Hopeful and Hopeless in Athens

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My wife and I have been in Athens for a week. We've experienced a bizarre juxtaposition of emotion and experience: on one hand, we're seriously exploring the possibility of including this great city in a World to the Wise cultural tour at some point in the future, so we spent the first few days exploring this city that began casting a long shadow almost 3,000 years ago. From the obviously stunning sights like the Acropolis, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Ancient Agora and the Roman Forum to the neighborhood Greek Orthodox churches that have been calling the faithful for over 1,000 years, to the warmth of the Greek people themselves, we have predictably fallen in love with the city.

On the other hand, we are also here to volunteer with a nonprofit reaching out to the thousands of refugees currently stranded here in Greece. Meeting them and listening to their stories is nothing short of heartbreaking. We have visited them in camps at Pyraeus, the port of Athens, as well as in what are called squats -- abandoned buildings such as schools, where they set up tents in the classrooms and attempt to make the best of a desperate situation.

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I spent some time talking to a small group of Syrian men at the port. Their tents are grouped around one of the port terminal buildings, apparently not currently in use. They greeted me warmly, led by a man in his 40s who was the best English speaker and served as the group's mouthpiece. All of them have family (or a fiancee in one case) waiting for them in Germany, and are themselves waiting to be processed. This can mean waiting for a first interview, or for a second one months away. And in the meantime, they wait, forming temporary family units as there is virtually no such thing as an intact family in the camps. More than one young man spent months in prison for refusing to serve in Bashar Al Assad's army. If they set foot back in Syria, they are imprisoned or worse.

But these men have some form of hope. They hope to eventually be admitted into Germany or another northern European country and reunited with their loved ones. This is what prevents them from despair.

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Others are not so fortunate. Becky and I spent some time talking with and teaching English to a small group of Afghani women yesterday. Two of them are sisters and one is a sister-in-law. Two out of three were widowed by the Taliban. They lost everything to escape with their lives, paying $3000 per person to be whisked away in the night by car. They are now a family unit in themselves, along with the eleven or so children between them.

Their biggest problem is that Afghanistan is currently not recognized by the powers that be (UN, EU, etc.) as a nation at war, so there is no way these ladies can be granted political asylum. They were granted permission to stay one month in Greece, and that was four months ago. So now they wait, illegally, but with nowhere to go and no known recourse.

I was struck by their warm smiles and upbeat manner the entire time -- that is, until they began to tell, through the 17-year-old daughter who spoke decent English, about their ordeal. The more she told, the more their countenances all fell and revealed the utter exhaustion and despair they must be living with constantly. They only get 2-3 hours of sleep in the building where they are being housed because of the incessant crying of small children through the night, and the 3 days a week they come to the church facilities where we are based are an oasis in more ways than one.

So Becky and I live each day in this bizarre blend of adventure and discovery, and heartbreak and unanswerable questions, while a Syrian man, separated from his family, sweeps the eight square feet of parking lot outside the tent he calls home.

Be sure to tune in to my podcast this week for more updates and stories.

The Fiddler Is Still on the Roof

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While browsing through hundreds of photos on a computer at home, looking for a good photo of my mother for Mothers' Day, I came across this photo of myself as Tevye in Lifesong Theatre Group's production of Fiddler on the Roof. The next morning, I turned on NPR in the car and got in on the end of a Studio 360 story on the history of the Broadway musical, two years after its 50th anniversary. Fiddler is one of the highest grossing, longest running in Broadway history. The photo alone was enough to take me back to an emotion-packed experience for me. In some ways I found myself relating to Tevye's ongoing dialog with God, particularly, at that time in my life, his complaints to God about his circumstances. The fact that he felt free to openly address his concerns to God revealed a very present faith on the one hand, with room for doubts and questions on the other.

The story of Fiddler, which originated as a series of short stories published in 1894 called Tevye the Dairy Man by Sholom Aleichem,  continues to resonate on so many levels. In an age where cultural change is only accelerating, it challenges our ability to deal with change while reexamining the traditions we hold dear. It also reminds us, as Tevye and his family and friends are driven out of the village of Anatevka by the Bolsheviks and face a new life in America, that in the 21st century we are all nations of immigrants. The story takes us inside the mind and heart of someone who is being forced from their centuries-long homeland, giving the word "refugee" a face and a life.

In the United States, we have talked so much about the American dream and the Land of Opportunity that we risk assuming everyone wants to come here -- unless we ourselves have experienced what it's like to huddle with the few we know, longing for home, against a mass of strangers in a strange land.

These are the people my wife and I are soon going to be meeting in Greece. For them, the fiddler still represents the precarious balance between keeping traditions and dealing with change. I look forward with mixed emotions to the experience. I'm pretty certain that I'm not quite prepared for the barrage of emotions awaiting us, but I'm quite certain one of them will be a feeling of helplessness against the plight of the Syrians, Afghans and others who have been forced out of their homes.

I'll be documenting our experiences on this blog, as well as occasional vlogs and possibly Blab sessions. Stay tuned for an adventure that you're invited to live with us vicariously. Better yet, sign up below as a member of the "culturally curious"  tribe so you don't miss a thing.

