged. I hope it changes me. And I hope my writing about it here makes you want to change too.

Peace & Understanding.

Political Culture Clash

2006-10-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

I hate to talk politics as mostly it results in bad feelings and arguments these days. But since this is about culture clashes, I feel I must at least comment on the culture clash that is politics these days. American political discourse is starting to look more and more like the abhorrent politics I witnessed in Brazil and Ghana, among other places. Candidates competing not on facts or issues but on who can say the most outrageous thing. And it has become so offensive that it is a huge turn off for many of us.

Our society is clashing over divergent values and it is hard to live in peace these days. I used to be middle of the road. I voted based on issues and candidates. Sometimes I voted for Democrats, as I did for Bill Clinton when he was elected in 1992. Sometimes, I voted for Republicans as I did for George W. Bush twice in 2000 and 2004. In the case of Bill Clinton, I regret voting for him only because he showed such contempt and disrespect for our country, the office of President, and the American public when he made statements implying we are stupid. Everyone knows what the meaning of "is" is in the given sentence. Some words are just not given to multiple meanings. I would respect him if he had just had the decency and guys to confess and admit he has a problem. But no, he had to try and schmooze his way out of it. I admit to dismay when I hear the people who claim he was the greatest and the whole thing was blown out of context. Or even worse, they long for the days of Clinton.

How can you blow out of proportion the most powerful man on Earth not only showing contempt for everyone else but not living up to his ethical and moral responsibilities? Not even minimal ones. Some people tell me why does that matter to you? It matters to me because kids and other Americans, and even foreigners, look up to our President. And they see him as an example. When Clinton had an affair with Monica, it made it okay for people to do that in many people's eyes. And it is not okay t0 cheat on your wife. There are some things that should just on even the most minimal moral standards be unacceptable. That is one of them. It matters to me because I voted for him, so he represented me when he did that. And I find that embarrassing and disgusting.

It should matter to everyone that instead of saying "I have a problem with women, and I did wrong, and I am sorry and embarrassed" Bill Clinton instead chose to actually try and convince us the word "is" or "sex" could be defined in multiple ways. Everyone knew what was implied. So did he. So why treat us like you are so intelligent and we are such stupid sheep that you can convince us otherwise? THAT is offensive. It is embarrassing and disgusting.

I will say that Bill Clinton did good things in his first term. He accomplished more of his election promises than any President in 20 years up to his time. And he has redeemed himself in some ways by some of his post-Presidential activities. But the question mark will always exist. He will never be the great man he so wants to be in history. And that is because he was so smarmy and ridiculous in his approach to being caught red handed.

Enough about that. I don't agree with everything George W. does either, by the way. His cowboy talk is taking things too far all too often. And he makes statements offensive and culturally arrogant that offend people in other nations. And that is just not right for a President for some of the same reasons -- looked up to, etc. But I do think we have a greater responsibility than any other nation as the sole superpower. And one of those is to police the world and fight for justice. Ultimately, that is what the Iraq War should be about and often is not. It should have been emphasized from day one. And Bush should have thrown out those who misled him and made him look bad with misinformation and failure to give him the best information he needed to do his job. I admire and respect loyalty. But I find it disappointing when loyalty becomes a liability, as it has with George W.

At the same time, I used to be able to vote moderate, and I cannot any more. The loudest voices in the Democratic Party have become extremists, and I believe their stands on issues are in the worst interests of our world and country. And even though I believe we need gun control, and need to care for the environment, and disagree with the Republican Party on other issues, ultimately, I do see gay marriage and the reprogramming of our values that comes with the whole gay agenda, and abortion and the reprogramming of values which has already occurred because of that, and other Democratic mainstays as more threatening than those issues. So I find myself voting Republican these days, and when there is no Republican, I vote Green Party or someone else. This election on my absentee ballot, I even wrote in people.

I think it is sad it has come to that. It is sad that at certain family gatherings I cannot open my mouth and I have to listen to very offensive remarks from family Democrats as they slam things that matter to me. And it is sad that I cannot talk about what really matters to me to some people. But well, I can do it here. I hope we get back to the days where I can vote based on issues and candidates. I hope we can restore a sense of what really matters. But who knows when that will happen. I find it discouraging that so many who claim to be Christians don't actually get the realities behind these values issues. That they actually don't see the conflict with Biblical values and so much these issues represent. It is sad that what used to be common values we all shared at a minimum are fading away. And if you don't think that's true or don't understand that ask yourself how people can actually think the President of the U.S. cheating on his wife and with someone who is barely out of her teens is acceptable behavior? It didn't used to be that way. The loss of values must grieve the heart of our heavenly Father even more than it grieves my heart. And that ought to make people stop and think. Before it's too late.

♥ In Memory of Jason & Lindsay...

2006-10-29T06:32:00.000-08:00

An incredible statement by people dealing with incredible loss! What a witness! I had to link to it!

♥ In Memory of Jason & Lindsay...

http://jason-lindsay.blogspot.com/

Brazilian Elections: Hell Hath No Fury Like a Brasileira Scorned

2006-09-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

This article was published in its entirety at www.brazzil.com. Let's admit, nothing like the culture clash of a feuding husband and wife.

http://www.brazzil.com/content/view/9704/78/

Brazilian Elections: Hell Hath No Fury Like a Brasileira Scorned
Written by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
Friday, 29 September 2006

What to do when your divorce is dragged out in long court proceedings... For Maria Christina Mendes Caldeira, the answer was simple: run against her ex-husband for Congress. Given Brazilian politics' propensity for dirty campaigning, the result is nonetheless one of the most unique and interesting political races to be decided in Sunday's election, at least for São Paulo voters -at least for soap opera fans.

Their divorce contest alone has gotten them plenty of notice in the press. There was a widely noted incident in 2004 when Caldeira was forced out of the couple's Brasília mansion, when her estranged husband, Liberal Party president and current Congressman Valdemar Costa Neto had the water and electricity shut off at the house in order to force her out.

Caldeira first struck back against her ex politically during national televised congressional hearings last year about the alleged political slush fund, as covered by the Brazzil newsroom, when she stepped forward to testify of personally seeing her ex-husband, Costa, hiding stacks of cash in his secret safe.

Costa testified that the funds were supposedly to finance the political campaign for the second round of presidential elections, a version that the panel handling the investigation, The Chamber of Deputies Ethics Council (Conselho de Ética e Decoro Parlamentar da Câmara), found implausible.

Facing impeachment, Costa had little choice but to resign. Now he is seeking another four year term against the most unlikely of opponents. In fact, his ex-wife has become his chief opposition for the seat and continuation of a 14-year political career.

This votes-for-cash scandal has dominated the politics of Brazil over the past year and currently threatens to bring down the government of President Lula.

The votes for cash scandal, known as the Payoff CPI (CPI do mensalão), began on June 6, 2005, when a Brazilian Congressional deputy, named Roberto Jefferson, told daily Folha de S. Paulo that Lula's PT party had paid a number of congressmen 30,000 reais (about US$ 13,000) a month to vote favorably for the party's legislation. The end result was a ballooning scandal during which many congressmen, including Costa, resigned or were fired.

At the heart of this race lie core questions faced by Brazilian voters: Does political corruption really matter? Does honesty matter in Brazilian politics? So far, polls seem to show the electorate hardly cares.

Political consultants expect 70% of Congress to return to office, including Costa and others who were involved in the slush fund payments scandal. Though his own administration has been plagued by some of the worst political scandals in decades, President Lula is widely expected to be reelected for another 4-year term.

Caldeira, the daughter of an old money real estate baron, who studied in Europe is facing Costa, her ex-husband, son of a provincial mayor, who grew up in Brazilian politics, with great odds against her.

She lacks his fund-raising ability, political experience and connections. But that hasn't stopped her from making herself known. She led a group of protestors armed with brooms and buckets in cleaning up Liberal Party headquarters, symbolically at least in Costa's own home town of Mogi das Cruzes.

And when a Costa supporter threw a shoe at her, she returned the favor with a bucket of water -for which she wound up arrested.
She is frequently seen campaigning and handing out fliers from her 1984 Volkswagon motor home, covered with her slogan Tenho Atitude and blasting her campaign theme song from a speaker system, when it works.

The van is frequently plagued with mechanical difficulties which inhibits travel, let alone blaring the music. Her ex, on the other hand, is running what is reportedly one of the best financed congressional campaigns in the country.

Even Costa's reputation for heavy gambling, corruption, and a temperamental personality - all aided by the testimony of Caldeira herself, of course - does not seem to deter voters. There are also those who testify of Costa's caring for his constituents, such as the adolescent he helped get treatment at a top hospital after an accident. But it did lead to the invitation from the Green Party to run against her ex, candidate for the Liberal Party.

Given the Brazilian system of proportional representation, whereby each party gets a quota of congressional seats, the two could wind up serving together in Congress. That would make for an interesting reunion for press and voters, if not for Costa and Caldeira. And they still have to settle their divorce, which has dragged on since 2004.

Regardless of the outcome, the prospect of a candidate whose leading slogan consists of "Vote For Me - I'm his Ex" beating an experienced incumbent makes for one unique and interesting race. Forget about the fact that the candidates are often too busy sniping to discuss any significant issues. These days few candidates seem to find the time for that, even in the United States.

Bryan Thomas Schmidt, M.A. is the Founder and Executive Director of Anchored Music Ministries, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri, USA, which provides leadership development training in the worship arts around the world. He has traveled four times to Ghana, West Africa, four times to Brazil, and also worked in Mexico and the U.S. Anchored Music teams have also worked in Bulgaria, and Italy.

His articles have been published in newspapers and magazines around the U.S. He has also served as guest lecturer and instructor in Missions at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He can be reached at www.anchoredmusic.com.

A Lesson in Language and Respect from Mexico

2006-09-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

I just returned last week from a three day LAUNCH Conference on Worship in Juarez, Mexico for the Anchored Music Ministries - Border Evangelism and Mercy Ministries (better known as BEAMM) partnership.

Because of my desire to communicate well and show respect to those who do not speak my own native language, I learned a number of songs in Spanish. I use the term 'learned' loosely. I attempted. I also had songs translated into Spanish. The results were that I led them in worship and singing on three occasions and it was well received. I also proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I don't speak Spanish.

