Cultural Observations from Australia Part I

Anytime you have the opportunity to visit a foreign country and experience a whole new culture, you have a great chance to see life in a completely different perspective than the one you grew up with and were conditioned to live in. And although there may be some crossovers and even a common language shared there are still very noticeable differences in lifestyle to be observed. It is an important aspect as a human being to observe these differences and respect them for what they are. It is such a shame when we have the perspective that our way of life is the only way and all other ways are simply barbaric and just not as good. I believe there is so much to learn from the various cultures and customs of the whole world and we cannot simply limit our view of the world to the way that our native country tends to look at things.

Change and differences are very uncomfortable for us as human beings in general. As people, and especially as Americans, we tend to be creatures of habbit and ritual. We don't like having our lifestyle altered and we want to be comfortable at all times. We resist any slight alteration in the way we normally do things and don't want to be stretched outside of our comfortable routine. There is nothing wrong with being proud of where you come from or the lifestyle you chose to live, but I think that we miss a lot of opportunities to learn and be challenged as people when we completely shut out a new and foreign way of living.

I have learned this time and time again when I have been to foreign countries. And somehow I always forget everything I learned from the people in other countries and I go back to my comfortable routine and uncontented attitude. As an American I am always in want of the best new thing and I always seem to take for granted all the things that really matter in life: faith, family, friends, love, hope, and so on.

God has blessed me with a great opportunity to live in the country of Australia. After being here for only one week I have already learned so much from the people and customs. In America we are raised up and told to work hard our whole lives and keep busy all the time. And I'm not saying that working hard is bad or keeping busy is wrong, it is a very important thing to have a diligent work ethic in life. But there are times that we put too much emphasis on "fullfilling our potential" and making money in order to stay ahead of the pack and make it to the top. People settle for jobs that they hate and become work-aholics in order to feel gratification or value.

In Australia the perspecitve is generally quite a bit different. Sure the people still work hard and have a respect for doing well in life and supporting a family but it is a lot more laid back and well balanced. Australians do a great job of discerning between when to work and when to play. Stores open at 10 and close at 5, they stop for a tea break in the mornings, and in general are more relaxed. They still get the job done efficiently but they don't work themselves to death. I think we in the States have a tendency to miss a lot of what God has to show us or great opportunites to love others because we are always busy and love having a full schedule of things to do, whether we admit it or not.

That is something that I have observed and already learned about the Australian culture. It's something that I want to instill into my life, I know it will be hard but I know it will also be worth it.