Global Citizen

The definition of culture is the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. In Chapter 12 of Where Am I Wearing?, Kelsey Timmerman speaks of Labor Day, a holiday “around the world of everyone except a few countries, including the United States.” Every country in the world has its own holidays, traditions, and beliefs; In fact, most people have their own personalized ones as well. The extreme differences with culture between countries and even continents, is of such high magnitude, it’s absolutely fascinating. On the other hand, there are plenty of similarities as far as ordinary people go and once we strip away the limited differences, we’ll see that we’re much more similar than we think.

After reading Timmerman’s novel, I stumbled upon a ton of questions myself and although I tend to see myself as a bit cultured, there’s still plenty of cultures I’ve never come across. I questioned how people from different countries view Americans and the structure of the country. I wondered just how different various cultures are. Thus began my own personal journey, certainly not as long or detailed as Timmerman’s, but I conducted a few interviews to answer my own questions.

My mom is part of the ESL department at Austin Peay State University, so she deals with foreign, study-abroad students all the time. I decided to ask her if her boss would be okay with me coordinating a few interviews within the department to find some answers to these questions of mine. There was a pretty good turn out, since I ended up speaking with people from Saudi Arabia, China, Hong Kong, Colombia, and Vietnam. Quite a variety of cultures, right? I began with some of the basic questions, such as “How long have you been here?”, “How do you like it so far?”, and “How are you adjusting?”, but once we passed that comfortable  phase, inquiries began flying out of my mouth: “What’s the differences in education?”, “What are some big holidays celebrated in your country, that aren’t here?”, “What is everyday life like where you’re from?”, or “How is the family dynamic?”.

Some of the answers I received were just as divergent as I expected but some were surprisingly similar to the traditions of the United States. For example, Pak Nam Chan from Hong Kong, told me that plenty of American holidays were celebrated over there such as Christmas and Halloween, the only big difference are the types of toys given or a few tweeks here and there. On the other hand, a huge cultural difference from Saudi Arabia to the United States is that women cannot drive in most parts of their country. Mohammed, living in the country for 7 months, explained that the culture was just very different between the two countries and even said that “it doesn’t bother me that women drive here in America, it’s freedom, it’s culture.” Another shocking statement said from Juan, a Colombian boy born in Ecuador, was that since Americans are exposed to so many more recourses, he feels that we more capable of being successful than of those in his country.

The theme I kept encountering throughout these interviews was that although there surely are some differences, people at heart can still relate to one another. Whether we’re from Saudi Arabia, United States, Vietnam, China, Colombia, France, or elsewhere, we all have similar desires, wishes, dreams, and goals. Being a global citizen goes beyond simple global communications and relations, it reaches the root of caring for each other globally; being concerned about world news, being invested in international problems, being connected to people on the sole basis that we are all people. Timmerman has broadened my horizons a few countries wider and exposed me to a few more ways to be a “glocal” citizen. Aiming to be more globally concerned, invested, and connected should be a goal we all strive for because at the end of the day, benevolence and humanity are the most important substances to our existence.