To Tip or Not to Tip

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Are you a good tipper? Are you an automatic tipper, or do you tip depending on the quality of the service provided? We first need to point out that tipping is not a universal custom. In most European countries, restaurant patrons are not expected to tip at the end of a meal. But we need to be quick to add that servers there are paid a living wage, as opposed to the US, where most states have loopholes that allow employers to pay FAR below the minimum wage.

It is generally assumed in the United States that good service will bring good tips, but that rule doesn't necessarily always hold up.

How did the custom of tipping get started in the first place? Most historians agree the tip first came about in the European coffee houses of the 16th century. Some even say it was a sort of bribe, paid up front, in hopes of receiving faster service.

Something that might lend credibility to that theory is the word for "tip" in many other languages, mostly Germanic -- literally, it means "drink money" -- implying that the server didn't necessarily depend on tip money to pay rent or buy food, but that it was a little extra pocket money for a drink or two after work.

These days, for millions of workers, the tip is much more than a little extra something. In the US, because servers, porters and others in the service industry are paid a pitiful hourly wage (my son is paid $2.13 per hour without tips), you can and should assume that your server is underpaid. In the US, where the customer is king, the tip is the server's incentive to provide great service. If it's counter service and your server is attentive, don't ignore the tip jar. If it's table service, assume that good service deserves at least a 20% tip. If the service is poor, a lesser tip should send a message that there is room for improvement.

Does this mean that in countries where the service is included the service will be less than good? Not necessarily.

What has been your experience? Do you work in the service industry? As a customer, do you put some thought into how much you tip?

Sometimes It's Easier to Just Put on Adele

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Maybe you've seen the SNL sketch. The Thanksgiving table brings together not only family members with differing opinions, but also significant others of those family members. Let's face it: sometimes it's harder to be with family members we don't see very often than the friends we live life with on a regular basis. Sometimes it's just easier to put on Adele.

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Whatever the case, what's in order is a little more listening, a little more level-headedness, and yes, the ability to laugh at ourselves.

That's why I've created the World to the Wise podcast. Sometimes someone else's story is what we need to hear in order to look at life through another set of lenses.

Some people are born curious. Others have to cultivate curiosity -- and it can be done. I can tell you that in many ways I am more curious than I was when I was younger. And the more I discover about the world around me, the richer I am.

I'm richer after hearing the story of Dr. Ming Wang, who came from the oppression of the Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1960's to become one of the world's top laser physicists and eye surgeons. Or Chris Guillebeau, who set out on a quest to visit every country on the planet. Or a biracial couple living in the American South, a Christian university professor who believes we need to think differently about Muslims, or a German couple working with Syrian refugees to get them integrated as quickly as possible in their new home. These are ordinary people with extraordinary stories of crossing cultural bridges.

The first two stories mentioned are now released and waiting for you to hear. The others are in the pipeline. Just click here to listen to the individual episodes, or click on the World to the Wise graphic on the right to subscribe. When you do, it would be great if you would take a minute and write a quick review. This will go a long way to getting us noticed in the searches.

Here's to cultural curiosity -- we've only just started!

"We Will Sing of You" - the Family Saga

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My oldest son told me a story that I had to pass on to you: He was talking to a colleague at work who is a veteran of either the navy or the Marines, he's not sure which. We'll call him Sam. At one time Sam was stationed in Iceland, where they would partner from time to time with the Icelandic coast guard in occasional search and rescue missions.

On one occasion Sam and his cohorts were called up for a rescue mission that, for them, was fairly routine. A small boat off the Icelandic coast was caught in rough weather and was taking on water. A father and his two sons had called for help.

Sam and his team arrived by helicopter above the listing boat. He estimates that a half hour later it would have been too late and the boat would have disappeared into the icy Norwegian Sea. The victims were safely taken on board, and although certainly soaked and freezing, escaped the ordeal unharmed.

Shortly afterwards, a banquet was held for the rescuers, attended not only by the family of  rescuees, the American servicemen and their Icelandic counterparts, but also by the President of Iceland himself.

At one point the wife and mother of the rescued family came up to Sam, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and said,

"We will sing of you."

Sam wasn't quite sure what to make of this. He of course knew it was an expression of gratitude, but it wasn't until his Icelandic coast guard counterpart explained its significance that he realized the import of the moment.

The lady was referring to the family saga. In Nordic cultures, tales of great deeds have for centuries been passed on by oral tradition from generation to generation. Some of those sagas are put to music. Some tell of feats of heroism, others of family histories. Such was the case here, and this particular family was so thankful for the safe return of their family members that they had decided to compose a new verse in honor of their rescuers.

Imagine a song being sung in your honor for generations. All because you were just doing your job. To this day, Sam tears up telling the story.

So would I.

