Culturally acceptable

My dad works at the University in Omaha as manager of an educational program for international business students. And as a good portion of these students are Asian, many have not experienced the... smells and spaciousness of living on a farm. So about twice a year for 14 years my family has had the distinct pleasure of hosting up to 20 students at our house for lunch and farm-like activities (for some reason, many find our chickens particularly fascinating), such as chopping wood or practicing with Dad's shotgun.

Yesterday, we had a group of 14 students from Mexico, Taiwan, Columbia, Japan, Korea, and Saudi Arabia. As I was born in Japan and have met mostly Asian's in Dad's program, it was a new experience to have a Saudi in our home. (No, I didn't try to shake his hand; some Muslim men will not touch another women, and that might have brought on a rather uncomfortable situation). But Mom, being her adventurous, brave self, asked him plenty of questions. He was very respectful and didn't seem to mind, and when asked how most women are treated in Saudi Arabia, he said that they are treated very respectfully and have the same rights as men. I'm sure a lot of it also has to do with what type of family you were brought up in, and Saudi Arabia is quite a large area... but we had a hard time completely believing that all Muslim women are treated as he said they are.

I spoke mostly with a very friendly man from Mexico, who asked me if I disliked my dad bringing students such as his group. My answer? I LOVE having foreign students up! Besides the fact that most groups have nice, fun loving people, it's also such a unique experience for me to regularly be exposed to so many different cultures; a chance not many American kids are offered. He brought up the point that many Americans that he meets and tries to have a conversation with are uncomfortable and unwilling to get to know him; either because of their cultural differences, or probably because of the language factor. I think this is so sad; I have been in several embarrassing situations where I could not understand what a student is trying to say, but the effort to get past the accents are always worth it.

In my comment sections I have been accused of being a close-minded racist (among other things). And it is so easy to not make that extra effort to get to know someone different than ourselves. But the rewards exceed the difficulties of getting around the culture and language, and for me it's a wonderful opportunity to witness to these students, as they are able to use me and my family as an idea for what Christian Americans are like. So if you ever have a chance to meet a foreigner, don't pass it up! Let those from other countries know that in America, (as long as they abide by our laws!) they can be culturally acceptable.