Tuesday, December 1, 2009

What Kind of Fertilizer Do You Use?

Eyre writes of a mission trip she took with some of her nine children to Africa. During the mission trip the teenaged Africans were allowed to ask the teenaged Americans any questions they wanted. One of the first questions asked was "What kind of fertilizer do you use?"

That questions shocked Eyre (as well as the teenagers). She immediately knew just how different the two cultures were. The African teens clearly lived in an agricultural world and were concerned about and involved in the actual growing of crops. The American teens probably could not even name a fertilizer and most likely spent no time or energy considering different types of fertilizer.

I love reading about different cultures and about the collision of cultures. I am so enmeshed in my culture and end up with such narrow tunnel vision. I like to have my mind "stirred up" on a regular basis, even if it is only vicariously through reading a book.

This post was inspired by the book "Joyful Mother of Children" by Linda Eyre.

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