Starbucks' Most Audacious (and Craziest?) Move Yet

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There is a reason so many of the coffee terms at Starbucks and other coffee shops sound Italian. They are. Except that some of them are misused. We'll get to that in a minute, but the big news is that Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has decided to circle back to the city where he first had the idea to create a new coffee shop concept: Milan, Italy. The very idea of a Starbucks in the land of the original espresso is a bold move for sure, and many are those who say it will never work. Don't let the menu peppered with Italian words fool you; Starbucks culture is worlds apart from Italian coffee culture. A few significant differences:

• Good luck convincing an Italian to drink coffee out of a cardboard cup.
• Capuccino is served in the morning ONLY. I've even been to Italian coffee bars where there is a sign stating so in no uncertain terms for American tourists.
• All the other variations on a coffee theme Starbucks has concocted over the years, with other franchises following suit, might be a hard sell in Italy. Pumpkin flavor in coffee? Almond soy half-caff? In Italy, caffè è caffè.
• The idea of hanging out with your coffee drink and a laptop for a couple of hours is practically unknown in Italy. The current m.o. is to drink your espresso quickly, often standing up, at the corner coffee bar, then going on about your day.

At this point, Starbucks is planning just one experimental store in Milan. Many eyes will be on that one location to see if the idea might fly in the rest of the country.

Just for fun, here are the literal meanings of some of the Italian words you'll find on a Starbucks menu board or other American coffee shop:

• Espresso - express
• Latte - milk
• Macchiato - stained (although Italians do use the term caffè machiatto to mean "coffee with milk")
• Affogato - drowned
• Venti - twenty
• Mocha - besides the meaning understood in English, a mocha is also the Italian name for the quintessential Italian coffeemaker pictured here:

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Do you have a prediction? Will it fly?

The Revival of Irish

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The language St. Patrick must have learned in order to evangelize the Irish hasn't always been looked on very favorably by other people. Under the British repression that lasted hundreds of years, Irish Gaelic was actually banned from the country of its origin. Fast forward and you find a bit of a revival of the Emerald Isle's mother tongue. It is estimated that only about 130,000 people speak the language fluently, but over a million are believed to understand it to one degree or another.

We English speakers may find it difficult to understand why anyone would go to the trouble of learning a language spoken by such a relatively small number of people. But this betrays our lack of understanding of the strong nationalist spirit still very much alive in Ireland. Even though it is still only a minority in Ireland who speak Irish fluently, it is seen as a symbol of national pride and unity.

One of seven original Gaelic languages, Irish has taken many hits over the years. Besides the British ban on speaking the language in public, the great Irish famine of the 1840's wiped out 20-25% of the entire Irish population, including a good number of native speakers. Many of these also emigrated to the United States and other English-speaking countries.

Even the fact that many Irishmen fought alongside the British in the Great War (WWI) didn't do much toward reviving the fading language. Nor apparently did Irish independence in 1922, even though there are a number of areas designated as Gaeltacht, or Gaelic-language areas.

In recent years, however, a revival has begun to be seen springing up in urban and rural areas alike. The government now favors those learning Irish with different sorts of grants, and Irish colleges give students a 10% boost in their grades for studying in Irish. Tens of thousands of Irish youth attend summer colleges in the Gaeltacht, living with Irish-speaking families.

Irish Gaelic today is not only the official national language of Ireland, but since 2007 has been one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. And chances are, when you venture into any Irish pub (one more thing on my bucket list), you'll hear the irresistible sound of Irish music sung in the mother tongue.

To hear a newscast in Irish, click here. To hear an old Irish storyteller who only speaks Irish and neither reads nor writes, click here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day -- and sláinte! (To your health!)

Let the Countdown Begin!

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In exactly one month from today, we launch the World to the Wise podcast! I'm looking forward to it for so many reasons. It will give me a chance to connect in a more personal way with friends, readers, and subscribers around the world. And that's the exciting part -- you can listen from practically anywhere on the planet! Sometimes it's easier to SAY what you have to say than to write it. I'll be more spontaneous. In a sense, you'll have a clearer picture of who this David Durham guy is.

The podcast will also give me the opportunity to introduce you to some fascinating people. I've already begun interviewing some of these, and on launch date, April 8, you'll have a chance to meet at least one or two of them. People like Chris Guillebeau, who made it a personal quest to visit every country on the planet. Like Dr. Ming Wang, who escaped the horrors of China's Cultural Revolution to become one of the top pioneering eye surgeons in the world. Or a pair of doctors who have given their lives to bring healing in the hungriest nation on earth.

What do all of my interviewees have in common? All of them have crossed some kind of cultural bridge. Usually voluntarily, sometimes not so much.

In between interviews, I'll be sharing some of my own musings, observations, and stories for the culturally curious. Stories about language, about navigating the changing times we live in, and about discovering cultural gems around the world as well as at home.

I would love for you to join the adventure. This includes writing to me about cultural topics you would like to see addressed. Please leave your comments! What would you like to talk about?

Braking for Coffee Break

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I was living in Amsterdam, and as part of my Dutch language learning practicum I was assigned to an office job at the national headquarters of the Salvation Army. Every morning, somewhere around 10:00, the coffee and tea lady would arrive at our office with her cart and serve us a proper cup of our choice, accompanied by a cookie. (Cultural note: NEVER take more than one cookie at a time in Holland!) Every person in the office would stop what he or she was doing and we would sit in a circle to enjoy our coffee break. And no paper or styrofoam cups, thank you -- only porcelain. We did a concert tour in Sweden around the same time period, and quickly fell in love with fika, a hallowed coffee break tradition. In our case, it was often served to us late at night after the concert, but it is a regular part of the Swedish daily routine, often observed more than once in the day.

