Starting from Negative 1

Relationships, more than anything else, overcome stereotypes. Friendship with someone outside of our box leads to empathy about the things that are important in their life. People who grow up surrounded by people that differ from them on a number of levels have such an advantage. I feel like I am starting with a significant handicap, in this area.

My parents are extremely conservative and I spent most of my time growing up being home schooled and living in the country. Talk about isolation. My mother is surprised that I feel like I'm at a disadvantage when relating to other ethnic groups. She grew up attending public school in the northeast, in a house that was always full of a diverse crowd of people, and as a member of an African American church. Her family lived in Kenya while she was in High School. I think she thought that by passing on the values of equality and acceptance, she was sharing with us what she had grown up with. I know from experience that being familiar with famous African American individuals in American history is not the same as growing up with best friends who are African American.

That's the tricky part: the space between holding a value and living a lifestyle.

A visiting speaker at our church this Sunday made an inspired statement: "the difference between the people who do something with their dreams, and those who don't is that the people who do something...do something." Brilliant, I know. But it's true.

The Captain and I had a long discussion yesterday about how we should educate our children when we live abroad. Should we put them in local schools or in the international/expatriate school system? What would contribute most to them gaining friendships with people from other countries AND give them a solid education? I have a feeling that trying to place ourselves in a positive position, in terms of living with diversity, will be a lifelong effort.

Comments

[HeatherS]

"That's the tricky part: the space between holding a value and living a lifestyle."

This is so true. DH and I were just talking about this yesterday. On the surface it seems like it should be an easy leap. But reality it's quite difficult.