What Do You See?

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I have previously talked a little about the difference between culture shock and culture stress. Culture shock is sometimes experienced by someone who has moved to a culture that is very different from their own. Food, housing, transportation, language, traditions, religions, even smells and appearances can be so different that it shocks the individual into a state of confusion, the inability to concentrate, or make decisions, or perform normal daily functions. These people are usually in the culture for the long haul with little chance of going back to their home culture for an extended period of time. It can take several days to weeks for the individual to acclimate to the new surroundings, and integrate into the community. Culture stress on the other hand can have all of the above circumstances, and elicit the same responses to those circumstances, but it is more temporary. In other words, the individual may feel a certain shock to their senses when they are immersed into the new culture, but the reality is they will be going home in a few days, and once they recognize that their involvement in the new culture is only temporary, they can deal with the differences and hopefully enjoy learning and experiencing something new.

Culture stress is always a possibility for a short term mission. Almost everyone experiences it the first time they find themselves in a very different culture from their own. It is how they react that can make the difference between an all out fantastic experience, and a once in a life time experience—that is, an experience you do once in your life and hope you never have to repeat it. If they have prepared themselves by learning as much as they possibly can about the culture before they go, then it is much easier for them to adapt. It is often better to expect the very worst of circumstances, and then to be pleasantly surprised. But all too often the traveler expects the circumstances to be ideal by their own cultures standards only to find themselves devastated and disappointed in the reality that they are faced with.

So, how would you react? You go into a village where the people live as they have lived for hundreds of years. No running water. No electricity. You have been traveling most of the day to reach this village, and after the quaintness of village life begins to fade and the reality of its harshness begins to sink in, you ask your host where the bathroom is. They smile and lead you out the front door, around the side and to the back of the house, and they point to a small shack perched precariously on the hillside. You gulp, feeling you might be up for anything, but then as you step over the cow that is comfortably laying in your path, you draw closer to the shack only to find that your gag reflex has kicked in because of the smell, and you can barely stand to enter the fly swarming darkness. As the contraption of a wooden door creaks open you see in the dim shadow a four inch in diameter hole  rimmed with the residue of someone else’s visit. Would you take a deep breath, buck up, and go on in realizing that this is the best that it is going to be for the time that you will be accepting this families hospitality, or… will you back out and make a note to yourself to “hold it” until you get home? Which ever way you choose, will you keep it to yourself, or will you go back to your companions complaining, or joking about the appalling conditions? Your entire experience in this village will be enhanced or tainted by the decision that you make. If you are able too “buck up” and accept this families hospitality in whatever form it takes without complaining, or cracking jokes, you will find that you will come to appreciate their culture in all of its nuances, and actually take something valuable home in the way of your own personal development.

The thing that is most important to remember is that these people live this way, and they may not have had the opportunity to know of anything else. It can be very offensive to them if you complain or crack jokes. I remember being in a meeting at the close of a project, in which nearly every international visiting this country got up and gave a testimony about their time in the villages, and each included a comment on how horrible the toilets were. After several of these testimonials, I over heard one of the nationals lean over to his neighbor and say, “I just wish they would stop talking about it!”

Another common area of concern is food. Looks, smell, texture, and taste can all play a role in our contemplation of turning our noses up at what is served to us. My basic attitude is, if they can live on it, then so can I!

Sights and sounds can often haunt us. Straddling the stream of an open sewer as  you walk through the narrow alleys between the shanties of an African slum can make you despair, and wonder out loud, How can people live like this? You may have been warned of the “flying toilets”—feces placed in plastic bags and flung anywhere except where the person flinging it is standing, or you may have heard of the poverty, disease, and hopelessness. You may have seen pictures of children living in dangerous environments—danger from disease, war, famine, and neglect, but nothing really prepares you for what you will see until you have actually stepped out into it. You see scars, and you look the other way. It is only natural, but the person wearing those scars whether they got them because of maiming, disease, or trauma need to be shown compassion and respect more than ever before in their lives. To paraphrase Barbara Kingsolver in her novel, Poisonwood Bible, scars are the mark of a survivor.

What do you see? Do you see all the problems, or backwardness, or terrible conditions, and shake your head sadly, but continue to walk timidly with your eyes closed hoping that nothing sticks to you, or that you don’t catch something you can’t get rid of with the medicines your doctor gave you before you left home? What I am hoping you will see are the people in those conditions, and know that for some reason your paths have crossed. I am hoping you will ask yourself, What can I do to make things better? It may be just a simple gesture like a smile, handshake, or a hug, or it may be sharing food, or clothing. You may help build something, or become an advocate for justice. But what ever it is you decide to do, the avenue for a fantastic cross cultural experience is to give yourself whole heartedly to the pursuit of doing whatever you can to make the world better for the glory of God. That may push you way beyond your comfort zone, but it will be worth it in so many ways!

So, what do you see? May God Bless you until next time!

47 thoughts on “What Do You See?”

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