This week Dr. Hiebert's quote has resonated with me time and again. It is not so much that everything around me is strange (although carrying a ladder on a small moped, my neighbor taking a shower in the front yard and watching others come at me because they are driving on the "wrong" side of the road are a bit out there), I feel as though I am the strange one. And, of course, I am! But do they realize that they are strange too? Are they taking a learners position when it comes to me? Why can't we all just be learners here?
Well, I suppose the majority of the people here have never read the quote. So, if I am going to be the only learner in this crazy relationship that I am building between myself and the Khmer people around me, I am going to have to laugh when they think I am strange, embrace their "strange" ways and remember just being a learner is strange.
1 comment:
When I first got to HK, I said,"that makes no sense!" a lot. I had to force myself to be content with observing rather than understanding most of the time. I guess that was culture shock.
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