When in my home away from home, French-speaking Switzerland, I stay with my dear friends and partners in [musical] crime, François and Christine. Every day, whether we're working together in their home studio or each one working individually, we gather at the kitchen table for mid-morning AND mid-afternoon coffee. (Again, tea in my case. You'd think by now and with all my travels I would have learned to like coffee. Nope.) And since it's Switzerland, after all, there is often a bite or two of chocolate. (If I ate as much Swiss chocolate as I wanted, I wouldn't fit through their front door.)

What has had a most lasting impression on my wife and me, however, has been our relationship with our dear friends from New Zealand, Neil and Jill. We were colleagues in Amsterdam, and they even lived with us for a few months while waiting for an apartment to open up in the same complex. Whether at home or at the office, it was hardwired into them to stop (key word: "stop") for coffee or tea: coffee mid-morning and tea mid-afternoon (or maybe vice versa). And sure enough, during our visit to New Zealand in January 2015, the only way their tradition had changed was that now they were drinking high-end, artisan coffee, a la flat white.

In fact, in most countries we have visited, there is a coffee or tea break tradition of some kind. "Elevenses" and cream tea come to mind in the UK, "la merienda" in Spanish-speaking countries, Gabelfrüstück in Austria, and so on. In many of these traditions, the coffee or tea is accompanied by a baked snack of some kind -- cookies, cakes, rolls, etc.

In the US, it's not as if coffee has no place -- on the contrary. But it seems the coffee break is an endangered species. How often do you find yourself pressing the pause button in your work, making or buying a cup of java or tea, and actually sitting with someone else to enjoy it? More than likely, we're on our smartphones while caffeinating. Or, in the case of yours truly, we just keep working at our computer with coffee (tea for me) in arm's reach.

What if we started a movement to bring back the coffee break as an important part of our day? In the US, companies are required to pay employees for a 15-minute break twice a day. (If this is inaccurate or has changed, someone let me know. I'm in academia.)

Tell us about a coffee break tradition that is special to you! Would you like to see the return of the real coffee break?

Should Your Children Learn Chinese?

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I was recently invited to a Chinese New Year celebration as the Year of the Monkey opens. One of the hosts was Dr. Ming Wang, whom I have mentioned in earlier posts and who is going to be my guest on an upcoming podcast later this spring. Dr. Wang spoke briefly on the evolving relationship between the Chinese and American economies. He spoke of the slowdown in the Chinese economy as a necessary adjustment, something all economies must go through on the road to maturity.

Dr. Wang is a co-founder of the Tennessee American-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (TAC3), which exists to facilitate business partnerships between China and the state of Tennessee. While many Americans are concerned about the enormity of US debt owned by China, TAC3 encourages American business people and entrepreneurs to push against the negative talk and invest in the Chinese market -- but not in a haphazard or uninformed manner.

Here are a couple of important take-aways from Dr. Wang's remarks:

1. Right now there are more Chinese actively learning English than there are people in the United States. Why are they learning English? Yes, partly because they plan to travel to the US or other English-speaking countries. But primarily, according to Dr. Wang, because they want to learn what their customers want -- the first rule of any business. And for every ten thousand Chinese learning English, it is tough to find one American learning Chinese.
2. If you want to do good business with China -- or any other culture, for that matter -- and you want to make a favorable impression, you should learn to view that culture from their perspective. Learn their history. Learn their philosophy of life. In the context of China, it is wise to learn something about Confucianism and how it still affects Chinese daily life today. Learn what is appropriate in face-to-face meetings. (Terri Morrison and Wayne Conaway's book Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands is a great resource.)

So should American schools at least offer Mandarin? Seems like a no brainer. The world economy is shifting towards Asia, whether you as an American intend to do business there or not. We can look at the Chinese as an adversary -- or we can engage them.

Have you or your children begun learning Chinese? Is it offered in your local schools? Tell us about it!

The Unfinished Bridge

Photo: Andrea Schaffer

I've seen it so many times.

As I'm sure you do, I know quite a few people who are second generation immigrants to the US. Many are Hispanic, but there are lots of other ethnic and linguistic groups represented. And one of the saddest things I see is when the children speak only English. For whatever reason, the parents stopped speaking their native tongue with the children at some point.

Few would question, of course, the necessity of learning English in order to succeed in the US or any other English-speaking country. But how many parents have unwittingly deprived their children of an entire dimension of their cultural heritage by not raising them bilingually. A bridge unfinished. This is poignantly depicted in this story from PRI's The World in Words. I encourage you to take a listen.

Of course, it's easy for me to judge these people from the outside looking in. I've never felt the extreme pressure to fit in that prevents so many from speaking their native tongue. Many immigrants my age and older came over with parents who were determined that their children would assimilate into mainstream American culture as quickly as possible, so they even stopped speaking their native tongue at home. (In more recent times, it seems the parents tend to maintain their mother tongue more than in previous generations, in such a way that a native Spanish speaker can live an entire lifetime in the US without learning English. That's for another post.) Or sometimes it happened more naturally over a longer period of time. English began to replace the original family language because that's what was happening just outside the front door.

