I actually didn't think I'd go. Kip wanted to leave super early -- at 3AM -- and I'm quite aware that I need a decent night's sleep to function, let alone stave off illness. So though my alarm and wake up call were set for 2:45AM, throughout the night whenever my mind turned to the upcoming excursion I intended to tell Kip and Jenny that they'd have to make the trip without me. But once the actual hour arrived, I felt energetic enough, and keenly aware that experiences like this come but rarely in life, so in the end it was Jenny who bailed to sleep in and Kip and I made the journey alone. Despite some initial communication hurdles as we tried to find a taxi that would take us more-or-less to the right area, we got on our way without too much trouble and were soon dropped off on a rainy street corner.We
We weren't quite sure if we'd ended up in the where we wanted to be but we were content to wander up and down the narrow alleyways, watching the proprietors setting up their wares for the day [Kip seemed to like my philosophy that I can never become lost, though sometimes research has taken me a bit longer than expected. ] We were surprised to notice along our way several 24-hour sushi bars that looked warm, clean and inviting. It was then that Kip first suggested a breakfast stop after our market visit for some fresh sushi. I was hesitant, though not adamantly opposed. I knew I liked sushi at home as part of a fun night out with friends, but raw fish early in the morning seemed mildly against nature, or at least an unattractive affront to common sense.That, I think, is the most profound lesson of intercultural travel: the realization that "common sense " is often not universal, but part of the specific culture in which one lives.It is common sense for most Americans that breakfast includes cereal, eggs or some sort of poisonously sweet confection. It is common sense to many Americans that raw fish is unappetizing no matter what hour of the day, but certainly at breakfast.
It is common sense to many Japanese that a toilet with spray clean function is far preferable to mere toilet paper. The opposite is true in all but a few American households.It is common sense to many Japanese and Americans (especially to those of a more mature generation) that chewing gum is rude. Yet I must say that my notions of common sense on this particular topic is that bad breath is more rude than gum-chomping, though I'm sure I'm in the minority on that topic among my colleagues.
It is common sense to Japanese that it is socially unacceptable to arrive late. Yet go to just about any church service in the USAIt is common sense in Japan that subscribing to a monotheistic religion like Christianity or Islam borders on ludicrous, partly because such religions shun the traditions, celebrations and values of other religions. One of the reasons that both Shintoism and Buddhism are predominant in Japan, as it has been explained to me, is that neither absolutely precludes some allegiance to the other; thus the vast majority of Japanese are (nominally) both Shinto and Buddhist.
It is common sense in some fundamentalist Muslim communities that death is an appropriate response to salvage a family's honor if a young woman violates certain taboos. 10/8/06 Update: I hadn't necessarily intended that my sevies would wade through this post, but if any follow Haley's lead dive in, you can read more about honor killing here.
It is common sense among most Europeans that young people are not harmed by the enjoyment of moderate intake of alcoholic beverages; among many American evangelicals it is common sense that alcohol ought not to be consumed at any age.
Okay, point made; "common sense" is remarkably pliable depending on one's culture. But what of it? I think that most of what I've written above is so basic that few could quibble with it, though some will find the point mind-stretching. It's the next question where things get truly interesting: In this ever-more-connected world that we find ourselves in, by what standard does one decide to shed the common sense notions of one's culture to at least consider -- if not embrace -- the aspects of another culture.Choosing to eat sushi for breakfast was an easy decision, despite my initial qualms. As we walked through the fish market, it occurred to me that the absolute worst that could happen if we stopped for a bit of sushi at 5AM is that my stomach would revolt -- I had virtually nothing to lose. And so I tromped back with Kip through the rain and in the end was treated to one of the most enjoyable and memorable breakfasts of my lives.
It's such a trivial example; I don't want anybody to think that I'm suggesting all cultural standards and mores ought to be re-considered as lightly as one's breakfast menu. Of course not. Deciding where to draw the line as individuals and as a culture is a tough question that repeats itself over and over in the course of a lifetime.The Amish decided a while back that they would be better off not changing their culture's common sense standards in terms of clothing, housing and transportation, among other areas. But even among such a small, relatively homogeneous population, disagreements arise. Some bishops allow their congregants to own a phone, so long as it is a cell phone, or a land-line outside the main house. Most Americans find such "common-sense" notions quaint at best, ridiculous at worst.
Billions of pious people of faiths around the world turn to their religion's sacred writings to help define what ought to be common sense. But of course people of the same faith and the same background can turn to the same religious text for guidance, only to arrive at vastly differing understandings.This question can have profound results, with long-reaching ripples of impact. For a very small percentage of Muslims, it is common sense that nations like the USA and England are such a threat to common sense values of honor and religion and purity that Allah will reward them for striking out violently at such nations. For the vast majority of Americans, it was common sense that declaring war on the Afghani Taliban in October, 2001, was a just response in light of their refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden. For a smaller number (but still a majority) of Americans, it was common sense that Saddam Hussein posed such a WMD threat in 2003 that preemptive war on Iraq was justified. Now, apparently, that is an increasingly uncommon sense (link, see last paragraph) among the American populate.
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