From mispronouncing the word ahora as it looks instead of with the silent 'h' as proper -- giving it a much closer sound to implying what it sounds like it implies in English than the Spanish meaning of 'now' -- to my slaughter of syntax by emphasizing the wrong syllables, I in every way showed myself a neophyte Spanish speaker. But the lesson here was in the gracious response of the Mexicans.

No one criticized me. No one frowned. And no one cried out to me to stop murdering their language. There were no snide comments to the missionaries or by them. Everyone was very gracious. Part of this is the Mexican culture, and Latin American culture in general, where people avoid offending or embarrassing others with open criticism. But even in private, they were more likely to comment on my genuine attempt to learn and communicate in Spanish than my failures in the process.

I wonder if we are as gracious in the American culture.

How many times have I heard someone with a foreign accent struggling to communicate at a retail counter or in a hotel or restaurant, only to have an American criticize "the word is ______ instead of _______."? How many times have I heard comments like "learn English buddy, you're in America!" or "What, you no speakey English?" I shamefully must even admit to my own past frustration listening to someone attempt the language who seemed to have little understanding of it. These Mexican hosts put me to shame.

Sometimes I think English has become so dominant as a language of business and tourism that we just feel like we have a God-given right to expect people will speak it wherever we go. I think we somehow feel like it is obligatory, when we fail to even attempt to learn other languages so we can communicate. In tourist areas, one can get away with such culture arrogance but not in interior cities which rarely see tourism or outside core attractions and border areas. No one the stereotype of the 'arrogant American' is so predominant and so reviled. In fact, as an experienced traveller, I have joined the ranks of those Americans who abhor encounters with fellow Americans who fall into this category. This despite the fact that I know I myself still fall into that category sometimes.

Language is often the ultimate culture clash. How nice it was to be allowed to stumble just because I was trying so hard. How nice it was to have people graciously understand and offer suggested interpretations until we could actually communicate or even just gloss over obvious errors in the interest of graciousness. I must now do better at doing the same when I meet others in a similar position to the one I was in there in Mexico.

An Out-of-this-World and All-Around Charming Varginha, Brazil

2006-09-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.brazzil.com/content/view/9686/78/

This article was published originally on Brazzil Magazine at http://www.brazzil.com/. But here it is in its entirety.

An Out-of-this-World and All-Around Charming Varginha, Brazil

Written by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
Sunday, 10 September 2006

Since January 2003, when I first ventured out of my world in St. Louis, Missouri, to the foreign world of Brazil - a different culture, different language, different continent (though Brazilians would argue this third point for sure) - I have visited a number of places in Brazil.

I have visited Rio de Janeiro, arguably the country's most famous city for reasons good and bad, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Goiânia, Ouro Preto, Mariana, Ouro Branco, Três Corações, and even Três Pontas.

And I have enjoyed different things about each of them. To be honest, I prefer the smaller interior cities to the massive congestion, noise, and crime of Rio and São Paulo for lots of reasons.
One of my favorites so far has been the little gem of Varginha, hailed as the coffee capital of Brazil, in the south of Minas Gerais. One of Brazil's larger coffee enterprises, Café Bom Dia - sold now in Sam's Clubs in the U.S. - is based there.

They have several colleges and universities, including the State Conservatory of Music and Federal University of the South of Minas. Even UFO aficionados know the city from a reported UFO incident in the mid-1990s.

But for me what I like is the charm of a city large enough to have the necessities and niceties but small enough to be safe from major crime, pollution and congestion issues, even tourists, that so often make challenges for those of us in the larger cities of Brazil.

Varginha's population is presently listed around 100,000. It has a charming downtown of shops, cafés, restaurants, etc., which bustles with activity most days. The streets are generally straight but often wind up and down rather steep hills.

Most are wide enough for two cars, but a few are narrower, and many are interspersed one-way roads. Crosswalks are frequent, and unlike Rio and larger cities, the drivers actually seem to stop promptly when the lights change, conscious of pedestrian safety.

As one friend told me: "In Rio, pedestrians are just obstacles, but in Varginha, they have equal rights." In fact, you can even take a romantic starlight stroll almost anywhere in the city without worrying much about crime.

I mean, as with anywhere in Brazil (or the world for that matter), take the usual precautions, but you can walk through shadows and deserted areas without a lot of concern that someone will jump out at you or is lying in wait. In fact, Varginha has no favelas and the citizens are mostly middle class, hard-working family people.

For those wondering what there is to see and do, Varginha is surrounded by coffee plantations with the beautiful old historic fazendas and hills of green coffee plants. At Fazenda Pedra Negra, for example, built in 1915 and situated on the road to Três Pontas, the owners allowed us free reign to wander through the house and grounds, answering any questions as we raised them, and permitting pictures of anything and everything we wanted to shoot.

They have a working old telephone with the separated round earpiece you hold to your ear while talking into the megaphone shaped piece on the phone itself. They have a working stone oven large enough to prepare meals for huge parties, no doubt. They have a swimming pool, an amazingly designed water system to feed the house that still is out of reach of city water systems.

They have a charming dining area indoors and out, and they have a Museum of Coffee which is well worth the visit alone. The exhibits are well put together with good explanations and finely maintained examples and artifacts from the periods when this coffee plantation was at its prime to modern day.

But there is more to see as well. For one, the Museu de Varginha is a great place to explore both the history of this region and the city itself. Because of the UFO story's popularity and despite the fact that most locals I spoke with did not believe the story and even found the city's publicity of it a little distasteful and embarrassing, there are statues of aliens at the bus station, for sale in many shops, and spread along the Praça Governador Valadares, which lines Avenida Rio Branco in Centro. There is also a unique one at the base of the giant UFO found along Avenida Major Venâncio in Praça Marechal Floriano (beside the Honda dealership).

Varginha is also a great place to shop for the gems from which Minas Gerais gets its name and at bargain prices. The selection is optimal compared to smaller towns nearby, if nothing else, because the larger city has more shops from which to choose.

O Forno has the best pizza I have had in Brazil (though to be fair, I have never had pizza in São Paulo). Água Doce is a great cachaçaria and restaurant. The picanha is as good as any I have had anywhere. And don't miss the smoothies! Delicious!

This is also a great spot to sample the great comida mineira (Minas food) such as tutu à mineira (bean purée and pork rinds) and doce de leite (milk candy) and other specialties of the region. There are even local cachaçarias (sugar cane liquor bars) and wineries as well as great opportunities for the famous queijo mineiro, the cheese of Minas!

The selection of hotels is also good. My personal favorite is the lesser known Hotel Jaraguá, much newer and nicer than its older cousins in other cities. Free postcards of the city and its famous UFO statue are available along with inexpensive ceramic aliens at the front desk.

Each room has a stocked fridge with room to store your own stuff, as you only pay for what you use. The cable television selection is optimum, the breakfast buffet the best I have had in Brazil, and the service top notch. They even have a rooftop pool and bar. All of this at rates much lower than equal hotels in Rio. In fact, less than half price.

The hotel is located on Avenida Benjamin Constant not far from Centro or the bus station and it lies along major bus routes leading to various neighborhoods around the city. Hotel Castelar, situated more in Centro, is another fine option recommended by friends. Slightly more expensive than Jaraguá, it is located closer to Avenida Rio Branco and the shopping.

One of the nicest things about Varginha is that you can just about walk anywhere in the city in twenty minutes or less. The only exception would be from one edge of town to the other. It is safe to walk, and the weather is normally mild - 65-85, with occasional 50s a couple of weeks a year as well as occasional 90s in the summer. So this is a great place to visit without having to rent a car.

The bus ride from Rio de Janeiro passes right through mineral spa towns like São Lourenço and Cambuquira as well as other towns with access to National Parks like Resende and Barra Mansa. So you can see amazing and beautiful countryside in route and even use Varginha as a launching point to visit other places of interest or relax at health spas.

The historical cities of Tiradentes and São João del Rei are within 3 hours as well as Três Corações, birthplace of Pelé, Três Pontas, birthplace of Milton Nascimento, and the spa capital of Poços de Caldas.

Varginha also has an amazing country club and tennis club. The Tennis Club is located off Avenida Benjamin Constant in Centro while Termas do Sul do Minas Club, for members and guests only, is located on an island in the middle of the river that flows past the city.
It has amazingly large outdoor swimming pools linked by bridges and includes great waterslides, indoor pools, tennis courts, racquetball, foosball, peteca (shuttlecock), volleyball, and other activities, even a ballroom. Definitely worth a visit if you can befriend any local members or somehow get an invitation.

Either as a gateway to the interesting coffee farms and spa towns around out, or for its own unique culture, Varginha, is a great place to experience life of the interior of Brazil in a way that cannot be experienced in the larger cities.

Bryan Thomas Schmidt, M.A. is the Founder and Executive Director of Anchored Music Ministries, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri, USA, which provides leadership development training in the worship arts around the world. He has traveled four times to Ghana, West Africa, four times to Brazil, and also worked in Mexico and the U.S. Anchored Music teams have also worked in Bulgaria, and Italy. His articles have been published in newspapers and magazines around the U.S. He has also served as guest lecturer and instructor in Missions at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He can be reached at www.anchoredmusic.com.

A Trip Back in Time in an Old Brazilian Submarine

2006-09-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.brazzil.com/content/view/9692/78/

This article was published originally on Brazzil Magazine at www.brazzil.com. But here it is in its entirety.

A Trip Back in Time in an Old Brazilian Submarine

Written by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
Wednesday, 20 September 2006

For most tourists, a trip to Brazil is rarely complete without a visit to her second largest (São Paulo is the largest) and most famous city, Rio de Janeiro, the city on the bay. With its beautiful beaches, rich museums, architectural variety and booming nightlife, it is a place where memories are often made.

For those who love Rio de Janeiro, with all of its energy and cornucopia of activities, one site not to be missed is Espaço Cultural da Marinha. Located on Avenida Alfredo Agache at Avenida Presidente Kubitschek, this museum is on the seafront, at the site of a formal naval establishment.

Here you can look out into Guanabara Bay and watch planes taking off from Aeroporto Santos Dumont. To see large planes landing on such a seemingly short strip is truly a sight to behold and can make for some memorable photos as well.

