Tuesday, September 28, 2010

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.




4 comments:

Anonymous said...

An interesting thing about culture is that sushi is originally from Japan, but we make it differently in Australia to how you make it in the US. :)

CharlotteinGuatemala said...

Hey Joss! I'd LOVE to make Australian Sushi with you:)

Anonymous said...

Ah, well once I have finished paying all the medical-related bills that come up when you ignore doctors for 10 years, I will save up and come and visit you wherever you are.

Or you could come and visit me in sunny Australia :)

CharlotteinGuatemala said...

I would love love love to visit you in sunny Australia. Once I have a real job, it's on my short list.