eavesdropping
as soon as i walked into the store today, wearing my usual handy-girl outfit of jeans and a men’s undershirt i noticed a party of people sitting in a booth... one of the ladies noticed me, smiled, and seemed intrigued by me... she just kept glancing at me with this almost creepy warm smile. anyways, as intrigued as she was with me, i was sorta intrigued with their little party, so i sat in my booth in the corner so that i could hear their conversation, but i was creepy-close. the group of people could be described as older middle-aged do-gooder people. these people had traveled, whether on mission trips or just on charitable trips and perhaps some even for leisure, but they were total americana. one of the ladies i noticed, to give you a better picture... was dressed in a completely red white and blue outfit with stars and stripes and everything... but she was wearing a bag that said 'jerusalem' on it... you know... the hand-cross-stitched ones you would see all over the street markets in the tourist shops... it was an odd combo. so anyways... these people found themselves to be cultured and sharing their experiences with friends at the mediterranean deli.
so... why am i telling you about this party? here is why i became so involved in listening to their conversation. i noticed they were discussing the visitation of a 3rd world country, and they were talking about how they ate some dish (i forget its name) of rice and something else everyday... this gave me warm-fuzzy thoughts of the university and hotel in jordan, where we ate the same things everyday... mmm chicken and rice, how i miss thee not... anyways, so i got pulled in. the couple began this story of how they were weary of eating meat in this country b/c you never know how long its been sitting with no refrigeration, and no telling how well it was cooked etc. problem was everyone wanted them to come to eat with them. on one occasion the people of a village or some such had asked them to come in a way such that they could not refuse. as they sat around and ate their usual dish, the meat was also brought out... the ingenious little excuse they came up with not to eat was 'oh, we eat much more often then you do, here, you have the meat'... the people wouldn't hear of this and kept pushing the plate of meat back in front of her. she didn't want to be rude so she took off a little bit and ate it... but it tasted so rubbery. it turned out that they had given her the "male parts, and it seems as if she got the genitals." [laughter from the party] needless to say she didn't eat any more meat. her companions asked her if those serving her would have been offended had she not had any and she said yes. her analysis however was "they were so poor and in such a bad state, that all they had left to give us were the male parts!" sorta in a oh-how-quaint attitude...
here is where i wanted to jump in. i restrained, being at my dad's store and all, but i wanted to jump in SO badly. she understood correctly that they would have been offended had she not tried it, but what she did NOT correctly understand is that these "male parts" are the most valuable part to these people. these are a delicacy, and the very best of what they could offer. they continually pushed it in front of her to honor her. they would not hear of eating what their guest of honor should be eating... it was not that they had no other meat, they probably killed the goat or whatever animal purely for that occasion, but they wanted to present her with the best as a token of their respect, gratitude, and honor. but they were mistaken as "quaint" and pitied.
cultural misunderstanding bother me quite a lot... mainly b/c i figure if you are going to be in another culture, you must learn about it before you go, and if you don't do that, you should take care to try to understand it to the best of your ability while there. learn. learn from all that surrounds you. these people will forever be misunderstood. perhaps, yes, they were poor, but that was not their reasoning for giving her the genitals of the animal. it makes me sad that these people will forever remain laughed at as a funny story and not remembered for their efforts. i think this is a situation which can and should be helped. don't be naive and don't assume other cultures. ask and learn.
so... why am i telling you about this party? here is why i became so involved in listening to their conversation. i noticed they were discussing the visitation of a 3rd world country, and they were talking about how they ate some dish (i forget its name) of rice and something else everyday... this gave me warm-fuzzy thoughts of the university and hotel in jordan, where we ate the same things everyday... mmm chicken and rice, how i miss thee not... anyways, so i got pulled in. the couple began this story of how they were weary of eating meat in this country b/c you never know how long its been sitting with no refrigeration, and no telling how well it was cooked etc. problem was everyone wanted them to come to eat with them. on one occasion the people of a village or some such had asked them to come in a way such that they could not refuse. as they sat around and ate their usual dish, the meat was also brought out... the ingenious little excuse they came up with not to eat was 'oh, we eat much more often then you do, here, you have the meat'... the people wouldn't hear of this and kept pushing the plate of meat back in front of her. she didn't want to be rude so she took off a little bit and ate it... but it tasted so rubbery. it turned out that they had given her the "male parts, and it seems as if she got the genitals." [laughter from the party] needless to say she didn't eat any more meat. her companions asked her if those serving her would have been offended had she not had any and she said yes. her analysis however was "they were so poor and in such a bad state, that all they had left to give us were the male parts!" sorta in a oh-how-quaint attitude...
here is where i wanted to jump in. i restrained, being at my dad's store and all, but i wanted to jump in SO badly. she understood correctly that they would have been offended had she not tried it, but what she did NOT correctly understand is that these "male parts" are the most valuable part to these people. these are a delicacy, and the very best of what they could offer. they continually pushed it in front of her to honor her. they would not hear of eating what their guest of honor should be eating... it was not that they had no other meat, they probably killed the goat or whatever animal purely for that occasion, but they wanted to present her with the best as a token of their respect, gratitude, and honor. but they were mistaken as "quaint" and pitied.
cultural misunderstanding bother me quite a lot... mainly b/c i figure if you are going to be in another culture, you must learn about it before you go, and if you don't do that, you should take care to try to understand it to the best of your ability while there. learn. learn from all that surrounds you. these people will forever be misunderstood. perhaps, yes, they were poor, but that was not their reasoning for giving her the genitals of the animal. it makes me sad that these people will forever remain laughed at as a funny story and not remembered for their efforts. i think this is a situation which can and should be helped. don't be naive and don't assume other cultures. ask and learn.
posted by bitterhoney at 12:26 AM
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