The location also provides a great view of Ilha Fiscal and other islets in the Bay, and one can watch ships of all shapes and sizes setting out across its waters - from sailboats to the Niterói ferries to far larger vessels. But the real gems here are the two ships: a World War II Brazilian submarine, Riachuelo, and the Torpedo boat Bauru.

You can guide yourself on a tour of these ships which are well preserved and have helpful displays showing what life would be like aboard. Both ships seen together in the marina are like a time capsule back to a different time, and their decks provide impressive views also of the bay and surrounding area.

Making one's way down the ladders and through the portholes of the Riachuelo, one is led to wonder how so many men could possibly live here. For someone larger than average, the narrow, steep ladders and small spaces seemed difficult to maneuver with the ship anchored. To imagine doing it with the ship moving underwater in the open sea is mind boggling.

It was impressive to see how quarters were often very small and bunks were tucked into whatever space was available, even in areas where one could not imagine sleep coming easily. The torpedo tubes, engine room, bridge, and officers' quarters were all open to visit for up close inspection. Also, the submarine's periscope is working and can be used and maneuvered by visitors to peer around at Centro Rio or out to sea.

I had always wondered what life might be like on a submarine, and it was even more cramped and tight than I had imagined. As I ducked down and lifted one leg first through each porthole, climbing through, it was easy to understand why naval men often say it takes a special kind of man to become a submariner. One visit to the Riachuelo and there is no doubt.

The Bauru was equally as impressive with its doctor's office, barbershop, hospital area, and bridge all among the sites on the tour. It has many steep ladders and narrow portholes of its own as well, and there were mannequins in uniforms on both ships at various points to demonstrate the activities of the crew in each area.

I tried to imagine myself maneuvering up the various narrow ladders and passageways on rocking waves with a seawind and battle raging around me. It must be truly an impressive accomplishment.

One can also recreate the famous Leonard DiCaprio-Kate Winslet moment by leaning out on the prow into the wind with the cry of "I'm the King of The World." Just leaning out like this and staring down the side, I was impressed by the size of the chain leading to the anchor. Later, a spare anchor also was impressive in its mass. For those who have not had opportunity to see such ships up close, Espaço Cultural da Marinha provides a unique opportunity.

I also tried to imagine being employed in the kitchen of either vessel. While the Bauru's kitchen crew had much more space than those on the sub, it still must be challenging not to get burned or otherwise injured when the ship is out to rough seas or otherwise rocked by the waves and wind. Truly these men had to develop real skills in their jobs just to get it done.

For those who favor living history, this is as close as one can get without actual reenactments and the freedom to explore on one's own, often a hindrance at some lesser attractions, is here a great benefit. The lack of formal tours allows one to wander through them at leisure and spend as much time examining the various details as you desire.

There is also a Museum of Underwater Archeology and Historical shipping, and the Galeota, a boat used by the Portuguese royal family. The museum features most of the exhibits formerly found at the Museu Naval e Oceanográfico. These include paintings and prints, weapons, and figureheads.

Finally, from a launch nearby you can catch boats to Ilha Fiscal to see the former Custom's House, which is now a museum. It was built by the Emperor Dom João II but then deemed too beautiful for use as anything but to host official parties. Only one was held there five days before the Republic began. It is now linked to the Naval Cultural Center.

We had a great deal of trouble finding this gem when we first attempted, because even taxi drivers didn't seem to know how to find the address. After taking a taxi in a circle back to where we started, we spotted it, behind the Casa França-Brasil and rushed across a busy throughway to get to it. It was worth every effort and a true delight. I took some of my favorite photos from the trip there and both my Carioca fiancé and I agreed it was a highlight.

Bryan Thomas Schmidt, M.A. is the Founder and Executive Director of Anchored Music Ministries, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri, USA, which provides leadership development training in the worship arts around the world. He has traveled four times to Ghana, West Africa, four times to Brazil, and also worked in Mexico and the U.S. Anchored Music teams have also worked in Bulgaria, and Italy. His articles have been published in newspapers and magazines around the U.S. He has also served as guest lecturer and instructor in Missions at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He can be reached at www.anchoredmusic.com.

Bad blogger, bad!

2006-09-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have been neglecting my responsibilities here. But I have been on a plane every two weeks since July and have been swamped. One of things I have done is revamp our ministry website, so you can find it at www.anchoredmusic.com

I also wrote two articles for an online magazine about Brazil, which are posted here as well.

Hope some people still read this site. Please send your own culture clashing stories if you have them. My intent all along in creating this site was to make such things available and allow people to interact with my own experiences and the experiences of others in crossing cultures!

Blessings...

Culture Clashes in the Family

2006-06-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I wrote here. In fact, since I started I have not written the way I intended, but soon I will be having more to write about as I have two crosscultural trips planned. But in the meantime, I am having a culture clash in my own family.

My younger sister is the child of my birth mother. My twin sister and I were adopted into a different family. We grew up uppermiddle class. Our younger sister grew up blue collar. No judgements on which is better. But there are two different world views at work. And this can cause discomfort, misunderstanding, and different values.

The present issue is with values. Admittedly, my younger sister lost her mother when she was 14, and her role models since have been shaky at best. Now she is a young mother and her life has some issues. She probably doesn't know how to do things because no one ever modelled it for her. So much of what we learn in life we learn from the modelling of others -- parents, teachers, friends, etc. So my younger sister is at a distinct disadvantage. But still the difference between maturity and immaturity is not thinking about bad things. Both mature and immature people think about doing things that are bad or poor choices. The difference is mature people have the self-control and wisdom to not take it beyond thinking into action.

For example, every person is tempted to cheat sexually at some point in life. And there is a long history of examples of it making a mess of people's lives, yet people still do it. The examples go back to biblical times. Yet we still have not learned this lesson. But people who are more mature, with more life experience, hopefully will know more of this history and let it be a deterrent. Also they probably have the wisdom to choose between the passion of the moment and the value of the longer term, vested relationship it might ruin. Just one example.

I think moral issues are particularly hard to deal with. So often Christians just condemn outright anyone who admits temptation or struggle. This is denying their own depraved, sinful nature. We are all in the same boat. Nonbelievers and believers are equally sinful. The advantage we have in Christ is forgiveness and hope and the power of the Spirit to give us wisdom which can protect us from bad choices. But this is only true if we allow it to seep into us and spend time pondering it and learning from this wisdom. And our possession of this NEVER makes us better than anyone else. No wonder Christians around the world have so much trouble with people thinking they are hipocrites and such. Because we often demonstrate hipocrasy.

Truthfully, I have a Culture Clash with Christians who cannot relate to real sinful people. People who are in such denial and have such a superiority complex that they actually think they are separate because of how they are not who they are in Christ. I am way too aware of my own sinful thoughts and actions past and present to ever allow myself such escapism. And I think it is not Christlike to live in denial of your own sin and commonality with other human beings. That is what does the most harm to the Christian cause of anything I can imagine. And it is why we are disrespected and not heard.

In Brazil, such thinking is actually so common it is scary. But I hear it in the US often as well. I heard less of it in Africa, but it is there also. And it is a divide which is hard to bridge. So I never have thought myself better than my younger sister or other family because of their different values or point of view. I just get frustrated that sometimes I have perspective and wisdom that is refused. I try to offer it as nonjudgementally and kindly as I can and I hit a brick wall. Even when I am discussing things which the people themselves admit were stupid or wrongful behaviors. It's sad.

I need people who have experiences I don't have to advise and help me grow and deal with new situations. And other people need experience of people like me. Right now I am sure wishing my little sister could see this. I sure think it is sad that she is trying to find her way in the world without the advice of older relatives who have lived some of the same situations and made different choices. Maybe then I would feel like her life was less out of control. Maybe she would stand a chance of making different choices. But when this one world view is all she knows and sees, how can she?

Culture Clashes in the home are the worst kind. So divisive and discouraging.

Mexican Hospitality

2006-03-19T18:51:00.000-08:00

I am the world's worst blogger. Why? Because I just never come here and write. And because I have a hard time figuring out what to write. Most of that is due to my present circumstance, preparing for a longer term cross cultural assignment but only actually travelling for a few days or weeks at a time in the meantime. So what I have to say is limited unless I delve into my personal life, which I rarely do because it is PERSONAL. Yes, I am engaged to a Brazilian, which means I am cross culturally reacting every day. But that is not the type of thing I mostly want to write about here. As I get to Brazil and Mexico and start working full time in cross cultural reality, I expect to write a lot more frequent and interesting posts. Meantime, I hope I have not bored you to tears or caused anyone to lose interest by posting few and far between.

That being said, I just thought of something that I wanted to write about from my time in Mexico in October. Since we go back in September and are starting a program there which will eventually involve my living there full time, it seems appropriate to start discussing Mexico more often.

When I was in Mexico, the missionaries introduced me to a family from one of the church plants. The wife was involved in the church music group I was to sing with that Sunday. Since the missionary's son had a birthday the next afternoon, and I was scheduled to rehearse with these folks, the family, who didn't even know me, graciously offered to host me for the lunch and early afternoon.

What was interesting to me is that they had a nice lunch with me before the father and two youngest daughters went with me to the soccer game of the older daughter. But this lunch took place two hours after I arrived and did not begin until the soccer game was already going. And it was conducted at a very relaxed pace.

Why does this suprise me? Because if I were a parent, I would have wanted to be at that game. If I were the daughter, I would have wanted my family there. And especially since they had a crushing defeat, I wonder how the daughter felt that they only saw the ending of the game. I know she was crushed at losing, even though, as goalie, we did see her make an amazing block. YAY!

It just got me thinking that perhaps the cultural duty of hospitality is a higher calling than the calling to support your child at one of what is probably 20 + soccer matches she will play. And I am not sure what I think of that. One on hand, as someone whose father missed out on some events that were important in my young life because a busy surgeon and Emergency Medical Director of the city's paramedics had other duties, I admit to feeling sympathy for any disappointment the daughter may have felt. She expressed none to me. And showed no antipathy toward me. But still, she is a teenager. And you need someone to root you on, especially your family. On the other hand, I am flattered that a complete stranger would be so important to them. The meal was pancakes, nothing fancy. But that they stayed home when they had somewhere potentially more important to be sent a clear message: Hosting me was their most important duty at that moment.

