(Head's up from the start- this post doesn't have much in the way of visual aids, but it does have an activity to try out..)
So the first two weeks we were out here in Idaho were chock full of a variety of training subjects- spiritual warfare, conflict resolution, embracing your adopted culture, tropical medicine, a mini-marriage retreat, attending a cross-cultural church, the list goes on...
Obviously, regardless what the specific class was on, every class had an emphasis on what life will look like in another culture. I(Amy) have had the opportunity to travel quite a bit internationally and see a lot of other cultures, but one of the things that really jumped out at me during the course of our training was the idea that we are so drenched in our own culture that we often don't even realize that the way we perceive things and behave are based on where we were born and grew up. Does that make sense to you? We did one exercise in a class that brought the point home really well, try this with someone and see how it works for you...
1) Choose several songs from the list below that you know fairly well to tap to your partner (no humming or mouthing the words- that's cheating!)
2) Estimate the likelihood that you think your partner will be able to guess the name of the songs you're tapping.
3) Tap the song to your partner. Again- do not hum or sing the tune. Just tap the rhythm.
Song List-
Happy Birthday ~ Take Me Out to the Ball Game ~ Jesus Loves Me ~ Amazing Grace ~ The Doxology ~ National Anthem (if you're w/ a partner from the same country) ~ Great is Thy Faithfulness ~ Mary Had a Little Lamb ~ How Great Thou Art ~ A Mighty Fortress ~ The Alphabet Song ~ Popeye the Sailor Man ~ I've Been Working on the Railroad ~ Jesus Loves The Little Children ~ London Bridge ~ Pop Goes the Weasel ~ Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star ~ Yellow Submarine ~ Zaccheus ~ Row, Row, Row Your Boat
This is exercise is so interesting- you would think it would be very easy to guess these well known songs, but if you only hear the rhythm and have no frame of reference, determining the tune is very difficult. In the original study that did this less than 2.5% of the time people could guess the song! Wow! Stepping into another culture is like this- everyone else hears the tune, but you only hear a series of disconnected taps. With time, practice and the song list (ie- language/culture study, etc.) you can get it, but it won't happen in the blink of an eye. We are off an adventure, that's for sure! Thanks for taking the ride with us!
