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Community Writing Project: Crossing Cultures
The Crossing Cultures Community Writing Project is hosted by one of our Welcome Editors, Dena Dyer. Visit her blog, Mother Inferior, to link up your stories.
My parents tell me I was about four years old, dancing down the sidewalk, on the lookout for a hippie.
Apparently my older brother announced that he had seen a hippie, so I raised a fuss about wanting to see one, as well. It was the early 1970s, so you'd think hippies would be commonplace, but we lived in a conservative Midwestern town where cultural trends developed slowly.
Fortunately, we were visiting the college campus where my parents met—a location that held much more hippie-spotting potential than our hometown—and they told me what a male hippie might look like: long hair, a beard, maybe sandals or bare feet.
As we strolled toward the pizzeria, Mom said I stared at all the people we passed, but most looked like fairly normal college kids.
Suddenly I broke loose from Mom’s hand.
"There’s a hippie!" I shouted, pointing at a young man with longish hair and a beard.
Mom considered apologizing, but could she say? Instead, she and Dad diverted my attention, picked up the pace and just kept walking.
Over the years I’ve learned to interact with people from all walks of life a bit more discreetly and gracefully than that, but I’ve maintained childlike curiosity and delight as I cross cultures in both big ways (marrying into a multi-cultural family) and small (greeting the Ukrainian woman working at the deli counter).
A few weeks ago when I wrote about being a foreigner, many readers shared in the comments how they've crossed cultures:
“I've been the foreigner, trying to adjust manners and accents and habits to help a blonde-mopped, lanky Nordic frame fade into a Latino landscape.” (Lyla Lindquist)
“This is particularly poignant to me...as our daughter marries her French sweetheart in May and moves to Paris. You've made what I've been rather nervous about (trying to fit in where I can't speak more than a few words of a language) seem like a wonderful adventure.” (Linda Chontos)
“I married a woman whose first language is Spanish…I love the cultural expansion that her family has provided me with. Rather than feeling out of place, I dove into the new foods, language and expressions.” (Bradley Moore)
We'd love to hear more.
Over the next week, you’re invited to write your own story of crossing cultures. After it's published at your blog, swing over to Mother Inferior and drop your link into the tool provided. If you're not a blogger, don't let that stop you—write up your story in a Facebook Note (set the Privacy settings to "Everyone") and drop that url in Dena's linky tool. A week from today, we’ll direct you back to Mother Inferior to check out the full list and enjoy highlights from participants.
Image by oneroofafrica. Used with permission via Flickr. Post by Ann Kroeker, author of Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families.
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