I respect that greatly. And admire them for that. And it intrigues me to find out more about a culture that places this kind of emphasis on hospitality, especially when Latin cultures are known for resistance to outsiders. Of course, in my experience, they are also big on hospitality. And this is an example of the kind of generous hospitality we read about in the bible.

Truth is, I don't know if I would have done that if it were my kid. I won't know for a decade or so when I finally have kids old enough to have soccer games, I guess. But I would like to think I am a good host who makes the proper sacrifices and shows the proper respect to guests, even strangers. I know Jesus did. And I thank this family for modelling that to me.

Happy New Year!

2006-02-12T05:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, I need to say a belated Happy New Year to all my readers! Since I got back from Brazil, January 7, I have been busy working on a fundraiser March 4 in St. Louis. And finishing work at the church, starting new consulting at Peabody Energy, and planning a wedding in Brazil. Not to mention the realities of daily life, and trying to maintain a long distance relationship. It is challenging.

Anyway, I had hoped to write some relevant comments here, but have not felt I had much to write that fit the purpose of this blog. Hopefully, when our Mexico and Brazil projects start later this year, I will have things to say, as I will be interacting regularly in cross cultural settings. But right now I am not.

I will say I had a great time in Brazil. I love Varginha even more now that I have had time to just be there with no major agenda, wander around, get to know the place. It is fun just to walk around there. And, for me, the ambience is so different from Rio or even Belo Horizonte that it is almost startling.

I make no secret of the fact that despite the fact I am engaged to a carioca, I don't like Rio. For one thing, I don't find myself as overwhelmed by its beauty as a lot of people talk about. To me it is an older, not very clean city that is crowded, and frankly uncomfortable. You always feel like a target in Rio, if you are a white foreigner at least, and I hate that. There are some amazing buildings and museums and parks and other points of interest. The restaurants are great too. But overall, I just prefer other cities in Brazil.

Take Belo Horizonte for example, I love Belo Horizonte, and while I know people who have been robbed there, I have never personally felt uncomfortable there. You have to take care with your camera in Centro (downtown) and there are some places that one should not go except in groups, but this is just common reality for most cities, even in the U.S. Belo is beautiful, surrounded by mountains and hills. It is not as crowded. And it has plenty to see and do as well.

I also adore Goiania, though I have known people who were victims of crime there as well. But Goiania is very European in feel. And it is well developed, not as crowded, and fun to visit. It does not have as many tourist sites but it has plenty to do, in my opinion, and is near enough you can also visit Brasilia and a famous Brazilian healer, if you are into that.

However, my preference overall, despite the fact that I live in a large city right now (St. Louis) and have been living in big cities since I left Salina, KS (population 48,000) for college in 1987, is smaller places in Brazil like Varginha, Ouro Preto, Mariana. They are so amazingly charming that despite their lack of some things cities provide, I think one would relish daily life there, even if one needed to escape to larger cities once or twice a month on weekends. The architecture, the charming handcrafted goods, the great food, the charming hospitality are all wonderful, plus the bonus that you get to experience a taste of what life is like for far more Brazilians than live in big cities.

Anyway, I am sure many Brazilians will not like my comments on Rio, but I am just being honest, and frankly, even a lot of Brazilians think many of their countrymen think too highly of it. So there it is. Brazil is just a difficult place in some ways for white foreigners especially because while the country has many things we find common in the West and decent infrastructure in most cities, the poverty and crime and far bigger problems than anything most of us have ever encountered in our regular life at home. So the emotional reaction to that combined with the reality that you are a target and could be robbed on the street in plain view of other people is usually a rude awakening and makes it hard to fully enjoy the experience.

Anyway, I will write more later. I promise to have more positive insights next time.

COOPERATIVE CLASH?

2005-12-09T11:28:00.000-08:00

Interesting how people across different cultures deal with business. WE recently sent a cooperative agreement to establish the parameters under which our mission in Brazil would operate in association with local church. We worked very hard to write a document that simply laid out the expectations we had, the expectations they had expressed, and set simple parameters for dealing with things that might come up from conflict to excess costs to other issues. WE told them it was not a final version but needed input from them. And apparently they were a bit put off by it. The only feedback I have gotten is from the Associate Pastor, who discussed the document with us before we sent it, translated it for them, and who has been our main point of contact. And he is for the document. We know the document is not legally binding but feel it is helpful to have some concept on paper related to expectations, needs, especially since unlike past trips where I have travelled with a team and only for two weeks, I will be going there alone for at least six months. If we had issues during two week trips, it seems reasonable to expect the possibility of issues arising during a six month mission.

Truth is, we honestly don't have all the facts about the objections but I was told they thought it was more serious than they expected. Culturally I don't know how to gage this. From the perspective of Anchored Music and our Board of Directors, sending someone alone to a foreign land in a city where he does not know anyone well, has spent all of six days before arrival, has to learn the language and culture, etc. is always serious. So it should be handled and treated seriously and a handshaked deal is probably not the most advisable route to do that. Makes sense to me. But anyway, in January, I will be there and meet with the leadership to understand better why they might see this differently.

The only reason I comment on it here is that it interests me that perhaps the more relaxed Latin American attitude toward such an arrangement might make such an arrangement seem overly serious to them. Now that is culture clashing. My Board does not want to operate without a cooperative agreement and neither do I. After all, it is my personal possessions that people have asked me to leave behind for them on past trips, implying that Americans are wealthy and could always buy them more easily. It is me who dealt with demands that we pay for various things which were not originally agreed to or necessisarily even our idea. And I do want to protect not only myself but them by clearly defining on paper what we are all expecting and agreeing to in starting this partnership. TO me that is common sense. And wise. Maybe not to everyone. WE will see. But either way, this cross cultural living holds many interesting lessons.

Cultural Divide

2005-11-22T06:26:00.000-08:00

One phenomenon I am seeing in Latin America in particular, and to a lesser degree in Africa, is a separation between church music and the music of daily life. This is deeply concerning to me because I believe worship is a way of life we are all called to. It is our primary purpose for being. And so we need to learn to worship in every word we say, every action we take, every thought. How can we do this if we see worship as something we do in a specific location or on a specific date and time? This is where having this cultural divide leads.

The cultural divide between Sunday Christianity and everyday living is wide already in the United States. And churches have been fighting against it heavily for a decade now. In Ghana, West Africa, at least they still have the holistic view, arising from African traditional life and beliefs, that all of life is spiritual and therefore, who you are spiritually, relates to who you are in every moment. This is helpful in fighting off the cultural divide. But in Latin American churches, particularly in Brazil and Mexico, what I see too much of is American songs from Vineyard and Integrity, translated into Spanish or Portuguese, using the same instrumental style and arrangement as the original American recordings. In the meantime, the rich musical traditions of Brazil (bossa nova, forro, samba, etc.) and Mexico (mariachi, nortano, etc.) are being treated as outside and worldly. Christians see these as things Godly people do not associate with, and this is to the great detriment of the church's relationships with the world they live in. It is leading them into the cultural divide. Now Christians listen to this music at work, shopping malls, street corners, on the radio, etc. But they just associate that with the secular half of their lives.

Why is this a problem? Because the Bible teaches that Christianity is a way of life. You cannot be a Christian in one area of your lives and not others. And because of the rich musical culture of these countries, and the connections people make with music to various activities, this creates a divide. Anyone who avoids these traditional types of music as sinful will have trouble relating to everyone else. And those who try and move between the two worlds find themselves pulled in two directions. Even worse, Christians lose touch with their own culture. And this not only hurts witness by creating a sense that Christians are set apart, different, or even "geeks" but it creates a situation where Christians find themselves unable to relate culturally to those whom they feel called to witness too. Furthermore, people being witnessed to often think they have to leave the music they love and everything associated with it to become Christians. And that is a very challenging thing to do. So... many give up.

Ever since our first workshop in Ghana in July 2000, I have worked to help natives look at their music through new eyes and critical eyes, but not culturally critical, asking questions about quality: How do the songs we sing match up with the Biblical message we are promoting? How does the musical setting/language/style match with people's daily experience? How does it further the teaching of the pastor? How can we use songs more effectively? Do the lyrics tell us everything we need to know or leave unanswered questions? And so on and so forth. And I have encouraged them to write songs for congregational use. Some have been successfully adapted into the churches, including some I wrote or cowrote with students. And some have been retired because of failure to answer questions.

As I prepare to work in Brazil and Mexico, I know of movements that are started in Brazil to use traditional musical styles and redeem them in Christian's eyes. There are people teaching the truth that all creative gifts are from God even if they are used sinfully by depraved humanity. But the styles themselves are not evil and if used with good lyrics and written with care, can be useful to churches. I hope this movement has started in Mexico also. I hope they can make the music their own and really use it to connect people more fully to the church and to their daily lives. This can only serve to make them stronger Christians and be a stronger witness to the world. And the world needs that more than ever.

Architecture and Dining in Cuidad Juarez

2005-11-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, I just got back from Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, on the border with El Paso, Texas. I know it is a border city but I was simply shocked how many American restaurants there are there. Not to mention Walmart, Sam's Club, etc. Carl's Jr., Burger King, McDonald's, Applebees, Denny's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Long John Silver's....and the list goes on and on! And one of the missionaries there told me that TACO BELL was all the craze in Mexico City when it opened two years ago. I mean, there are Taco stands everywhere that sell the genuine article, much better quality shells, etc., and they are eating at Taco Bell?

Don't get me wrong, I just ate at Taco Bell this weekend, and I like it, but not compared to the REAL thing. It amazes me. The reason he gave is that anything American is popular down there. And I have seen McDonalds in Rio De Janeiro as well as a few other things. But the abundance was surprising. Okay, so we share a border of several thousand miles, but still, it was a surprise.

We ate at Denny's (for some reason the missionaries wanted to) one morning and they have the same silly menu items we have here. The Slim Slam (Is it EL Slim Slam in Spanish)? Unfortunately, since I had the English menu, they did not give me the Mexican insert, so my breakfast was not authentic. That is a little disappointing because I always try so hard to eat authentic food wherever I go and experience the culture. Especially in this case, because I only had three days there. BUT it was still a good fellowship and meeting I had with Mexican pastors and the missionary during that breakfast, so a fair trade, I'd say.

