Open Up

While currently in Spain visiting a current student (who is studying at a high school there), and hoping to develop a partnership with some Spanish high schools, I paused to reflect upon why some people can cross cultures with ease and others simply cannot.  I came to the conclusion it all starts with the open mentality that is so necessary to learn a new language/culture.  This "openness" is accompanied by a few traits:

-A realization that there are many ways to do everyday things and no one way is necessarily better
-A strong self image that allows for one to make mistakes when speaking
-A work ethic that leads one to learn from mistakes
-A willingness to try new foods, accept a new way to break up the day, and an openness to trying new activities.
-A realization that no culture is necessarily superior, just different, and they all have strengths and weaknesses

The student I visited was strong in all the above mentioned areas and is thriving in the Spanish culture; although his language skills have a ways to go.

The lesson is simple:  When respect is demonstrated to others, it's usually returned

Thinking About What We Are Thinking About

When you think about your life, you realize that your situations about your life don't have you down; your thoughts about your life situations have you down.  Reason then tells us that we need to spend more time thinking about our thoughts.  Why is it that one student in class views herself as extremely fortunate to be a student in there and another feels like the class is pure torture?  We can usually find the answer in how we view the class.  Do you get home each day and think to yourself, "This house is a dump and I hate living here."  Or do you say, "I am so grateful to have this home."  I can tell you that the house very well may be a dump, but the second person is going to probably spruce it up and make it a better place.  We are all guilty of letting our thoughts lead us down a self-destructive path from time to time.  The key is to be able to recognize it when we are doing it--not an easy task.  It's a terrible thing to be your own worst enemy.

Let's think about what we are thinking about.