Greetings and Happy Midweek,
To start out this brand new month, I’d like to continue looking at common aspects of many people’s everyday lives, across the world’s kaleidoscope of cultures. A few weeks ago, we talked about doors (10/20/21 blog post - see link above). Today, speaking of a kaleidoscope, we’ll reflect on windows…
In our Global SKILLs 3D Dynamics training, we focus frequently on the HOST dimension - learning about and interacting with our Host community and culture.* When we look at and through windows cross-culturally, we can gain so much knowledge about and even experience of whatever Host culture(s) surrounds us.
I have for a long time been gathering examples of views ‘out my window’ as I traveled and lived in different places. What I have noticed is that, even when the ‘view’ isn’t initially ‘nice’ or ‘scenic’ - there’s usually something you can find ‘out there’ of interest, or beauty. Like when my window in a guest house once opened out into a very narrow courtyard surrounded by a high wall. Not much of a view, it would seem...and yet, every single day, when I gazed out that window - I gained new insights! Bougainvillea vines covered the wall, with outrageously vibrant colors and sharp thorns, which served as a deterrent to thieves (insight = ah ha, thievery is an issue in this neighborhood); birds flying overhead scoping out their next meal (insight = local customs for disposing trash helped feed the birds!), multi-colored scraps of calligraphy covered paper which had blown in from the street (such variety in and appreciation of the local script).
A veritable wealth of socio-cultural data was right out my window, if I chose to pause and linger with it. Taking the time to really look out the windows in our lives, we can become more aware of our surroundings - and ‘see’ our HOST communities and cultures much more clearly!
How about you ~ what’s one cross-cultural view out a window right where you are today which is new to you?
Share about that with a friend or note it here.
And check out the Global SKILLs LINKs below for some more ‘window watching’!
Thanks for being part of this Connect community.
Until next week,
Betsy
* Global SKILLs 3 Dimensional Dynamics Model: 1st dimension = HOME ; 2nd dimension = HOST (which we looked at today); 3rd dimension = HARBOR)
~ contact me for more information on this model and how you might use it in your current programming
Global SKILLs LINKs
~ a really fun website (started during covid’s isolation) which takes us around the world through windows: https://www.window-swap.com/blog
~ an interesting ‘take’ on India’s windows by a global construction firm: https://gosmartbricks.com/types-of-windows/
~ one brief history of windows: https://www.paarhammer.com.au/blog/history-of-windows
2021 ~ Celebrating 40 years of working in
intercultural communications and global community building
Connecting, Collaborating, Cultivating Community