Curiosity of Cultures -Humanity Project-

My interest in cultures developed early in childhood; probably somewhere inbetween the experience of my first beaded Navajo bracelet and seeing the colorfully clad village children of "It's a Small World" at Disneyland. Well- these are my fond memories of childhood wonderment, but come to think of it, my interests were most likely more a product of my environment.


My parents had both been in the Navy. Periodically, stories of faraway people made their way home with the sailors after months at sea. Exotic details of squid, sake, kimonos, kasalans, cameos, and stringed rababas. We moved every other year being stationed to a new base, travelled deserts, mountains, and plains to the oceans. Each new home location had it's own climate, it's own rythym of dialect, but Navy Housing tied the experiences together.

Picture I drew of people in their roots.

Even so, with the codes of uniformness, many neighbors carried distinct cultural heritage. Filippino, Mexican, Jamaican, Swedish. The cultures of the states themselves were noticable; California, Connecticut, Washington, South Carolina (the North, South, East and West subcultures of America).

As a young adult I delighted in the experience of coming to know people who were from other countries. Lerato, a young woman from South Africa, was boarding a Portland Greyhound bus to travel to another state, to stay with relatives. Her father was with her to see her off. Serendipitously, her father overheard my conversation with my parents, who were also waiting in line to see me off. I was going to the same city that Lerato was travelling to. Her father told me that she was here recently from Africa, did not speak English, and asked me if would look after her on our travels. I ordered the meal that she pointed at the picture of in McDonald's on a layover, and wondered while we ate if she liked the chicken sandwich. On the road, we both pointed to a glowing rainbow outside of the bus window and smiled at each other.

Picture I drew of woman working in cactus fields.

Siani, a Chinese singer on tour, stayed in our home one night. Even though she took the American name of 'Sunny' while touring, she did not speak English, nor I Chinese, so we drew pictures to each other through the evening. I envied the gardens she drew surrounding the picture of her house, and she wondered at the sky reaching evergreen trees surrounding mine.

Syed had emigrated from Iran many years before he stayed with our family for a month. I listened with full senses to his stories from his homeland and his anxieties over war which placed his relatives in danger. There was nothing more important to him than his daughter, Miriam; and he delighted in making my children laugh as well.

My 2 year old added to this piece I was working on.

Of course with time many opportunities arrived to meet people from other lands; Dawn and Lynn, sisters from Great Britain. Halim from Lebanon, Alejandro and Anna from Guatalajara, Shavir from Fiji, Renan from Brazil, and so on....each friendship a jewel of life experience for me.

As I had children of my own, my understanding of humanity tapped into the very roots of nature itself.

(continued in following post).

This post is the story from the seeds of the Humanity Project video series at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/streetinspired
View a Humanity Project video below: Eat Pray Love Humanity