For almost two years now, I have been an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher at the Missionary Training Center here in Provo. I work with students from all over the planet who have come to the U.S. to learn English so they can serve missions in English-speaking places. I sometimes brag that I have personally taught students from over 50 countries. This may sound a little exaggerated, so I decided to count them up. Here is an alphabetical list of the nationalities of my students:
1. American Samoa
2. Argentina
3. Armenia
4. Austria
5. Bangladesh
6. Belize
7. Bolivia
8. Brazil
9. Burma
10. Cambodia
11. Canada
12. Chile
13. China
14. Colombia
15. Costa Rica
16. Czech Republic
17. Denmark
18. Dominica
19. Dominican Republic
20. Ecuador
21. El Salvador
22. Fiji
23. Finland
24. France
25. Germany
26. Guadeloupe
27. Guatemala
28. Honduras
29. Hong Kong
30. India
31. Israel
32. Italy
33. Japan
34. Jordan
35. Kiribati
36. Korea, South
37. Laos
38. Madagascar
39. Malaysia
40. Marshall Islands
41. Mexico
42. Micronesia
43. Mongolia
44. Netherlands
45. New Caledonia
46. Norway
47. Pakistan
48. Panama
49. Paraguay
50. Peru
51. Phillipines
52. Poland
53. Portugal
54. Puerto Rico
55. Russia
56. Samoa
57. Singapore
58. Slovenia
59. Spain
60. Sri Lanka
61. Sweden
62. Switzerland
63. Taiwan
64. Thailand
65. Tonga
66. Tuvalu
67. Ukraine
68. United Kingdom
69. United States
70. Uruguay
71. Vanuatu
72. Venezuela
Wow! That list is even bigger than I expected! Every day when I go to work I meek someone new from some new place. Some of these places I had never even heard of before I met my students. It is amazing how much your perspective changes when you encounter incredible diversity. I have learned several big lessons:
1. We are more different than we realize. A lot of people think that language is like a code. If I want to speak Portuguese, I just have to learn the Portuguese words that are equivalent to the English words that I use, and substitute them in as if it were a code. The reality is much more complex. Language is more than just words and phrases, and even idioms. Language is culture, understanding, and perception. In English we have the word 'hug' and in Portuguese they have the word 'abraço' which any dictionary would tell you had the same meaning. What dictionaries don't capture, and what most people don't realize is that a hug to a Brazilian, although it is the same gesture that we make, has a totally different meaning than a hug to an American has. These little differences cause cultures to misunderstand each other. Many Latin Americans and Polynesians think that Americans are 'cold'. Many Americans think that Russians are blunt and rude. They, in turn, think that we are manipulative and dishonest. We need to understand the differences between cultures so that we don't misjudge. Americans aren't cold, we just don't hug as much, because to us a hug means something stronger than it does to most Latinos. Russians aren't purposefully rude, they show respect by being honest. Americans show respect by protecting the feelings of others. If you really try, you can see these differences and appreciate them, allowing you to understand people, rather than judging them for not behaving like Americans.
2. We are more the same than we realize. I have learned that as much as we all are different, we have so much in common. We have families, problems, hopes, fears, faith,... There is a very long list of things that unite us. I have learned that no one is so different from you that you couldn't have a decent, friendly conversation if you put forth a little effort. We focus so much on the differences that we miss out on the similarities.
I love my job and the perspective that it brings, and I encourage you to look around. Try to understand the Hispanic lady at the grocery store, or the German foreign exchange student, or even the members of your own family. Where are they coming from? What are their expectations? How can we connect with them? It's kinda cool when you think about it...
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