All three of these chapters spurred me to do a lot of reflecting on differences and similarities between how these aspects of communication, relationships, and faith play out in Djiboutian and North American culture, respectively. In the context of caring for others I've been really impressed and humbled by how generously and readily many of my Djiboutian friends and contacts support their family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues in the context of daily life, from caring for each other's children to cooking and sharing food to spending significant amounts of time and energy meeting each other's needs when someone in a household is sick, and many more examples. I think it is really easy to overlook and dismiss these forms of care when we think of support primarily in terms of more formalized or organization-based actions. I realize that this is not exclusive to Djibouti either, and that in the States and many other countries caregiving is often vastly underappreciated and taken for granted. Also, I love your suggestion to consider when, to whom, and why we say "thank you" to others not just in terms of cross-cultural communication differences, but as an opportunity to examine our hearts. I will be doing this going forward, especially as I'm now, like you, in the States and have been both hearing and saying many more "thank yous" than I had in Djibouti during the past few months :)
All three of these chapters spurred me to do a lot of reflecting on differences and similarities between how these aspects of communication, relationships, and faith play out in Djiboutian and North American culture, respectively. In the context of caring for others I've been really impressed and humbled by how generously and readily many of my Djiboutian friends and contacts support their family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues in the context of daily life, from caring for each other's children to cooking and sharing food to spending significant amounts of time and energy meeting each other's needs when someone in a household is sick, and many more examples. I think it is really easy to overlook and dismiss these forms of care when we think of support primarily in terms of more formalized or organization-based actions. I realize that this is not exclusive to Djibouti either, and that in the States and many other countries caregiving is often vastly underappreciated and taken for granted. Also, I love your suggestion to consider when, to whom, and why we say "thank you" to others not just in terms of cross-cultural communication differences, but as an opportunity to examine our hearts. I will be doing this going forward, especially as I'm now, like you, in the States and have been both hearing and saying many more "thank yous" than I had in Djibouti during the past few months :)