As for the food, the mole with Empandas (?) was not my favorite. The sauce itself was just not something I am crazy about. I did eat a lot of it, but I just did not feel crazy about it. On the other hand, Huevos (Eggs) Rancheros I liked. I also enjoyed enchiladas and sopapillas. I enjoyed tacos as well. Great fresh tortillas. Good guacamole. Excellent Margaritas. Try the pina colada! WOW! Never had one before like that.

Cuidad Juarez was an interesting place architecturally. There were some amazing manses with huge gardens, surrounded by fences. There were some grocery and shopping centers similar to American ones, but most reminded me more of Brazil. More streets were paved than there are in Africa, though. But there were speed bumps everywhere. Apparently this is the favorite method of speed control. The other thing is that the traffic system is nuts and people do what they want anyway, so things get chaotic. But I will save that for another post.

Another thing that struck me was that Mexicans must just build on whatever land they can find because there were shacks that looked like they were in illrepair or close to falling down next to fancy new stores that looked brand new. I guess land is expensive and hard to come by. But yet there were whole empty fields in areas. It kind of surprised me to see so much mix, because usually I have seen it concentrated in Rio De Janeiro or Belo Horizonte or Accra, Ghana. Groups of similar poverty and groups of nicer buildings. Never so mixed. The other thing is that I was well aware that what I was reacting to might be considered a middle class home that just hadn't been painted or was not well maintained on the outside but was nice inside. So I honestly don't trust my own impressions.

Anyway, I did have a good time in what I assume is an upper middle class home. And went to the daughter's soccer game, which they lost 11-0. I came away with genuine Mexican art originals drawn by Carla, the middle daughter. She and Diana were so adorable! HE HE And fun to play with. I can always manage to bond with the kids first.

I will try and do a series of posts on my impressions from the trip. This is the first. Hope you enjoy it.

THE ART OF GETTING IN LINE AND NOT GETTING OUT OF LINE

2005-11-04T05:04:00.000-08:00

by Debbie Eynon Finley

This article is reprinted by written permission of the author. It recently appeared in BRAZZIL magazine and is quite relevant to our discussions here.

I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but I have found the lines at Carrefour, (Brazil's version of Wal-Mart) to be slow. Very, very slow, especially, compared to shopping in the US, unless you are shopping at the Albertson's near my old house in Austin, Texas.
There is one advantage to shopping in Brazil though. They let the people with children, the elderly (idosos), and handicapped skip to head of the line or go in a special line. My friend always makes sure to bring one of her toddlers shopping with her for this very reason.
Since my husband and I have no children, and are in good health, I've been trying to get my eighty three year old Aunt Ruth to move in with us. Although in Brazil, her name would be pronounced "Hoochie", which is her main reason for not wanting to come.
One day I was behind an elderly woman in line. She said that she was eighty, but, that when she first got in line she was only sixty, which is why she didn't feel right about standing in the special line.
Even if only one or two people are in front of you at the Carrefour, it can take ages to check out. The cashier will usually need to do one if not several time consuming activities.
The price check. This buying hurdle occurs when an item isn't priced. The price check requires the cashier to summons a store team member to roller skate over to their register. If the price checker can safely reach the cashier without having to field customer inquiries, and without knocking over merchandise or customers, the process moves to stage two.
Stage two is the committee meeting between the cashier, the price checker, and the non-priced item. If the two employees are about the same age, often in their early twenties, this may progress to stage three. Otherwise, the employees skip to stage five.
Stage three includes a personal conversation between the two employees about how long they have been working at Carrefour, and whether they like their job or think it sucks. If the two employees are of the opposite sex and or attracted to each other, this may develop into stage four. Otherwise, the employees skip to stage five.
Stage four is when the mutual attraction intensifies and flirting begins. Non-bogus phone numbers and e-mail addresses are often exchanged. They may even plan an upcoming date at the mall.
Stage five is when the price checker pulls out his compass and map of the store or Never Lost Satellite system, and ventures out to track down the price.
Stage six is when the price checker returns to the cashier with the price. Both employees separate until the next business or social encounter.
After a price check is completed, this raises other potential, time delaying issues. Does the customer still wish to purchase the item? For instance, do they still want the box of ice cream bars that have turned into a puddle?
During one of my price check torments, I was in line behind a couple who had just gotten the price for a six-pack of beer. The couple had a long discussion as to whether or not they would still like to buy the six-pack. Although I don't understand much Portuguese, since communication is 70% non-verbal, I could fill in the blanks.
"That beer has gone up two reais! You don't need it and it's not in our food budget. And, why do you want to buy those chips? "
"Because, I like them."
"No, it's because you want to snack in front of the TV at night, instead of listen to me talk about my day. We aren't buying them."
So, that price check wasted an hour of my life, an hour that I could have been watching The O.C. (Orange County). But, on a positive note, the price check for the six-pack of beer resulted in a date between the young cashier and price checker. I hear they're expecting a baby and are engaged to married.
Another frustrating checkout obstacle is investigating customer's money to see if it's counterfeit. A sweet looking older woman was trying to pay for her groceries with about twelve various bills to make up about 60 reais or twenty seven US dollars.
The cashier had to examine each bill front, back, sideways, and standing on one leg. Then the cashier's version of a lie detector test, was to look her with both eyes like Hannibal the Barbarian.
When the cashier's findings were inconclusive, she repeated the process until it was time for her lunch break. Then, she took the woman's cash and signed out of her register.
Another clog in the checkout process, is getting behind someone who is paying bills. Beware, that if there's a short line with only a few people, it's because the other customers have psychic capabilities and are avoiding that line at all costs. They can instinctively sniff out a shopper in line with bills to pay.
I got in line behind a woman who was not only paying her bills, she was also paying her sister's and brother's bills. She had seventeen siblings. I was so impressed by the sisterly love that she showed her family members that I asked to take her picture, (I keep a digital camera in my purse, since I still consider myself a tourist). We have it in our photo album next to a picture of President Lula, the president of Brazil (large South American country South of Florida).
Another hold up in line can be caused by getting behind a new foreigner or estrangeiro like myself shopping at Carrefour for the first time. I had been in Brazil for three days when I decided to take my first shopping expedition. I managed to drive myself to the store without setting the clutch on fire (it only smoked a lot).
It was not until it was my turn in line that I learned that my fresh fruit and vegetables had to be weighed in the produce section. Then, it took me fifteen minutes to figure out if the cashier was asking me whether I wanted paper or plastic bags. That's when I noticed that Carrefour only has plastic bags.
I didn't know that I needed a pin to use my new Brazilian credit card. I did have a pin for my new debit card. But, I hadn't figured out that when using a debit card at a store, you only enter 6 not 8 characters of your password.
It was my next shopping trip that I learned they'd be asking additional questions in Portuguese that I couldn't read. The machine requests the day, month, or year of your birthday. But, never all three. That way management feels that you'll be less likely to expect a birthday present.
Now, my only option left was to pay with cash. I took out twenty various reais bills from my wallet, which had to be cleared as not being counterfeit. From the depths of my purse, I shoveled up and sorted through a fistful of Brazilian coins mixed with US coins from home, and Euros from our vacation last summer to Holland (small European country East of New York).
Leaving behind a few of the higher priced impulse items, I managed to scrounge enough money to pay for my groceries and get through the line. It's nice that Brazilians are so patient.

This article was written in a humorous vein and should not be taken seriously.

© D. E. Finley 2005.

Cutthroat White Man

2005-08-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

Well, my Board and I are close to being ready to set a date for the commencement of a short term missionary assignment for me in Brazil, so I imagine I will soon have lots of more interesting stories for this blog about Culture Clashing! But for now, here is a funny one from Ghana in 2002.

I was with my Team touring the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in downtown Accra, which has fountains, a museum, and the masoleum of Ghana's first President and the man who led them to independence from British colonization in 1957. Very interesting man whom I am trying to write a movie about, but that's a story for another time.

As we made our way back to our car, we were being bothered by various street vendors who see white people and think "MONEY, MONEY, MONEY" (sing Apprentice theme song for effect). One was particularly aggressive and kept bothering our team and we were dealing with a problem with our van, which had broken down. I tried to shoo off this vendor and finally he left. Another vendor moved in to take his place. Without thinking, I cut him off mid-sentence with a finger pulled horizontally across my upper chest as if to say: "NOT A WORD." He got a terrified look and moved off. Soon I noticed a crowd on the street gathering and talking and pointing my way.

My Ghanaian host, and dear friend, Lydia, asked me what had happened. I explained and she started laughing. "You just threatened to slit his throat. He is afraid of you." I felt terrible. Lydia said it was no big deal, just a cultural misunderstanding and seem very amused. Soon our driver fixed the van, and we left. But I have never forgot the fearful look on that poor man's face. Or the way the crowd stared and gossipped at the cutthroat white man and his friends.

Hope this gives you a chuckle. Just an example of how even our body language can cause culture clashing!

Fighting a Culture of Hate

2005-07-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

I often think a lot these days about something I see developing around the world. It has been developing over the course of years, I am sure, but I have really began to take notice in the last three years. That is a culture of hate. Brazilians, for example, often slam America for its' President and his policies, lumping Americans in general with the government. Africans do the same, lumping Americans in with Europeans. And Democrats and Republicans seem hateful toward each other today. We seem to have lot any sense of commonality and instead see only the differences that divide us. I stuggle myself with this, because the lies and exaggerations I so often hear spreading make me angry and resentful. They are distortions of the facts and used to reflect badly on honest people like me who have firm convictions and are highly educated but also deeply passionate about our views and our compassion for others. And more and more this has me wondering: are we building for tomorrow a culture of hate?

I firmly believe there is nothing we could do to more aid the spread of terrorism than allow a culture of hate to develop in our countries. If good, decent people who work hard to love their families and provide for them cannot see past the ideological differences to the fact that they have the same ultimate goals as each other despite this, then how can we hope to help our children have the same goals? They will get lost in the angry ideology and this is what breeds terrorism. Angry ideology with no roots in goals of family, work, and a better life. All they want is to destroy those who do not share their views. Insane ideologists like Osama Bin-Laden feed on this kind of thing and they use it to create terrorist bombers. Think I am wrong? Look at the reactions of the families of young men involved in the July 7 London bombings. Surprise. Dismay. Denial. They never imagined they were raising a terrorist. Never saw their own child headed for this distruction. But look what happened.

Brazil and America have large media infrastructure. In Brazil, there seems to be no sense of the ethical restraints we have so often believe American journalists operate with. But as we are seeing from recent incidents involving Time Magazine, CBS News and more, those ethical restraints are failing even here, and worse, open bias in reporting has become the norm, not the exception. This just feeds the anger of those with a different ideology from those reporting the news and feeds their frustration. It makes them want to fight back to spread their own ideology, and the cycle continues. The culture of hatred gets more ammunition and moves further and further into reality.

In Brazil, and to some degree this is becoming more and more true in the U.S., there is increased deadening of reaction to violence. In Brazil there are more murders per capita in Rio De Janeiro, the second largest city, than in whole countries have in several years. That is just one city. Brazilians killing each other, robbing each other, is a common reality. Though I did meet one Brazilian teenager who denied such things ever occurred. In America, with violence in movies, television, even news outlets, more and more we are not shocked or saddened any more. We just react with resolve: "This is how the world is today." Maybe that is why the problem just gets worse and worse. If we were actually shocked and aghast, maybe we would fight harder to change things.

Some of you may think I am being alarmist, but just pay attention. I would love nothing more than to be wrong about this, but I fear that my predictions will prove true. If that is the case, America must be concerned about homegrown terrorists in its midst. Look at the young Muslims already arrested fighting AGAINST U.S. troops in Afghanistan! What if what happened in London, happens here? We are closer than we know and we all need to take action to reverse the dangerous course.

Future so bright.....

2005-07-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

Well, my Board just let me know that they think I can plan on going to Brazil in August or so of next year to begin full time work, on an initial six month approval, training the musicians, worship leaders, and
congregants of First Presbyterian Church, Varginha, Brazil! YAY! I have been waiting for such an opportunity for a long time, and I think my blog will be much richer, and written in much more often as I am more involved in cultural interaction. First, though, I have to review the first 10 and do the last 30 lessons of the Portuguese CD course I spent $80 on which claims to be equal to two years of college study. It sure helped me a lot when I tried it before, so I am sure it will now. I want to complete that by January so I can work with a private tutor for the six months or so before I head to Brazil. HA HA WISH ME LUCK!

Anyway, I am learning more and more how each of us live in a bit of our own culture. I, for example, have what they call TDAH in Brazil or ADHD in America. And I am constantly "culturally challenged" in dealing with others, my Board of Directors, for example. The big challenge is that people who have not lived with ADHD or around it much, just don't realize that at a certain point it is just WHO YOU ARE, and so the problems inherent with it just have to be worked through and dealt with, from the approach that this is how life is for you. Because those problems so often involve the ADHD person's interpersonal interactions, it is a particularly difficult area for people without personal experience with ADHD to accept without thinking: "you can work on this so these problems don't happen." I used to buy into that. And while I have made progress, I have found the progress is not in how others percieve me but how I react to their perceptions and how I handle it when issues arise. There will always be issues like that in my life. There have been for 26 years since I was diagnosed and there always will be no matter how much medication, therapy or life experience I have.

Some on my Board seemed to have the attitude that if I just work a little longer and harder I can work through that and eliminate the issue. Or at least get to the point where it is a minor issue in my life. Personally, I think I am already at the point where it is minor, because incidents of it over the past two years are very few. But it is always something I will struggle with. My best way to deal with it has been to confront it head on: be honest with the key people in my life who will interact with me and explain ADHD, how it effects me, then ask for patience and grace when situations arise. That has worked great at my present jobs since October 2003, so I feel like that is the only way I can face the future. Not that I have not been studying and working on coping skills with a counselor and such, because I have. But there comes a point where only in living one's life as one feels called and desires, can a person truly know and learn how they will be in those situations. And there comes a point where one can only learn to handle situations in those situations themselves.

Anyway, things look good for going. I am very excited. I have prayed for a longer term mission opportunity for seven years. So please pray for me. I think it will go well, and I will learn a lot. With success there is always failure, but if we learn from them and grow, there is no real failure in those situations, in my opinion. If things go as well as I expect, I will be able to continue my work in Varginha for several years. Who knows how much better able to lead Anchored Music Ministries and provide cross culturally relevant leadership development training I will be after such an experience! Anyway, that's a little bit about my own "culture clashing."

By the way, we can do pictures now, so here is one of me at the Zoo in Rio, taken by my girlfriend, Bianca Sousa. We are two BSes. Bryan Schmidt and Bianca Sousa. Tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor.

The Evangelical Culture Divide

2005-07-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, today I decided to blog on something that may not seem in the scope of what this blog is about, but it is bothering me a lot, so I am going to address it. That is what I call the Evangelical Culture Divide.

Recently, as we face the nomination of a new Supreme Court Justice, I heard news reports that evangelicals said they deserve the nominee of their choice because they helped decide the election. I want to say that I have no words for how sick this makes me. I AM AN EVANGELICAL. I VOTED. I am glad to feel my vote counted, but the facts show that most evangelicals had not voted in years. They love to complain about where the culture is going and what the government is doing but they did nothing to exercise their right to have a voice in it. This is like one of the churches criticized in Revelation. They love to complain, but they don't do anything positive about it. Now that they have acted and voted, they want all the power. How does that work? One of the things that Democrats and others offended by the evangelical lobby complain about which is valid (so many are not but really reflect instead the different values they have) is the fact the so many evangelicals mistakenly think they have the duty and obligation to shove their beliefs down other peoples' throats. This has created a huge cultural divide between Evangelicals and everyone else.

Now I should say that there should be a divide based on values and lifestyle. If there was not, there would be something wrong. But the problem is that an attitude of superiority or moral defenders has taken over many evangelical circles and now they label anyone who doesn't agree with them as non-Christian or unsaved, which is very arrogant and unloving, not to mention unbiblical. Who are these people to determine who are saved? And where is the love of Christ in what they are saying? No wonder the world mocks our hipocrisy and misses our witness. It is a shame.

The United States of America was founded on a system of government that changed the world. And it has worked for over 200 years in spite of naysayers because it allows protection for people to speak what they believe, and especially those possessing unpopular opinions. It provides for equal representation for all citizens, and it achieves this as best any system can, I believe. The reality is that our culture is becoming liberal and watered down. If we feel our representation is watered down and liberal, that doesn't mean they are not representing our culture accurately. And while I would like to see this change, it will never change if a small minority demands the power to force their views on everyone else. Evangelicals, unlike some places in the world, are still a minority in the U.S.A. so while we should expect representation from evangelicals in congress like Senator Jim Talent and Senator Rick Santorum, we should neither ask nor expect that we have a right to pick our choice over everyone else's. We have to win fair and square by putting up good candidates who are honorable, decent, and trustworthy, and fight hard to do the right things in spite of the imperfect system in which they work. That is the only way we can effectively hope to impact culture and government. Not by demanding our own way.

I am ashamed that some of those who call themselves evangelicals, some of whom are even influential like James Dobson, have lost the sense of this and are making us all look bad. They are intelligent and successful and richly blessed of God, and yet in their anger and frustration, they have lost their way. We all need to pray for them. And we need to ask God to guard our hearts so that we don't become like them. Then we need to work hard to make sure they don't rule the day and cooler heads prevail. Otherwise, evangelicals will never be taken seriously again.

Pedestrian v. Car

2005-06-16T06:15:00.000-07:00

I was in Rio in April and just thought of an interesting cultural difference worth writing about here. There are probably more but life has been a whirlwind since I got back, so I will have to catch them as they come to me. This phenomenon involves the difference in attitude toward pedestrians v. cars on streets in Brazil from America. What is even more interesting is that the attitude varies from city to city in Brazil.

In Rio De Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Belo Horizonte, Brazil's three largest cities, you cross the street at your own risk. Even when you are on a crosswalk with a light. Basically pedestrians are regarded as obstacles and nothing else. If you get hit, it is your fault for being there, not the drivers' fault for hitting you. And I am told it would be unlikely someone would be convicted for vehicular homicide for pedestrians struck by his or her car in this manner and killed. Now, in the U.S., of course, pedestrians have the right of way -- as long as they cross in a lawful manner -- even though most drivers tend to forget this from the quick read of the driving laws booklet given to them by the DMV. I mean, after all, we all skimmed it just enough to pass the test. The only time reading it was even partially serious was in high school drivers' ed. And even then, how many really read it thoroughly? But definately, in the U.S., if you hit someone with your car you would be sued and could lose your license. And if they died, you could go to prison for murder, voluntary or involuntary, depending on circumstances. Pretty much if you danced around with glee afterwards, you would likely get voluntary.

Anyway, in Varginha, Minas Gerais, Brazil, a smaller city in the interior, I found the attitude was much different. While Brazilian drivers there were as reckless as ever, crossing the street mid-sidewalk was generally much easier and safer than in the larger cities, and required less running for your life. Locals also told me, unlike those in big cities, that pedestrians were much more respected there. And I certainly felt that as I walked around. I will still never forget my first time in belo Horizonte when pedestrians in a crosswalk with a green walking light scattered in all directions as a car came racing blindly up a steep hill and plowed through the middle of them without applying brakes.

All of this points to the difference different cultures place on the value of human life and of personal responsibility. In the U.S., human life is quite valuable and the drivers' are held responsible. In Brazil, the car wins and you were stupid to be there. I am not passing judgement on which is better, but I certainly think drivers do stupid things, too. Some kind of mutual responsibility seems more equitable to me. Maybe that's why I liked Varginha's attitude better. But in the dog eat dog world of cities like Rio, I doubt this will change any time soon. After all, Rio De Janeiro has more murders per capita than any city in the U.S. People are regularly subjected to a level of death and violence that most Americanos cannot imagine. Maybe this in itself desensitizes people to death and thus decreases the value of human life. Maybe death by such a manner is just more accepted as natural and part of the reality of existence because of it. I don't know. I do know I will never casually cross the street in Brazil like I do at home.

