Reflections on cultural differences

Marc Here:

Julienne and I have been talking (I mean, of course we've been talking.  Isn't that what happily married couples like to do?) and we both agree that our going to France before we go to Senegal was a good idea.  For a while we weren't sure.  We mostly decided to stop in Paris when we noticed that some of the flights out of Boston went through Paris on the way to Dakar. "Heck," we thought.  "Why not stop?"

Now, we're starting to think it was a good idea.  Of the two of us, I feel that the transition to another culture will be harder for me.  Julienne has lived in another country for an extended time while I have only traveled to Paris for our second honeymoon.  Also, I have distinct memories of going through culture shock - after spending a summer up at the Unirondack summer camp!  Feeling shock from that simple experience, I feel, sets a low bar for me to be more shaken by so many differences at once..

So, how will things be different?  On the spectrum of ethnicities, language, culture and economics, I feel that France is a good middle ground to Senegal.  While the language and cultures are different from Massachusetts, the economic profile and ethnic profile are pretty similar to it.  Also, language is strangely not so different.  People we talk to here in Paris are very nice.  They will often humor us in French for a bit until they really want to make sure we are understanding them, then they switch to french.

In Quebec, where Julienne and I traveled last summer (thanks Dad and Margaret for watching the kids!) we found that if we simply started a conversation with "Hello," the other person would invariably be able to speak in English.  Here, we are finding the same.  So, in that way, while language is a weakness for us, Paris is also a half way place where we hear lots of French spoken and written, we don't really need to use it to get what we want.

And so, we expect Senegal to be on the other end of the spectrum.  My European ethnicity will switch from a majority to minority.  My language will go from majority to minority but still useful to useless out on the street.  The culture I expect to be a mix because of both the US's and Senegal's past colonial status.  That, and we have heard universally that the people of Senegal are very nice.

Then again, we have heard about the people of Paris being snobby but we have had exactly none of that.  Even today as we went to get on the train, the conductor was very nice. The train said something like, "Mar de Martin" and we wanted the train to go to "Postrine."  He said, "Postrine?  This way," and pointed to the train.  When we stepped on and read that the sign definitely did not say, "Postrine," we stepped off and tried saying something in French.  He very politely bowed to us and said  in English, "Please, trust me.  This train does indeed go to Postrine."  He was right, and nice even as we were questioning him over an incorrect LCD display.

So culturally, I'm sure we'll make mistakes but hopefully if we're humble and with the nice locals, it will work out.  As for economics, that will be a big difference.  A running buddy has been to the Gambia a number of times.  The Gambia is an ex-British colony that is surrounded by Senegal.  We were talking about running in Senegal and he said, "It will probably be much like my experience.  When I would go for a run in The Gambia, almost immediately I would be followed by like 15 kids, running in bare feet, not wanting anything but simply to run for the love of running.  It would invariably happen and I grew to look forward to it.  You'll never be at a loss for a running buddy in Senegal."

A sweet story but also a simple touchstone.  We will go from average wealth to high wealth.  Not filty rich, but certainly upper class.  We will be paying our house keeper as much in a month as we making in about a day and a half.  AND we are paying her very good wages.  I'm sure we'll write more about that.

Back to the kids - there wouldn't be that many children free to go for a run in the US.  Why, I'm not exactly sure but I suspect that fewer students stay in school and thus, it's more acceptable to be running around during the day.   Also, Jared Diamond has talked of spending time in Papua New Guinea and there, 10-12 year old boys were allowed to travel with him for weeks at a time with little or no preparation or warning to the parents.  This will be a cultural difference that again we shall learn about.

So, to conclude, we are planning to go to a children-focused park.  A bit of a theme park, like one called "Fairy Land" in San Fransico.  I know mostly what to expect for the ethnicity of the people around us, the language that will be spoken, the culture and economics of the people we meet.  What will it be like in another different country?  We shall see.