October Travel News
Hi from Rick: Becoming a Global Citizen
Once upon an early trip, on a visit to Afghanistan, I was sitting in a Kabul cafeteria when a local man sat down next to me. He said, "You're an American, aren't you?" I said "yes," and he said, "Well, I'm a professor here in Afghanistan. I want you to know that a third of the people on this planet eat with spoons and forks like you, a third of the people eat with chopsticks, and a third of the people eat with fingers like me. And we're all civilized just the same."
As he clearly had a chip on his shoulder about this, I simply thought, "OK, OK, I get it." But I didn't get it…at least, not right away. Then after leaving Afghanistan, I traveled through South Asia, and I decided to take his message to heart. I went to fancy restaurants filled with well-dressed professionals. Rather than providing silverware, they had a ceremonial sink in the middle of the room, so people could wash their hands and use their fingers for what God made them for. And I did the same… Read more