Continent-AL Divide

2005-06-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

I recently got into an argument with my girlfriend from Rio because their country teaches that the two Americas, South America and North America, are one continent. My geography is a bit rusty, but I remember being taught they are separate continents, and looking at them on a map or globe, this seems clear to me. Yes, Central America runs as a trail down connecting them, but then the Panama Canal completely divides Central America in two (and Panama, too). So, I still think they are not the same continent. They look like landmasses that are totally different in shape and form. And culturally, there is little connection, other than the fact that American cultural influence (North America I mean) is so predominant the world over.

I know this seems like a silly thing to argue about and be concerned with. But then again, what happens if I marry her and we have kids and then my kids start learning this stuff. Do I want them to feel stupid around their friends at school or be mocked because they are learning different truths about geology than their friends? I guess it would depend on where we live. But these kinds of issues can be important to think about, and the truth is, it has me wondering how crosscultural couples deal with it. I also wonder how the world came to have such division in science. Why, for example, does my country still use miles and inches and yards when the rest of the world uses kilometers and centemeters and meters? Why do we use gallons when the rest of the world uses liters? And why are we learning a different system of continents than the rest of the world? How does this help our children be competitive on the world stage and how does it help us understand and communicate in a world which increasingly requires cross-cultural interaction in business and daily living?

I mean, I still have a hard time with Bianca's argument. To me there is Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Antartica and Australia. To her North and South America are combined and Australia is part of Oceana with New Zealand and other islands clearly not connected to it by any land mass if you just use common sense and look at a map. Does it matter for our relationship? Probably not. But it is something we can continue to argue about. She hates when I tell her she is on a different continent. And that cracks me up. But what about children? How will they handle such confusing information? They will be born into a world that increasingly will require them to know how to talk across cultures with people who have learned something that is supposedly scientific yet may be completely different from what they know and have come to believe. How will they do it? Will they become frustrated and angry? Science, as I was taught to believe, is not perfect, and is full of theories, but there are certain indisputable facts, and I guess I thought the continents was one of them. Certainly it ought to be something we can all agree on. I mean, how much is there to debate about? But what about our children? How will they function in such confusion?

Not that I personally put too much stock in science. As a Christian, I don't believe in a lot of scientific theories. A lot of it is just plain bunk based on false pretenses that come from lack of faith in God. Nothing founded without belief in that, in my opinion, is worth much. But a lot of people live their lives that way. And the confusion that is resulting could be very harmful. Don't you think so?

MISTAKEN LOAN

2005-05-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

My friend Gerhard from Australia shared an interesting story I want to share with you:

One experience I had was when I was working with a guy who was a Samoan part time Pastor of the Samoan church and who was also doing studies to become a Pastor, and since I was a Christian we had the same interests so I offered him a lend of my most favorite books and audio tapes. But little did I know that if you lend anything to a Samoan it’s just like giving it to him.

So I never saw any of my books and tapes again until about 4 years later when he was sitting in the canteen reading a book, and when I sat next to him he said: Garry this book is really good, you should read it. So I told him to look behind the front cover and when he did he just looked and never said anything, and now 22 years later I’m still waiting for them.

One good thing about it was that the book looked like the whole Australian Samoan community had a lend of it, which makes me think that maybe the idea is that if the person that has the book keeps lending it to the next person it will eventually come back to you, if there are any Samoans here you might be able to tell me if that’s true. One thing though, it might be hard sometimes to adjust to different customs or cultures but don’t you think that when a person is in Rome he should at least try to do what the Romans do. I would be interested to hear if any one else had a similar experience.

God bless you all.

I actually experienced this in Africa. I tried to loan something to one of my students but when I went to get it back, he had written his name on it and incorporated it as his own. I just let him keep it because I didn't want to cause offense, but I have been VERY careful about this in future visits, believe me!

Cross Cultural Love

2005-05-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, well, I guess I am not a very good blogger, because it takes me FOREVER to write these days! I just have not been thinking about Cultures Clashing the way I used to. But I should be, because I am preparing to marry a Brazilian and move to Brazil, so I will be dealing with Culture Clashing as a way of life!

Some people have asked me: Why are you so attracted to Foreign women? Why not an American girl? The answer, to be honest, is that most American women I have dated or wanted to date have been difficult. Either they lied, cheated, or were arrogant. OR they were rude and not ready to be in a relationship with someone who is so dedicated to his work with other cultures. Either way, they were not for me. And it turned me off. American women, in my experience do not appreciate men like me the way that foreign women do. Foreign women see my intelligence and success and work as a positive, not a negative. They want to be involved in it with me, and they are excited about the unique possibilities it brings for life -- travel, cross cultural encounters, constant new experiences and learning. To be honest, I have just had better experiences with the three foreign women I dated than the Americans. There were less games and more opportunities to have honest, open relationship. Obviously, I am not still with two of them, so there were problems. And in both cases, some were cultural. But they were more related to the character and maturity of the other person (and perhaps me as well) than to anything overwhelmingly cultural.

Anyway, I think it does take dedication to date cross culturally and a generosity to remember that you see the world differently and it will take work to sort these differences out and make the relationship work. You also have to compromise a lot. And you have to be willing to accept and appreciate the other person culturally. In some ways, I think being open to compromise is easier in cross cultural dating because there is less expectation that the other person will do things by cultural norms and standards you are used to. So you go into each situation with the expectation that it may be a cultural difference and looking to understand and find compromise. With a person from the same culture, we often just expect them to do things a certain way, and when they don't, that can create frustration and irritation.

Anyway, that is my experience. My present relationship with Bianca is one in a million because we have found acceptance and love that overcomes barriers. I can say anything to her without shame. And she is always there working to sort it out. Even when I am being a pain or foolish, she still is ready to accept and love me through it. I try to do the same with her (though I honestly think she is better at it than I am). And it has been easy to do this with each other in a way I never experienced in other relationships. Cultural issues have not been a big deal. Helpful is the fact Bianca speaks English very well and has spent a year living in America. Additionally, most of the cultural issues we have faced have related to my interacting with her family or other people (or them reacting to me) not our own interaction. We are lucky, I know.

But anyway, that is my thoughts on Cross Cultural Love. At least for now! As the Brazilians say, BEIJOS!

Worship Wars Part 2

2005-04-01T06:18:00.000-08:00

Well, I just resolved an interesting issue that actually ties to my last post. There were some accusations made about me from a mission trip in January 2003. Considering how many mission trips I take, that I work in music (which is always a sensitive and touches people to the core), and the degree of differences between my culture and the cultures in which I most often work, this in and of itself is not surprising. It was not pleasant and disappointing, because I did not expect it, because people love to gossip and make more of accusations than they need to, and because I never wanted to do anything but bless the people I was there to serve. Also, the issue came up 2.5 years after the fact and I had been in touch with the people involved a number of times since then. So, it seemed a bit late. But anyway, at core, the elders of a church I visited at this man's invitation iun Goiania, Brasil were upset and felt I was insensitive to their traditional style of worship and cultural situation. Because of a contemporary concert I was brought in and asked to do. But by someone else, not them.

I realized when I got there that the church was more traditional than I expected and I had prepared musical material that might prove challenging. But I also had rehearsed a program with musicians paid to work with me, and it was hard to just switch it around last minute. As I recall, it is hard to remember something 2 years ago, I did adjust my performance style and tone it down a little bit. BUT nonetheless, my host felt he tried to ask me to be more sensitive and I failed to do so. To be fair to myself, he admits he used a subtler way of telling me, and expected, as Brazilians do, that I would fill in the blanks. I did not to his satisfaction, though he says that he himself thought the concert was fabulous and the majority of those in attendance enjoyed it very much. It is just church elders and leaders who later made it an issue. This is most unfortunate as my host was put through the fire. And I had nothing but the best of intentions. Additionally, a local school they sponsor loved me and wants me back, but it is difficult to return given this controversy.

So you see, even in my own work, I have lots to learn. Of course, my awareness of Brazilian culture and even traditional worship culture has grown a lot from my 1.5 years working at a very traditional church recently as well as studying Brazilian culture, interacting with Brazilians, and travelling there more often. So I have grown, and my host in meeting with me agreed that things now would probably be very different. It certainly gives me things to think about and work through as I seek to grow into a better, more sensitive worship leader and trainer.

WORSHIP WARS: Modern v. Old School

2005-03-23T05:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I am writing twice in a month, hoping to get back on track to doing this at least once a week. We'll see what happens. Today, I am going to take up the topic I hinted at two entries back. There is a conflict I get involved in on a regular basis in my work with Anchored Music Ministries. We in Christendom call it: "The Worship Wars." And it is all too common around the world. In Italy, where my friends have asked us to teach at pastors' conferences about the importance of traditional church music and liturgy and maintaining recognition of the ties to the past. In Brazil and Africa, where churches fight between either being all contemporary music or all traditional, and even refuse to use most musical styles common to their own culture. And in America, where churches sometimes resort to dividing their congregations in two for two distinctive services because both sides cannot agree on how they want to do worship.

Wherever and however it occurs, it saddens me, and I believe it grieves the heart of God. And it is very much CULTURE CLASHING. The heart of the matter, sadly, is failure of people to have generosity of spirit toward one another. And in Christians who claim to follow Christ and model their lives after Him, this is very destructive and, quite frankly, unacceptable. But the battle rages on. We all want to fly in worship. We all want to achieve the high that allows us to feel God's presence most distinctly and fills us with His Spirit so we feel like we can fly. We all want it. The problem is, we all think we should have it every moment and anything that interferes we want outta there! Wouldn't it be great if there was a worship service for a congregation where everyone achieved that high at least at some point throughout the gathering? To me, that is the ideal, but without generosity of spirit it will never happen.

Contemporary music fans can't stand to be bored by the classics, even though there are rich lyrics full of well presented and deep theology. They can't get past the "Thees" and "Thous" and musical style. They see connection between it and their daily lives either, so how can it help them live a life of following Christ in that world? Traditional fans can't stand the contemporary music which is often symplistic and repetitive. They can't stand that it ties to the world outside, either. After all, the church is supposed to be not of this world, isn't it? And it is only complicated in countries like Ghana and Brazil where there is a rich cultural history of musical styles and development deeply connected to people's communities and daily lives, but the church -- both contemporary and traditional -- doesn't use it because they are afraid it has too many sinful connotations with secular life. Even worse, sometimes they think the styles themselves are sinful instead of recognizing it was how they were used that was the real issue.

