Today, I had the unique experience
of volunteering for Cooking Matters, a national organization that works with
adults, kids and families to educate them on how to buy groceries and cook
healthy meals on low-income budgets. While cutting boards, knives, bowls, and
the like were set up around the table, I surveyed the people walking in to the
class: it was a melting pot of Hispanics, Caucasian, and African American
adults, eagerly ready to learn. I
imagine where they’ve come from and how they were brought up, and appreciate
all the unique stories this must entail and I realize this is one of my
favorite things about living in an urban setting: the culture.
To me,
culture can be seen as an education. Growing up in a primarily Caucasian
community, I was never subject to large majorities of other ethnic groups. With
every group come different religious practices, family traditions, and ways of
life. Each and every group has something to share with others, and also
something to learn from others, and what better place to learn from each other
than in a city? Where building hug each
other close on each side, and people brush shoulders as they walk down the
sidewalks heading to work, the city is a vibrant place of interaction, a place
where you can always find someone to listen to your story. During my time here
at Wartburg West so far, I’ve been able to rub shoulders with a Hispanic woman,
who has three kids and is a single working mother, as we sliced apples for
apple walnut salad. I’ve shared librarian jokes with an older African American
woman, who was a librarian and is now a grandmother, as we sautéed the stir-fry
for our cooking group. Living in a place with a multitude of different types of
people brings unique opportunities that you may not find elsewhere. I am just
beginning to learn about the different types of people that live around me, and
I feel the only best is yet to come.
And what is
the meaning of all this? While diverseness can seem intimidating, it is in
reality enriching. The stereotypical fears of danger and lack of safety in the
city slowly dissipates into daily adventures of listening to stories and
observing different cultural norms. I find kindness in the most unsuspecting
strangers, and a new sense of safety in this new home. I am extremely pleased
to call this my home for the semester, and hopefully, perhaps, a permanent home
in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment