Thinking Outside the Box 101 - encountering other cultures
While traveling by train from Stuttgart, Germany, to Graz, Austria, my husband and I who have been living in Austria for nearly eight months had the privilege of overhearing a fellow American. We were sitting across the isle from a lovely couple who looked like newlyweds. The pair spoke to one another in German as well as a middle-eastern sounding language, and they used English to order coffee and to politely ask if we could take their picture. Here in Europe one has the privilege of intermingling with people who have learned to dedicate time becoming familiar with other cultures and languages.
While we enjoyed a beautiful view out of our picture window of the German and Austrian landscapes, our serenity was interrupted momentarily when we heard a man's voice utter in a southern American accent the words, "dumb ass." It was not long before we had confirmation that he was a traveler with little interest in learning about new cultures, when he could not understand the attendant asking if he would like "kaffee." The attendant kindly translated to the English version by saying, "coffee." Not speaking German is one thing, but traveling in Austria by train and not even being able to identify that "kaffee," means "coffee," is just a bit embarrassing. Oh well. He soon disembarked from the train.
Living in a foreign country is an experience that I would never exchange. The way that it alters your perception of life and helps you to understand entirely different mindsets by entering into their perspective via language, is an outstanding education. I have traveled a great deal throughout my life, thanks to my family, and that was for me an indispensable education. But I feel that living overseas and diving into the culture and language is like going from "Think outside the box 101" to "Thinking 600." For me at least this is true.
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| Stuttgart Marktplatz |
While we enjoyed a beautiful view out of our picture window of the German and Austrian landscapes, our serenity was interrupted momentarily when we heard a man's voice utter in a southern American accent the words, "dumb ass." It was not long before we had confirmation that he was a traveler with little interest in learning about new cultures, when he could not understand the attendant asking if he would like "kaffee." The attendant kindly translated to the English version by saying, "coffee." Not speaking German is one thing, but traveling in Austria by train and not even being able to identify that "kaffee," means "coffee," is just a bit embarrassing. Oh well. He soon disembarked from the train.
Living in a foreign country is an experience that I would never exchange. The way that it alters your perception of life and helps you to understand entirely different mindsets by entering into their perspective via language, is an outstanding education. I have traveled a great deal throughout my life, thanks to my family, and that was for me an indispensable education. But I feel that living overseas and diving into the culture and language is like going from "Think outside the box 101" to "Thinking 600." For me at least this is true.
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