It's funny that I keep catching myself thinking things that are not very culturally sensitive or aware. One very recent example involved a colleague in Nepal helping me to set up some faculty development workshops and training sessions that Joan and I will be delivering. We were trying to work out the schedule and I proposed some dates - April 6th and 7th. She got back to me to tell me that April 6th would not work because Wednesdays are holidays in Nepal - could I suggest some other dates. I did, but caught myself thinking - "Well that's perfect! If Wednesday is a holiday, then that would work very well for us to hold a workshop that day - why can't we just do it then?" I didn't say this to her and I quickly realized that this was my North American mentality kicking in. Judging others as "lazy" or not using time wisely when really they are doing what is not only appropriate for their culture, but also something that would be much better if we lived and worked in the same manner here!
The things you can learn!
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