Is it possible that your outsider/insider view provided you a perspective on Plato's cave that you would not have had if you were to have stayed in Denmark and socialized with immigrants?jacob wrote:In other words, going from Denmark via Switzerland to the US has not moved my perceptions much.
That's true. I agree it is possible. By managing this senior complex I've been able to take a journey thirty years into the future. It has been incredibly enlightening. I live here and work here so being engulfed in the culture 24/7 has been important.jacob wrote:And that leaving one's culture is quite easy and usually only requires a short journey on public transportation... but that few have the guts to do that.
jacob wrote:WRT to experiences ...
When people travel to other countries they mostly get the experience of visiting the country, not in living there.
They don't get to make a living there.
They don't pay taxes.
They don't learn to battle the bureaucracy.
They don't stay long enough to get the humour or cultural references.
They don't get to go to the hospital.
They don't get to find a mechanic.
They don't get to build a cob house.
Visiting and living are very different experiences. This is perhaps the crux of my "complaint".
Again I agree, living somewhere provides deeper opportunities for adaptation than simply traveling there. This is one of the reasons I do unusual things when traveling. Unusual activities create unusual situations to which I must adapt.
Just for fun we decided to get our motorcycle licenses in South Africa. My wife (who is way smarter than me) studied for hours but failed the written test. I have to admit, I came close to failing as well. We learned later that the apartheid government had created incredibly complex and convoluted permit tests just prior to relinquishing power in hopes of making high hurdles for the newly free black South Africans to getting driver's licenses. Hard lesson learned. There is no better way to learn than by doing.
The skills to adapt, to coerce, to fix, and to solve problems comes out of situational necessity. Sometimes we have to contrive those situations. For some, boxing at an inner city gym will do that. For others, teaching at an inner city school will accomplish it. For me, travel is the best way to produce the optimal results.
And I'll reiterate.... microbes!!!!! Fecal transplants are on the horizon. Until then, travel is the only way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEMnRC22oOs