Take my sister-in-law, for example. She is a fourth generation Mexican American. Her parents were both perfectly bilingual and spoke mostly Spanish to the older children. But by the time the younger children came along, including my sister-in-law, the family conversations had morphed into mostly English, with only occasional Spanish words thrown in.

As a result, my sister-in-law was not confident enough in her Spanish to speak it with her own children, who she and my brother would have liked to grow up bilingually. Her two children, my nephew and niece, both look Hispanic, with piercing dark eyes, so many Hispanics address them in Spanish, only to be told they don't speak it.

But the PRI story doesn't stop there, laying the blame squarely on the parents for the fact that their children are monolingual. The child also has choices, as the narrator recognizes at the end. So he goes from saying, "OK, Dad, why did you kill Spanish in our family?" to "OK, I'm the one who killed it." So began his own journey to learning the language of his ancestors.

Do you have a similar story? Or a variation? Tell us about it!

"Nunchi": The Art of Anticipating

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The Far East is known for being extremely hospitable. But there is a concept in Korea that goes beyond hospitality. It's called nunchi.

Nunchi is anticipating not only someone's needs, such as expecting you to be thirsty when you come in from a long trip, or having the sugar within arm's reach when you need it for your tea.

It is about anticipating someone's mood. Being aware of others' presence. Knowing what to say in certain situations -- and what not to say. Yes, anyone who practices hospitality with nunchi will be a cut above the rest; but there is a lesson here for all of us.

It has to do with emotional intelligence. It means not being so self-absorbed that you are not aware of what is going on around you. It means respecting others' space and watching out for their well being. This is so important in Korean that there are a number of words and expressions that have nunchi as part of them. If someone is completely clueless, they are called nunchi eopta -- without nunchi.

Wy wife, who teaches world geography, makes a point to introduce her students to the concept of nunchi. It has become a part of their collective vocabulary. And as one of the students put it, "It's not nunchi if you have to be asked."

How can you learn to practice the art of nunchi?

Family First

I am excited to announce the upcoming launch of my new podcast! Tentatively entitled the World to the Wise podcast, in keeping with the name of our company, we will explore new perspectives on culture, including language learning, as well as listen to compelling stories from fascinating people. One such person is Dr. Ming Wang, whom I had the pleasure of meeting a few years ago as a guest panelist at the Tennessee Chinese Chamber of Commerce, which Dr. Wang founded. He was one of the first people I contacted for an interview as I was setting about recording a handful of podcast episodes before we launch. He graciously accepted and we set a date. Just a few days later, I noticed online that his new autobiography, From Darkness to Sight: A Journey from Hardship to Healing, had just come out. I had to read it before the interview! So we postponed the interview and my wife and I are devouring his fascinating story.

You'll be hearing a good deal more about my interview with Dr. Wang, but here is one central theme for starters: throughout his incredible journey from the poverty and oppression of the Cultural Revolution in Mao's China to his astounding success, first as a student and then as an eye surgeon in the United States, his first thought was to bring honor to his family.

In fact, in China and other Eastern cultures, the family name actually comes first. He would be called Wang Ming-xu if he still lived there. (He dropped the "xu" part upon arrival in the US.) I would be called Durham David. The family entity takes priority over the individual identity of the family member. At every milestone on his way to becoming an internationally renowned physician and surgeon, Ming thought of making his family proud. Of honoring the family name.

I can't wait for you to hear more of the story of this remarkable man. Stories of overcoming enormous obstacles, of the gentle encouragement of two devoted parents, of record-setting success against all odds, of facing racial discrimination and prejudice in the Land of the Free, and of a generosity of spirit that is an example to many.

Stay tuned. And in the meantime, you can order Dr. Wang's compelling autobiography From Darkness to Sight: A Journey from Hardship to Healing for an inspiring read.

Border Blues

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My wife and I both have memories of numerous stops at national borders in Europe in the 80's and 90's. Passports were stamped, currency was changed -- in fact, we often had to carry four or five different currencies with us, depending on the number of countries we were going to be traveling through. The number of stamps in our passports shrank dramatically, however, with the creation of the Schengen Area.

Many people think the open borders in Western Europe coincided with the creation of the Euro zone, but in fact, they were and are two separate entities. I have to confess to not knowing until today where the name "Schengen" comes from: it is the name of the town in Luxembourg where the agreement between 22 of the 28 countries of the then European Community was signed. The idea was to facilitate travel between these countries, effectively becoming a single country as far as international travel is concerned. (The Euro zone came later, establishing the euro as the common currency for nineteen member states in 2000.)

Today, the open borders are a subject of great tension and debate. Over one million refugees have flooded into the Schengen Area, creating enormous strain on a system that most Europeans don't want to see reversed. And yet, the 20-year-old agreement seems on the breaking point. Even the countries whose arms were the most open to welcome the hundreds of thousands of migrants, such as Germany, Sweden and Denmark, are reining in their liberal policies as they groan under the weight. The Danish parliament has even passed a plan where border officials can seize any assets above $1450 from migrants, as long as said items are considered non-essential and have no sentimental value.

It's looking possible that the open borders of the Schengen area could be suspended for up to two years. It could be hello again to long lines and waits at border crossings, something the younger generation knows nothing about.

