Multiculturalism is cool

Okay....first, I really wish this woman would stop singing in Barnes and Noble. It's really annoying. I don't know if she's trying to sing her kid to sleep, impress the man sitting next to her, or hope that Simon Cowel is hiding in the American History section, looking for the next American Idol.

Anyway, Barnes and Noble seems to be a hot bed for random crap. That and places like Wal-Mart.

When I say, "like Wal-mart," I actually mean "Walgreens." The fact that they both contain the word "wal" puts them in the same category in my brain.

I spent the first 12 days of January in Denver, Colorado at a conference. One night, I went to dinner with my friend Katie (hi Katie!) On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Walgreens to pick up a few things I had forgotten for my trip. The line at the cash register was unusually long so another worker offered to check me out at the cosmetic counter.

"I can check you out over here!" she said in what I imagine an Argentinian accent to sound like (no, I'm not being culturally sensitive here).

Katie and I walk to the cosmetic counter and I set my things down.

"Oooooo, I like your purse!" said the Argentinian cashier about my bright turqoise-blue purse.

"Thanks!" I said. "It was a Christmas present."

"Yes, very pretty color. They go nice together!" she said, pointing to my mustard yellow wallet.

I smiled and handed her the money.

"Oh! And you're earings! Those are very nice."

"Thanks!" I said. "They were actually a birthday present." (My birthday just happens to be one week after Christmas).

"Oooooh," she says, handing me my change. "You are so popular!!"

AndI lost it. Language barriers and awkward multicultural interactions are the best.

I burst out laughing as we walked out of Walgreens, as did Katie.

Last year me and my friends went to Haiti for Spring Break. I recently learned that everytime my friend Betsy introduced herself, the Haitians snickered because the word "bet" means "beast of burden" in Haitian Creole.

Essentially, she was walking up to people saying, "Hi! My name is cow!"

Last week I emailed a Chinese girl to see if she would be interested in helping out with Bridges International. Bridges is Campus Crusade's ministry to international students. This g

irl, Ying (pronounced "Wendy" in English...hehe...) was on staff in China and is interested in being involved in our movement at MU.

"Oh yes!" she responded. "I would love to be a part of The Bridge!"

If you find yourself bored and lacking humor in your life...look around. If you're surrounded by white people, that is the problem. Get yourself some international friends and they will be sure to brighten your day!

Our brains are shrinking

The problem with writing about random crap is that too much of it happens and if you don't write about it everyday, it piles up on you.

Have you ever noticed that people are just about as dumb as a herd of cattle? Seriously. And they can be goaded around just as easy...no horses or prodding sticks needed.

I was headed home from Denver just over a week ago. The line at the United Airlines kiosk was incredibly long and weaved back and forth through a series of black ropes. All faces in line were solemn like that of a pig being lead to the slaughter and the bodies that held them diligently stayed between the designated lines.

"So where ya headed?" Doug, a man i had met at my conference asked. He was in line in front of me.

"Back to Tennessee for a couple of days."

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle. We made our way through the winding maze.

"Oh yea, you're on staff at Mizzou, right?"

I nodded.

Walk walk, sharp turn left. Bag getting heavier.

"Yea, we already have a staff meeting tomorrow," he said.

"Oh," I said. "I'm glad we don't have anything until Friday."

Piddle paddle piddle paddle. A woman in the shoot next to mine almost dropped her kid on its head. The man beside her caught the baby before it hit the ground. Doug gave me an astounded look.

"The line's moving pretty fast," I said as we neared the final left turn. I watched as people rounded the corner, avoiding the pole that held it up.

As we got closer to our pivot point, I noticed that the pole had been moved back and the rope sagged under the lack of tension. However, no one else seemed to notice. It was as if an invisible line existed where the rope had once been and people stayed on one side of it weaving around the imaginary pole at the end of their line.

Doug stopped in front of me to observe the their actions. I cocked my head in confusion and recalled a book I read about how malls and amusement parks were set up to make people walk in a certain area without them even realizing that their being told what to do.

"They have a sense of freedom because their in an open space," it said. "But really, the paths are set for them and they don't have a choice."

That's silly. I thought. You don't have to stay on the path. You can walk wherever you want. People aren't that dumb.

Clearly I was wrong. I watched as one after another, men and women rolled their suitcases in smooth arches around an area that they could have walked straight across.

Doug and I didn't move. We waited until everyone completed their lap and ended up on the other side of the "rope" then we just stepped behind them. No long walk necessary.

That was weird. I thought. And I felt embarrassed to be a human being. National Geographic was right...our brains are shrinking.