Where we were: Mexico City, population 30 million, working in impoverished communities with vulnerable children and families. Very dry climate, very communal and vibrant culture.
Where we are: St Andrews, population 16,000, a very wealthy town and “elite” university, very wet and cold climate, indvidualistic (though warm) culture.
The culture adjustment process between these two extremes is [...]
Archive for the ‘Culture’ Category
28 Oct
Where we were, where we are
29 Sep
If only I had a picture…
The other day we saw a tricycle car. A car with three wheels – two in the back and one in the front center. What?! Yes. And it was a normally sized car. Small, but not that small. Who knew you could drive a car with three wheels!
Actually, almost all the cars are small here. [...]
9 Sep
Conversation at the eye doctor
Today I had an eye exam. The eye doctor that my entire (Myers) family goes to is somewhat amused by my family’s escapades around the world. He greeted me with, “So, what foreign adventures are you up to now?”
He actually asked great questions about our time in Mexico. He was obviously trying to form the [...]
5 Jul
The 4th in a Foreign Land
It was sobering to experience a major holiday like the 4th of July in a foreign country. First, there were all of the things that I missed. Family tops that list. And then cookouts, all the hubbub of small town parades, sitting on blankets to watch fireworks, shooting off our own fireworks, and staying up [...]
10 Jun
Adjustment
Living in Mexico – a different culture, language, way of doing things – has taken some getting used to. However, I was reflecting the other day about some things that I actually have gotten used to (which, upon arrival, I was sure I would never adjust because they are so different from my home culture).
1. [...]
8 May
DBQ: Culture and the Phil 4 Principle
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil 4:8). People often use this verse from Philippians 4 to defend a certain approach towards culture in which [...]
29 Apr
Spiritual Conflict in a Consumer Society (Mission Between the Times 2)
As Christians, our lives are characterized by spiritual conflict, not just over individual sins, but against the evil structures and societies in which we live. In chapter 2 of Mission between the Times, Rene Padilla explains this further. He asserts that we understand the world in which we live as a battleground between the evils [...]
28 Apr
Bedtime? Babysitter? What are those?
Last week the Armonía community bade farewell to Carlos Pacheco, a volunteer who has been here for the last five months; and we did so by going to a favorite restaurant in town called The Frog Pond. In good Mexican style, we arrived for dinner around 9:30 PM. At that time, the restaurant was mostly [...]
27 Apr
Do you Like “Hass Music?”
We were sitting at the dinner table the other night when one of the students asked me if I liked “Hass Music.” I sat there with a questioning look on my face, when suddenly it dawned on me. He meant Jazz music. (In Spanish the “J” is pronounced like the English “H” and the “Z” [...]
14 Apr
New Situation, New Questions (Liberation Theology 6)
As the church encounters new situations and social conditions, it must new questions about what it means to be the church and to live the truth in that context. In chapter 8 of A Theology of Liberation, Gutierrez asserts that the new context in Latin America calls for new questions that will propel Christian theology [...]
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