But more importantly, the fate of the refugees who continue to stream into Europe, primarily through Greece, remains uncertain at best. My wife and I have been greatly impacted by this situation -- stay tuned for further developments as we look at possible ways to be of service.

Sunni? Shiite? Why Care? Part 2

Teenagers hands playing tug-of-war with used rope

(For part 1 of this post, click here.)

Misconception number 2: There is no significant difference between Sunni and Shiite. 

So here's the deal: After the prophet *Muhammad died in 632 AD, his followers decided a leader should be chosen to lead the people and settle disputes as the prophet had done. This office was called the khalifa ("successor"), or caliph. The first caliph was Muhammad's friend, Abu Bakr. The next three caliphs were also close friends or relatives of Muhammad, including his son-in-law, Ali. (Ali's wife was Fatima, daughter of Muhammad.) Ali was murdered by a disgruntled follower, and his rival, Mu-awiyah, became the first caliph of a powerful dynasty called the Umayyad dynasty. But Ali's son, Husayn, wasn't going to take this lying down. His army fought the Umayyads, but Husayn and many of his followers were massacred.

So here is the historical explanation of the Sunni-Shiite conflict: the majority of Muslims (about 85%), known as the Sunni, believed that the caliph was primarily a political and military leader, not a religious authority. The minority Shiites (10-15%), those who followed Ali and Husayn, believed that the caliph must be a descendant of Ali, through Fatima.

Today, if you ask a Sunni or a Shiite to explain their differences, however, you may hear other reasons. The doctrinal differences that initially divided the two groups are given greater or lesser importance, depending on whom you ask. There are certainly political and religious differences: Shiites generally do not acknowledge the authority of elected government officials, holding to the belief that all authority -- political AND religious -- should be in the hands of the imam, or Muslim cleric, whom they believe to be without sin. This is why the Supreme Leader of Iran, for example, is Ali Khamenei, an imam, not the president, Hassan Rouhani. The Sunni-Shia divide can also be seen in certain rituals such as prayer and marriage.

Are these differences essential and crucial to all Muslims? No. Millions of Muslims prefer to simply refer to themselves as Muslim. The reason you might have the impression that all Muslims are militant on either one side or the other is, just as in most situations (American politics comes to mind), it is the extremists who make the most noise.  In some regions it has become more like an intense sibling rivalry and a competition for power and territory. Think of the conflict in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics: if one of each sat down across from each other, their debate (to put it kindly) would not be over the worship of Mary or the sale of indulgences. It would be other hostilities that have festered for generation upon generation. It would be over the fact that So-and-so killed my uncle or my cousin. In truth, many of the Middle Eastern conflicts are not religious conflicts at all. Often cloaked in religious language, they are power struggles. They are tribalism alive and well. They are the Capulets and the Montagues.

This is important as we attempt to follow ever-changing developments in the Middle East and other areas of conflict among Muslims. Iran, along with Lebanon and most of Iraq, is primarily Shiite. Saudi Arabia, an ally of the U.S. (that's another discussion), is majority Sunni. At this writing, the tension between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia is so high that diplomatic relations have been severed.

Saddam

You cannot understand the dynamics of the Iraq War OR the Iran-Saudi tensions unless you get this Sunni-Shiite piece. I am no foreign policy expert, but apparently neither were the decision makers in charge of the first American invasion of Iraq. The vacuum and ensuing civil war that followed the toppling of Saddam Hussein were all about the power struggle between Sunni and Shia (not to mention hundreds of splinter groups on each side), and the ongoing instability because of this is something the Americans would have done well to anticipate. Although Saddam had a strangle hold on the power in Iraq, he was a Sunni, who are in the minority in Iraq. So when he was yanked out of power by the American-led coalition, what ensued was a power struggle that is still going on and blocking this war-torn nation from stability. It is becoming increasingly more clear that neither the US nor any other Western power will be able to bring an end to these hostilities that existed long before the first American soldier set foot on Iraqi soil.

For a concise and objective explanation of this epic struggle, I recommend you listen to this brief clip from PRI's The World.

And ISIS? That's yet another story. Stay tuned.

*You'll see different spellings of the prophet's name (e.g. Mohammed), as they are all approximate transcriptions from the Arabic.

Sunni? Shiite? Why Care?

Allahu akhbar

For years now, the news has been chock full of the words Sunni and Shia (or Shiite). What do they mean and why should we care? For Westerners not directly affected by the conflicts in the Middle East, it is easy to just ignore these labels. Or worse, some will say "those Arabs are all the same, as far as I'm concerned." Nothing could be farther than the truth, and for us to make any sense at all of what is going on -- and this conflict is getting closer to home all the time -- it is important to have a basic understanding of the major players. And they're not all Arabs.

Misconception number 1: All Muslims in the Middle East are Arabs. 

Yes, the vast majority of Arabs are Muslim, and the majority of the peoples of the Middle East are Arabs from one tribe or another. But there are some notable and very important exceptions:

Iran is the ancient Persia (once the most vast empire on the planet), and Persians are NOT Arabs. Nor is their language Arabic. Yes, they use the Arabic alphabet, but their native tongue is Farsi and happens to use Arabic script. Do yourself and your Iranian neighbor or acquaintance a kindness by not, as in NEVER, calling him or her an Arab. They are a very proud people and once a great civilization. Most Iranians are at least nominal Muslims, but there is a very small Jewish minority and even a few Christians, although the state says that only Assyrians and Armenians may be Christian.

