Aiel Raid! Talk on friends from other cultures.

[Lenlo]

Turns out I didnt post this when I thought I did. Lets try again.

 

So I thought it would be a great time for us if we could sit down and chat abit instead of the usual raid hullabaloo. I want to know if you have ever had a friend from a different culture from you own and if so what was it like being friends with them?

 

I have this one from Brazil who has humor or references or things that are just completely alien to me and while its very nice talking with him sometimes its really confusing. I can say that getting to know him has let me learn of Brazil in a way that my brief trip down there afew years ago never would have let me.

 

So how has having friends from other cultures affected you?

 

 

[U4ea]

I learn a lot about what parts of the things I take for granted as being "normal" are really only normal for those of us in the States.

 

I have learned that in some cultures they call vacuuming, "hoovering," which was very funny to me. 

 

I have also learned that shipping things overseas isn't always easy! We had a seed/bulb swap a few years ago and my buddy was in Australia. I had to look up what they would allow me to send over before I bought stuff because some things we have here are illegal to ship or grow there! FREAKY! 

[nicana]

I have made friends with people from different parts of the world right here on my little laptop, like most people here. I have a friend that lives in Australia. She seems a lot like someone you would meet here in the states as well as friends I have that live in England or Canada. The biggest difference I have seen with any of my out of the country friends is my bonded Tal. His culture is totally different than what we have here. But instead of it being awkward we enjoyed learning about where each other was from and those differences. 

[Guest]

I usuly dont get along withh people of othre culture unless it is soemwhere in the saem developmnt strata as my own (as in a tribalistic and/oor very comunity-oriented "culture of honour"); otherwis, find their views usualy completly incompatble with ways and ideas I got frim my culture so any attempt at frindship fails miserablly. Ive had enough of that so I mosttly dont try to make friends outside my culture now.

 

I know thre is always exception, thuogh; I have a few friends who mght be termed "Celtic reconstructinist," but though they are coming from the Roman Cathlic modern culture, they aer trying to rediscover old ways thruogh scholarly means, which I vry much respect, so taht probaly acounts for why I can get along with them - they aer tryin to emulate my culture and Im usully happy to teach thm a little bit. However, I have had some friendds who belong to very diferent culture; my family has been frinds with a certain family in Germany for a long tiem, so we usually reaquante ourselves every so often and shaer some resuorces; for exmple, if one of us wantd to go visit Germany, they wuold house us and help us aruond, and vice versa, and we exchnge gifts aruond yule or for birthdays and write letters. They hav a fairly modern cultuer and not to mention a Germanic rathre than Celtic one, but we are stil frindly to each othre and I have a friend in particulur who wriets me once a week. 

 

I also hav frinds here from DM, though only a few - nic was the first frind I made while latter becaem friends with few ohers, ryrin and guy. Judging frim past experinces of not being able to keep frinds withuot a simlar culture, was first afraid I wuoldnt be able to keep them, and sometimes still get afrid, but they've been prety acceptin of me and I like lerning from them, so Im fortnunate to have them.

 

Otherwise, I hav made acquantances of diferent people but those aernt the same things as friend; usualy they are people who mght be considred on the "fringe" or arent very socialy aceptable, mostlly punks and goths an metalheads becuse they can be lot of fun. also im on ok terms with farmers aruond the area - gues becuse we do the saem sort of work and so we have simlar workin ethics and undrstanding.

[Maurelle]

I made friends with the exchange students we had in high school. I remember taking the Japanese one to the beach and we got ice cream. She only got one scoop but could barely finish it because she said that one scoop was like 3 or 4 back in Japan. She said no wonder so many Americans are overweight. I remember the German exchange student wouldn't even stand during the Pledge of Allegiance in school. A lot of other people tried to make fun of him, but I'll never forget what he said- "The Nazis used to have a pledge that you would say in school too." I had never thought about it that way.

 

The best was the student I met in college from Iceland. We were working on a project for poli sci and he brought this can of something with him for a snack. It smelled kinda like Limburger cheese, but was some kind of fermented canned shark. He let me try some and it was so nasty, but the look on my face was apparently hilarious. 

[Andrej]

I've become acquainted with a lot of people from various cultures having visited a lot of different places with my time in the military.

 

One I have become most acquainted with, like you Len, is that of Brazil. My son's mother is Brazilian and both her and her father and chefs so I get the pleasure of trying out homemade Brazilian cuisine. Delicious!

 

One of my favorite things they make, which is actually really simple, is an avocado smoothie. Another thing that I enjoy is learning little phrases in Portugese. My son will be raised bilingual, so I feel it's important that I learn too.

[Lenlo]

I learn a lot about what parts of the things I take for granted as being "normal" are really only normal for those of us in the States.

Mhmm.

 

My friends from across the pond in England and one from the middle east have no idea what im talking about some times and vice versa. It can get really confusing at time but its fun to explain or work them out.

[Wren of the Brown]

I'm not trying to be flippant when I say this but, some days, I feel like a complete stranger to the culture I was raised in. Sometimes, I feel like the only reason I do things other modern Americans do is because it's a little silly to begin with and the whole thing is so laughably absurd, I go along with a secret grin. I don't know if makes me "ironic" or just plain bewildered.

 

Stranger in a strange land.

[LadyWordsmith]

Given I spend a large portion of time with Reinactors/Recreationists who spend most of their time researching other cultures from different times and places, this is a fun question. (Several of them are from different cultures in actuality.) 

 

That completely aside, I went to a High School where 13% of the students weren't American, and a summer camp with a highly international population (Russian, Mexican, African (I want to say Cote d'Ivoire?). And even more were Americans who had spent the majority of their lives living over-seas. And I grew up in an area with a lot of international neighbors (The DC metro has a lot of families who work in their Embassies. They don't live at the Embassy). So I've had friends from many different cultures. I find it awesome because I always learn so much about places and cultures I have not been able to visit personally, and we always have interesting things to talk about. 

 

I think as far as how it's effected me, is it reinforces my general belief and experience that people are people.The differences are what make people (from anywhere) fun and interesting to talk to and get to know, and having productive and enjoyable discussions of those differences (and similarities) helps broaden understanding and knowledge of the world as a whole. 

 

That and every country's Moms make amazing food and want you to eat it.

[U4ea]

OMG, the school I teach in is EXTREMELY diverse, which is just AWESOME! Some of my parents are from South Korea and they spoil me with Korean Egg Rolls... seriously awesome stuff! I had a really long chat with another's dad about Iran, because that's where he's from (pretty awesome conversation, too!). 

 

I also do a "December around the world" unit every December, where we talk about the different celebrations that take place around the world in different cultures during the month of December (almost every culture is celebrating something!). We talk about where some of the American (I use that description rather tongue-in-cheek since there are cultural differences all over this country that change the celebration of things in December...) traditions come from and research cultures and holidays. We have so much fun and our room looks like a crazy conglomeration of cultures by the time we're done! 

[Ryrin]

Well, my bonded is from Eire and I love that. I think I've learned a lot from him. This is an advantage of the internet, to make friends from everywhere. Of course not everyone clicks but when I came here, I had no idea I'd gain a very good friend from the Emerald Isle.