In the second week of attending the Summer Institute of Intercultural Communication in Portland Oregon, my friend and I stopped into a 7-11 to pick up some Starbucks Double shots. There I saw a guy who I guessed was from Ethiopia. I said "Salam, endeminea" which means "hello, how are you?" in Amharic. His face lit up and as he rang up the Doubleshot, we started discussing his area of birth and where he grew up. He mentioned how he was born in Eritrea, but raised in Gonder, Ethiopia. He acknowledged the difference in political boundaries between the two countries, but clearly stated that Eritrea and Ethiopia are the same people and should not have sacrificed so many lives in the war to create the political boundary.
Reflecting on this conversation I thought of other boundaries. Like the boundaries of polite conversation. "A gentleman does not discuss politics, religion or money,"I remember learning. Somehow these boundaries were lowered by just by taking a guess and saying some words in Amharic. Perhaps if I would have started the conversation more politely and not assumed the man was from Ethiopia, we would not have had such a meaningful brief interaction.
After a few hours my friend and I returned to the 7-11 for some renown Oregon beer. This time I went directly to the clerk and asked if the 7-11 carried tej (famous Ethiopian honey wine). Even though I knew that 7-11 does not carry Ethiopian tej, I figured I would playfully respect cultural uniqueness. To pronounce tej is difficult, one must project the t almost like you are saying tisk tisk tisk. So by accomplishing this feat of Ahmaric pronunciation and by acknowledging a familiar and sociable drink, the clerk was even more impressed. His eyes lit up and by the time we were checking out we crossed another boundary of polite conversation.
"You went to Orthodox Church right."-Clerk
"Yes, I went to one outside. I stood on the left side"-Me
"You know this one hummm la haaa la hum de ha de daa"-Clerk singing a church song.
"No, I don't think..."-Me
"Yes you know it, da de hum de ha de ha de ha"-Clerk
"De ha de ha de ha"-Me trying to follow along
Boundaries! Wow we were already onto religion after discussing politics during my last visit only a few hours earlier.
After paying for the beer and walking to the Summer Institute of Intercultural Communication I felt a feeling of right-path or like I was doing what I should be doing in life. This little interchange with the clerk renewed my sense of self being an interculturalist and payed respect to a portion his clerks identity. The majority of people I meet think of intercultural interaction in the negative. "Don't assume a person with Asian features was born in Asia." "Don't assume people are different than you." "In fact, don't assume anything, because that's a stereotype." I like to think of intercultural interaction in the positive. Like in the words of a famous Portland employer, Just Do It.
Intercultural Tip: Crossing boundaries is not polite, but neither is being an interculturalist.