The Kurds are not Arabs. The Kurds, who live in parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran, are widely believed to be descendants of the ancient Medes. (You may remember seeing them mentioned in the Old Testament. Does the "law of the Medes and the Persians" ring a bell?) The Kurds are the largest people group in the world without their own state. (On a side note, Nashville, where I live, is home to the largest Kurdish community in the U.S.) Many Kurds speak Arabic, but their native tongue is, of all things, Kurdish. It also uses the Arabic alphabet, so you'll be forgiven for thinking they were one and the same.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where we look at the difference between Sunni and Shiite and why it matters. Nothing in the Middle East will make much sense without a basic understanding of this conflict.

Day 12: Around the World in 12 Days

23globe-paris-xmas-blog480

After circling the globe and dropping in on friends in the four corners of the earth, it seemed fitting to end our journey with a tribute to our friends who have suffered more than their share of trauma in the past year: les Français. For those who know that I am an avowed francophile and French speaker, it may come as a surprise that I have never spent Christmas in France. I spent six years in Switzerland, just half an hour from the French border, but can't say I've had the pleasure of a purely French Christmas. That said, there are many traditions in the French-speaking part of Switzerland that are shared with the French. It seems Christmas in Paris has passed relatively uneventfully this year. Thank God. According to some of my friends, emotions are understandably a little more intense for Parisians who celebrate Christmas. And just as many Americans in the US love to be in New York City at Christmas time, many French and foreigners alike flock to Paris to see the lights and sights. From the famed Champs-Elysées:

Ferrris wheel

...to the Eiffel Tower, whose second level is turned into an ice skating rink:

Eiffel-Tower-skating

...to the posh department stores such as Galeries Lafayette:

galeries lafayette

...there is something for everyone.

50_marche_noel_Strasbourg[1]

But those outside Paris will tell you that there is much more to see in France than Paris -- and they of course are absolutely right. Because the country has many diverse regions, Christmas customs can also be just as diverse. One of my favorite cities is Strasbourg, just across the Rhine River from Germany. The city calls itself La Capitale de Noël, and it's not hard to see why. Its Christmas markets make even the grinches among us want to get out and do some browsing, stopping perhaps for a cup of vin chaud or some hot chestnuts.

buche9

France is famously secular, but there are still many who will attend a midnight Christmas mass if at no other time of year. The big Christmas Eve feast, called the réveillon, very often includes seafood such as shrimp, oysters, or lobster, and other famous French delicacies such as escargots and foie gras (goose liver paté), often alongside a roast turkey with chestnuts. Dessert, more often than not, will be a bûche de Noël (Yule log). It is generally a yellow sponge cake in the form of a roulade, iced with chocolate buttercream or ganache frosting to look like an actual log. Perhaps not the most visually appetizing, but delicious nonetheless (at least the Swiss ones are). The origin of the actual Yule log burned in many European hearths on Christmas Eve is unclear, likely dating back to pre-Christian paganism like many other modern traditions. But blogger Gerard Paul sheds some good light on the history here.

Just a few days later, there will be another réveillon, this time at New Year's, also called Saint Sylvestre. Here you will taste some of the finest cuisine, wines, and champagne, as they toast each other and the prospects of a new year.

May those prospects be the most hopeful yet for our amis français.

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!

Day 11: Around the World in 12 Days

From Bella Italia we head back across the Atlantic to Central America. As in other parts of the Americas, Guatemala's culture is a blend of indigenous and European heritage, with more than 20 ethnic groups represented. The Christmas tree is an imported custom from German immigrants and is generally erected and decorated around the 1st of December. But at the foot of the tree is a very special component of Guatemalan Christmas: the Nacimiento, or Nativity. Tradition has it that the first Nacimiento was brought from the Canary islands by a monk named Pedro de Betancourt, considered the St. Francis of Guatemala. You will find one in virtually every home, but they vary tremendously in design and detail:

...from simple wood carvings:

simple nacimiento

... to Mayan influence:

Mayan nacimiento

...to a regal touch:

regal nacimiento

Christmas decorations are a must in Guatemala. Not only are the houses decorated, but the streets of towns and villages as well. Some large corporations even finance the decorating of entire neighborhoods.

As in many other cultures, the first Sunday of December is the beginning of the Advent season, marked by a wreath with four colored candles and fifth white one, symbolizing Christ as the Light of the world, to light on Christmas Eve.

On December 7 an age-old practice known as "Quema del diablo" (burning of the devil) can be seen. Old objects are thrown out of the house, symbolizing evil, and burned at night. From December 16 to 24, processionals called posadas are carried out through the neighborhoods. The posada commemorates Mary and Joseph's search for a safe haven. The party is turned away at each house until the previously arranged ninth one (la novena), where they are welcomed with hugs, goodies, and sometimes ponche (traditional Christmas punch).

