Now we have a short break before dinner so
I’ll say what we’ve done since this morning. We did a little experiment
with learning how to interact between different cultures. Some hand
gestures that are okay in America might not be all right in other
countries and they want us to be aware of that. How people show
affection, how men and women are treated and associate with each other,
how children are treated, etc. is all different everywhere. The teams
split up into one group that were “foreigners” and the other was the
mission people stepping into their culture. So basically we must adapt
to theirs, not vice versa. We ate an Indian dish for lunch, family
style. The rice came out in a huge plastic bowl that was passed around
the table, scooped onto flour tortillas and then topped with some sort
of meatball concoction. It was so satisfying because I’ve been starving
all day. But I am perfectly fine. We can live on so much less than we
do. They’re trying to get us to really adapt and adjust ourselves as
much as possible before we leave. The speaker today taught us that
insecurity is just another form of pride because we’re looking out for
ourselves first before anyone else. Insecurity constitutes putting up
the best possible image of ourselves for others. I want to liberate
myself from this.