So here we are, in the midst of a war. And it is frustrating and painful, especially for those who try to bridge the gap like myself and my Board members. At the church where two of us served in that past (and one still does) the pastor thought contemporary music was anything 1960s and beyond and he liked the old stuff. But what the congregation craved was clearly the more modern stuff. He just didn't get it. At the church where I now serve with another Board member, the senior pastor is an old traditional Southern preacher and he likes things tight and traditional. He doesn't connect his own style to contemporary music. My feeling is that we are often so handtied by time limitations and his last minute planning style that we don't get the time to develop really good material. We need to search out the stuff that is well written and has a certain lyrical complexity to more readily match his style and approach. Then I think it would bother him less, but reality intrudes.

This is an issue on which we have gone back and forth many times. My Board member and the pastor are often at complete odds about it and deeply frustrated with one another. I try and surf the middle, which is like walking a tightrope with no balance. But anyway, my head is above water. What saddens me is the pastor really longs to grow the church and give people a deeper experience and the Music Director, my Board member, is immensely talented and he brings such high quality even working under challenging circumstances with limited prep time that if they would just compromise and work together just a little bit more, things could be incredible! It would also help a congregation of upper middle class to wealthy Angl0-Saxons more readily apply their faith to their daily living and business activities, and they need it. I know, I grew up in that world. The challenges of the poort are different from the challenges of the rich, but that doesn't make them any less challenging. Sometimes it is harder to surrender when you have it all.

In any case, this culture clashing really gets in the way of relationships and successful worship in a big way and it is sad. Because truthfully all sides seem to be genuinely seeking a deeper faith experience and communion with God. And they lose out in that because of the Worship Wars. I will think more on this and write more about it later, but it is something to pray about for sure. And it definately fits the topic at hand -- CULTURE CLASHING.

Linguistic curiosities

2005-03-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

Hey! Okay, so I don't know that very many people read this enough to miss it, but my last post was well over a month ago! How terrible of me! I never did write about the other issue I was going to bring up, but I will try and post on that next week. Life has just been busy! BUT I will write about an experience I had with my girlfriend Bianca, who is Brazilian, the other night.

In America we have a silly version of the Birthday song that goes like this:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, YOU LIVE IN A SHOE,
YOU LOOK LIKE A MONKEY, AND YOU SMELL LIKE ONE TOO.

Okay, so Bianca was asking me what I said to a friend of mine about her. Jokingly, I said: "I tell him you look like a monkey, and you smell like a monkey, but I like monkeys, so it's perfect." I thought this was so ridiculous as to be amusing, but Bianca was kind of concerned. She said: "But I am not a monkey. And this person doesn't know me." We had some more discussion. Finally, it came out: In Brazil, the term "Monkey" is used this way in the same way people use the term "nigger" in the U.S. Okay, forgive me for using this deplorable word here. But these kinds of misunderstandings happen a lot crossculturally, so I thought it would be useful to examine it a little here, as it is very on topic for this blog.

So in Brazil, black people are called "monkeys" and it is very degrading. She said she knew that I knew she was not black and so she did not take offense, but she did not want me to joke like that around Brazilians because I might make a lot of trouble for myself. And she would appreciate if I not call her that because, even though she knew I was joking and meant no insult, culturally it is not a good thing to hear said about you. No problem. I, of course, apologized, and we moved on. And of course, Bianca missed the joke. I later explained about the birthday song. But she had not heard that in her time living in Miami, Florida. So the humorousness kinda bombed. Oh well. I hate when that happens. But see this is one way I make trouble for myself in Africa and in other places.

I remember doing a similar thing with a friend in Ghana once and people got upset that I was insulting him. They apparently have heard Africans called "monkeys" by whites in a degrading sense. Funny how I forgot all about that until now. BUT truthfully, because I simply adore Bianca, and she knows it, and we have a very playful relationship, I doubt I would have thought anything of it anyway. I would have thought she might get the culture reference and said it. So I am lucky she is patient and forgiving enough to allow me the error, but this kind of error is very important for those of us working cross culturally to note and try and not repeat.

Another example is when we were in Ghana and one of those street vendors so common in Third World countries kept bothering us to buy his wares. I made a sound and ran my finger across my throat to say "silence." A lot of people do this in the U.S. in my experience. Well, he looked very shocked and walked away and told friends and they all stared at me horrified. When I explained to my Ghanaian friend and hostess, she laughed and told me I had just threatened to cut his throat, so he probably thought I was an evil spirit now -- the scarey juju man, Bryan Thomas, bane to innocent Ghanaian street vendors. She and my companions found this quite amusing. I was horrified. That certainly is not the reputation I want in Ghana.

In Brazil the sign we often use for "ok" of the first finger curled back to the thumb with other fingers extended is the same as flipping the bird (middle finger alone extended) in the U.S. My first two trips to Brazil I really struggled to remember that, as sign language was an easy way around the language barrier. I did this several times without thinking. Luckily my Christian friends in Brazil were not only gracious but aware of the American use of this, so they did not take offense. But anyway linguistic curiosities, whether verbal or body language, do matter in this type of work. Please write of any other incidents or issues you have discovered, so we all can learn from them.

Be blessed!

Crowds and Culture

2005-02-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have been very bad at blogging this year. Part of it is just my general busyness, and part is the desire to actually have something to write about. Today, I can think of two things, but I will save one for next week and hope it helps me get back on track.

I just went last Friday night to a Carnaval Party at Panama Reds, a local bar/club which hosts Samba Bom, St. Louis and Chicago's own Brazilian samba specialists, once a month. Usually it is on a Saturday night, so, because of my work at the church early Sunday, I don't get to stay, but this time, I was there until 3 a.m. when things wound down. That took a while. The band stopped at 2:25 and I assumed we would all head to our cars, but people just started talking and mingling all over again. I was irritated because my host wanted to leave like 1:30 and so I got my coat and the coat of our Brazilian friend ready, because I figured we would soon be leaving. My Brazilian friend saw me with the two coats and ignored me, while others looked at me as if I was some fool who couldn't enjoy himself. Then the host who wanted to leave sat there and did nothing to gather up the rest of our group. Finally, at 2:15, I told our mutual friend that the host was waiting to leave and waiting on her. My Brazilian friend said: "She needs to tell me that, not you." And went back to partying. More annoying, when it finally was time to leave, she walked past and told me she was riding with someone else but our host was waiting for me. I went back to our host, who was really the Brazilian friends' friend and hardly new me, and she acted surprised I needed a ride, because she thought I was going with my Brazilian friend. So I just gave up and caught a ride with other friends who were headed my way. To say I was annoyed was a bit of an understatement. I considered the behavior of both of them to be inconsiderate of me. And I don't think it is necessarily a cultural thing. I personally think rudeness like this transcends culture. I mean, I have thought about it a lot since then, and I can't imagine that anyone else wouldn't be offended by it in any culture. What do you guys think?

Another interesting thing I noticed was that the place was almost twice as crowded as it has been past samba nights I have attended. And people were acting very Brazilian about it. What do I mean? When I rode the public buses in Belo Horizonte this past August, I found that at crowded times people walked around and pushed their way through as if it wasn't. Sitting practically on top of you or shoving past you. No "excuse me" or "please let me through" like we are accustomed to in the U.S. (Except rude, mostly urban teenagers who act that way on public transportation along with obnoxious laughter, talking, cussing, and berating anyone who looks at them funny!) They just pushed through and went where they needed to. When the doors opened, no matter how many got off (always at the back) or how crowded the bus clearly was, people boarded (at the front). It was crazy. I would have waited for the next one myself, except I was already on it and pushing my way out along with the three or four others with me, did not seem to be something I could easily accomplish so I stayed put. At the club, people brushed past me, walked through, etc. in the same way.

Now, I can admit, I am not big on the club scene. I don't go out partying a lot or stay up late drinking. Just not who I am at 36 years old (this coming Sunday) and never something I was that fond of. I will dance with someone whose company I enjoy and enjoy the music, which I very much did on Friday night from a bar stool. In fact, I spent a lot of time listening to the rhythms and instrumental arrangements and words to see how it all comes together, as a musician. I did try dancing but found my clumsiness and the fast pace challenged each other. But I honestly was not drawn to the dance floor to rub up against complete strangers, many drunk and disorderly. It just wasn't appealing to me. I did dance off the side with friends and move to the rhythms where I was. I did chat with some interesting people and make some potentially useful contacts. I met more Brazilians from Belo and from Ouro Preto and other places I had been. But trying to get to the bathrooms was a nightmare and someone would see you coming and just move in the opposite direction as if they owned the right of way. Another time, I tried to just go with the flow and move past people, not worried about bumping and such. But was accosted by a drunk accusing me of being rude and arrogant. So again, I am confused about how to navigate this cultural phenomenon comfortably.

I have noticed similar crowding on public transportation in Ghana, West Africa also. Perhaps the rest of the world is just more comfortable with body contact that we are in American culture. Perhaps the realities of cost of living negate such concerns. Perhaps you do get used to it. I think the bombardment of noise and smells and shifting bodies is not at all something I could get used to, but if I live with it for a while, who knows. I do recognize it as startlingly different from what I am used to, though, and also in a setting that I am not commonly accustomed to. I did ride the Metrolink for six months, daily, last year, so I have some idea of the realities of public transportation and some of the manners and customs/etiquette do indeed seem cultural. I also noticed that in Ghana, when I rode the tro tros (minivans and such acting as taxis always stuffed to the brim with people) I was offered the front seat frequently, presumably to allow me not to be crushed in amongst the Africans in the back. At the time, I kind of felt like they were denying me the full experience, now I guess I am not so reticent about it.

Anyway, how people in America and Africa and Brazil deal with crowds is certainly interesting. Perhaps I have not provided a very deep insight on the topic here, but it is something to think about as we all live and move and observe this aspect of our cultures and other cultures as well.