Tuesday, November 21, 2006

"Personal space"

We as Americans value our personal space. For example, you walk into a restaurant and try to choose a space away from the rest of the people. Albanians are the exact opposite. I experienced this just this morning. I went to a Christian-owned restaurant to work on something that required some peace and quiet. There was hardly anyone there when I went in, so I chose a quiet corner table. About an hour later a couple of girls walked in. I could tell by where they sat that they were Albanians. Out of all the tables, they chose the one RIGHT NEXT TO ME! I've experienced this several times. We like to go into a restaurant and choose a place with no one around, whereas they like to be close to people. Another cultural difference!

1 comment:

Todd Schreiner said...

I totally understand... I get it in just doing ministry full time. Sometimes in doing ministry I seem to have a spotlight on me in any public place I go to and therefore I am usually discovered when I might want to just be alone and work on things. However, I love it at the same time. I really want to be around people and share my life and the love of Christ with them. So it is a balance. I just need to realize that I need to be out of a public place to really get things done. I guess that is why they call it public... HA! :)
God bless you Laura!
Todd.