Christmas Eve in Guatemala is a joyous cacophony of family celebrations, lighting of firecrackers called cohetillos, feasting, opening of presents for the children, and a midnight mass called la misa del gallo. (My friend Mario didn't explain why this mass is called the "mass of the rooster"!) The firecrackers are lit at six-hour intervals until noon on Christmas Day.

No Guatemalan Christmas feast is complete without multiple varieties of tamales, called chuchitos, often made ahead of time. Think of Grandma making Christmas cookies with the kids, only here it is tamales. Some are savory, with beef, chicken, or pork, and some are sweet, with apples, prunes, or raisins.

By Christmas Day, I can imagine everyone is ready for a rest, and rightly so.

Desde Guatemala, ¡Feliz Navidad!

Where will Day 12 take us? Stay tuned!

Day 10: Around the World in 12 Days

Christmas-in-Rome1

From Mother Russia we make our way west again, this time to Bella Italia! You might expect Christmas to be a big deal in the nation considered by many to be the cradle of Christianity -- and you would be right. But as in many if not most Western countries, there is great ambivalence when it comes to the religious aspect of the Christmas celebration. While the overwhelming majority of Italians are nominally Catholic, the Christmas Eve mass will likely be the only time most set foot in a church, and, as my friend Caty puts it, that is to "make grandma happy." The relatively small number of Evangelicals in Italy have what most outsiders would consider a reactionary approach to the expression of their faith, and not without historical reason. When the Evangelical movement came to Italy, its followers felt the need to distinguish themselves from what they considered unbiblical or even corrupt practices of the Roman Catholic church. As a result, today's evangelical churches might be decorated with holly, but you will rarely see a Nativity scene in an Evangelical church or family home. On the other hand, many Evangelicals see Christmas time as an opportunity to share the true meaning of Christmas with others.

There are actually two consecutive holidays in Italy: December 25 (Natale) and 26 (Santo Stefano). This is family time, perhaps more than any other holiday of the year; as the saying goes, "Natale con i tuoi, Pasquale con chi vuoi" ("Christmas with your family, Easter with whomever you like.") Generous gifts are exchanged, and as if Italians don't eat well year round, there are two big feasts: the cenone on Christmas Eve, then the big Christmas dinner during the day on Christmas. In the south and in coastal areas, seafood will have an important place. In the interior, such as Tuscany, you might find wild boar, roast beef, rabbit, and needless to say, lots of home made pasta. Most of us are familiar with panettone, the sweet Italian fruit bread that always comes out at this time of year, and torrone, or nougat, is also popular in different varieties.

Piazza-Navona

Many Italians enjoy the mercatini di Natale (Christmas markets), where Santa comes to hold court and children bring their letters for him with their Christmas wishes. Interestingly enough, there are relatively few Italian Christmas carols; this is why, according to my friend Adina, singers like Andrea Bocelli sing more English carols than Italian.

In addition to Christmas Day and Santo Stefano, there are two additional bookend national holidays related to the Christmas story: the Immaculate Conception (of Mary) on Dec. 8 and Epiphany on Jan. 6, commemorating the visit of the magi to the newborn Jesus.

Seems I'm always in Italy in the summer -- which I love -- but some day I'd like to celebrate Natale with my amici italiani!

Buon Natale!

Day 9: Around the World in 12 Days

Orthodox Christmas

christmas-in-russia

From the Far East we make our way west -- but not by much. At their closest point, Japan and Russia are only about three miles apart. It will be no surprise that Christmas was not widely celebrated in the USSR under Communist rule. Now with greater freedom, more people are celebrating, but mostly NOT on December 25. While a few Catholics and Evangelicals may celebrate with the West, the majority of Russians who profess faith are Russian Orthodox. While Advent in the West begins on the first day of December and goes until Christmas Day, Orthodox Advent lasts 40 days, from November 28 to January 6, with Christmas Day on January 7. The date discrepancy with Western tradition is due to the use of the Julian calendar in the Orthodox church. My friend Andrei tells me he and his family usually decorate the Christmas tree around the end of December and leave it up until about a week after Christmas Day. For Orthodox believers, Christmas is the end of a month-long fast, so you can believe the feasting is that much more meaningful! Many wait to break their fast until Christmas Eve when the first star appears in the sky. Because most of the gift giving is done at New Year's, the Christmas celebration is mostly about the birth of Christ (what a concept). Church services are festive, and this is a special time for families to be together.

A common staple of the Christmas meal is sochiva, a wheat or rice porridge served with honey, dried fruit, poppy seeds, or nuts. The porridge is sometimes eaten from a common dish, symbolizing unity. The rest of the meal might consist of sauerkraut, borscht (beet soup), individual vegetable pies, and different kinds of vegetable salads, topped off with a dessert of fruit pie, gingerbread cookies, or fruit and nuts.

At the end of the Christmas feast, a beverage called zvzar is often served. Made from dried fruit and honey boiled in water, it is customary at the birth of a child, hence at Christmas for the Christ child.

The Christmas celebration in Russia is in some ways overshadowed by New Year's, when Ded Moroz (Santa Claus equivalent, lit. "Grandfather Frost") makes his appearance and gifts are exchanged. But for the faithful who celebrate the First Coming of the Savior, Christmas remains...well, Christmas.

Stay tuned for the last three days of the Christmas trip around the world!