Friday, May 4, 2012

Friday Evening Thoughts

    Another afternoon is gone, spent with my Nepalese friends. I felt like the foreigner today, as my friends shared little pieces of their culture with me - looking at photos of their homeland, watching a video clip of a Nepalese festival together, while Uncle explained in detail how the festival is carried out ... I understood maybe half of what he was saying, but the other half was spoken by his expressions. He was enjoying sharing his culture with me as much as I was enjoying learning!
    I love watching this family as they interact with each other. Typical of their people, all of the relatives share homes. Uncles, aunts, grandmothers and grandfathers, children and cousins all live together, often in the same home. My friends have two houses, and all of the family members go between both places constantly. Today I asked one of the children who one of the relatives was - cousin, brother, uncle?  She hesitated, then went to ask her mother!
    They're all so close, and love each other so much that the lines are blurred. They look out for each other, go out of the way for each other. They do the same for their friends. I love that. I learn so much from them.
   As I've spent time interacting with refugees such as this family, I'm finding more and more that the American stereotype of people from 3rd world countries is very, very, very wrong (can I even overemphasize that?). They are not dumb people; they do not need special-Ed classes so that they can function in the 'civilized' world. They do understand when you speak about them behind their back.
   Language is a huge barrier. You've probably had the experience of ordering at a ethnic restaurant, and being misunderstood. Maybe you felt frustrated, or though that the people you're dealing with just aren't educated.
    Nothing could be farther from the truth. Most of these people - whether they're refugees, immigrants, or  students - are working hard to learn English. But making a living is difficult. They were doctors, professors, surgeons in their home country; here, they are janitors. They make beds at the local hotel. They work in the Turkey Hill on the corner. And to make a living for their family, they work ... night and day. English class takes a back seat.
    So, when you interact with your foreign friends, know that they're people who are living and often thriving in a place that they do not understand; they are a people who are embracing a culture nothing like their own. They're lonely. Often they're confused, maybe ostracized because of ethnicity or religion. And they would love nothing more than to have a few friends who care ... friends that they can call when they can't figure out how to use their new stove (they cooked over a open fire in their home country). Friends who won't make them feel foolish for wondering how to ride the bus, or how to use American money.
    And I know that you'll find it to be a experience you'll never regret. You'll be blessed, and not just a little - good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over! As you have done to the least of these ...

   
   
    

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