cross-culture skiing

The prevalence of co-cultures in this society makes it easy to have an experience outside of your cultural norm. Since leaving the small church & homeschool society I grew up in, I have never really fit completely into one cultural box. I may spend my work life with one culture, my school life with other cultures, and parts of my personal life dropping in on a number of different cultures between musicians, family, and various groups in an organization that I am a member of. Usually I feel like a chameleon who can blend in close enough for comfort in these situations.

One instance in particular that I had a pretty big shock happened in the late winter of 2007. I had just quit working in a factory where the cultural norm was Redneck. I found a new job at IHOP, which I had worked at before, just in a different city. Much to my surprise, I found myself to be the only cook who spoke any English other than a few food terms. This was a little awkward, but I was confident that I could cook the food anyway and I really needed the job. While I worked there I not only picked up a lot of words in Spanish, but I also developed an interest in learning Spanish. This intrest was actually the catalyst that got me back into school in the fall of 2007. The first class that I took was Spanish 1010.

It is sad to me that I find it difficult for me keep up interaction with persons who speak Spanish after I left that work environment. While I was able to be comfortable being in an environment at work where communicaiton was severely limited, once the common ground of omelettes and pancakes was gone, so was my interaction in Hispanic culture. I have not yet found another cultural bridge. However, my experience helped to shape the course of my life since then. I have a lot less fear of Spanish speaking persons, even though I am often ashamed to try to speak with my limited vocabulary and poor grammar. What little Spaninsh I do know does sometimes come in useful at my present job though. Also, my style of cooking at home started to incorporate a lot more black beans and tortillias, and I like that. Ski on, enriched by that I have skied though.

Peace be with ya'll,

Aaron Doyka