Promoting Multiculturalism

One of the things that I've enjoyed most about being a PC volunteer, and also one of the values that I hold most dear is the idea that culture is important and worth sharing. Technology and increased travel to far-flung places are both great things; I've benefitted from both. However, one of the pitfalls of those things is an increased homogeneity that has us seeing African kids wearing Tupac shirts and Guatemalan girls playing with Barbies (oh the lovely things that seem to spread most rapidly from our culture).

One of my goals as a volunteer has been to share my culture and others that I'm familiar with in a way that's authentic and engaging- and also that doesn't include pop music, crappy processed foods or English swear words. The world is filled with rich cultures that are worth studying and sharing, foods that are worth tasting, and music that no one can resist the urge to tap their toes or dance to. When we learn to embrace differences and appreciate what we don't understand, we learn empathy and the value of individuality. We also end up absorbing and learning a whole lot of really cool things. As such, I shared the secrets of Sushi with my Guatemalan friends a few weeks ago and loved watching them learn to make rolls and use chopsticks. So they ate it with tortillas...maybe that'll be the newest fashionable fusion food.