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!