Ice Cream Perspective

Earlier this week I was given the opportunity to speak to my Gateway class about the importance of having a global perspective. While I may seem like an expert on the subject, and certainly have a slew of global stories, I had never stopped to think about why it was so important.

Here is what I decided.

Having only experienced one culture is like only reading essays about why chocolate ice cream is the best kind of ice cream there is. Sure, there are a million reasons why chocolate ice cream is amazing and the authors of those essays may have some very valid points. Chocolate is an aphrodisiac, it can cure a sweet tooth, and goes great with some caramel.

But if you take their word for it and are never willing to try other flavors, you’ll be missing out on a whole lot of joy. (I recently had a pumpkin pie blizzard that was seriously fall goodness in a cup.) If you take the time to learn about other flavors and take the time to experience them, you may find you enjoy all of the thousands upon thousands of them out there. Although, personally I’m not sure how anyone can enjoy green bean ice cream; not because I think it can’t taste good to people but purely on the principle of the matter.

Each culture has unique values and advantages. Each culture expects different things from those participating. Each culture even has its own rate of acceptance. We shouldn’t discount another way of doing something simply because we are used to something else. There is nothing actually better about the left or the right side of the road, we have simply created a preference for that location.

Unfortunately, conflict makes people uncomfortable. Personally, conflict is usually physically painful for me. Conflicts between cultures creates culture shock and ethnocentrism. We experience something different and we haven’t quite learned how to process it yet, because it may vary from our own values and beliefs, and so we act out against it. I used to hate having nuts in my ice cream, that crunch mixed with the smoothness of the cream and all that healthy stuff was ruining the experience. I tried an ice cream a little while back that I didn’t know had nuts in it, and was actually surprised by how it tasted. I’m no longer afraid of having nuts in my ice cream. Culture can take a few taste tests to get used to, and maybe you’ll never quite be able to swallow it without washing it down. But at least you will have tried it, experienced it, found out why others may enjoy it, and learned a little something about the taste buds your culture has developed in you.

再见, 亲爱的