Understanding Culture

In the afterword of a book that I just finished reading the author writes, “I realized that the world we live in isn’t defined by a collection of countries at odds with one another, but by the striking commonalities of the individuals who compose those countries” (John Shors). These words resonated well with me and made me ponder my experience here in Ethiopia. On my good days, I couldn’t agree more with Shors. The great part about this experience is seeing that at the end of day, humans are very similar. We all laugh and cry. We all feel happiness and sadness. The bond among family and friends holds the same strength and importance everywhere. These people exist in America and they exist in Ethiopia. Coming across such realizations makes all of this worth it. On my bad days though, when I’m trying to enjoy a hike with fellow volunteers and kids follow us, yelling at us, taunting us and nothing we do makes them stop, or when I get verbally and sexually harassed when I’m walking through the middle of town, or when I bump heads with teachers at my school because they put all the blame on their students for getting bad scores and can’t seem to see how the teacher can have a lot to do with it, in those moments I feel very differently than John Shors and I can’t help thinking that across countries, humans aren’t always the same.

            In these moments I am reminded that I am different. I can’t help feeling that even though we may all be human, our cultural differences, the environment we live in and our own personal experiences set us apart. This can be difficult and exhausting to deal with. And in those instances where I get so frustrated and I just want to scream and give up, I have to remind myself of where these differences come from. For instance with the harassment that I receive, I get it because of my skin color and because of my gender. I have to remind myself that Ethiopians, certainly children, are not used to seeing foreigners. I on the other hand, grew up in a country full of diversity so seeing people of all shades and colors is normal to me and at times I am left wondering why someone always need to scream at me when I’m walking down the street. Instead of getting angry, I have to remind myself that seeing people of a different color is not common, so I shouldn’t get angry every time it happens. With the sexual harassment, I remind myself that I am living in a country where men dominate and control everything. They have the say in everything and most Ethiopian women are to stay quiet and subservient. America still has work to do when it comes to gender equality, but I can promise you that we are way ahead of Ethiopia in that department. I have had to alter so much of my behavior as a woman for my own safety because I cannot be the way I am in America in Ethiopia and feel safe. And to have to change an important part of who you are, not because you want to, but so you can feel safe is difficult and was hard to grasp and understand when I first got here. With my teachers at school, I have to remind myself that the teaching methods they use are all they have ever known. This is how they were taught when they were students, this is how they were told to teach and they are working and living in a system where hierarchy is everything.

            So what’s the point of this post you might ask? What am I trying to get at? Well to be honest, I want my readers to see how confusing and lost I feel living here and to show the constant struggle and debate that is going on in my head. Are we the same or are we different? I’m trying to understand the people I am surrounded by. I’m trying to understand who I am and why I am the way I am. Why do I think this way while the people around me think a different way? And other times, why do different people respond to something in the same way? Sometimes I love Ethiopia. Other times I can’t stand being here. There are instances where I get to see the things that connect all of us humans together, regardless of our nationalities, and that is beautiful. Other moments though, I see how big of an impact culture has on every one of us and how different cultures do set us apart. But no matter how frustrating this whole experience can be, I think the point of Peace Corps is to show that by understanding one another’s cultures and what makes us who we are, we can bring peace. Too often conflicts arise because of cultural differences and people don’t take the time to understand why a person is the way they are. And if we don’t take the time to understand one another it is inevitable that we will never get along. But understanding another person’s culture is a huge challenge. I’m trying to figure out Ethiopia every day and it’s a constant struggle.