Past experiences that influence our beliefs

[bcherod]

I came home from school one day when I was 11 years old. We were living at Loring AFB in Maine, and I’m told that we’re moving to Japan.

The trip there is a story in and of itself. It was 1963. Basically it took us 3 days from Travis AFB to get there.

Aside from having ambulances and fire trucks lining the flight line, we finally arrived. My brother and I had an immediate reaction to the smell.

We were all required to have Japanese culture classes. My mother dove in and studied Japanese for 5 years. She could read and write katakana, hiragana and 1000 kanji. I am nowhere near that.

At any rate, although I attended DOD schools, we were immersed in the culture.

Fast forward. We return to the states. After 18 months, time for me to go to college and, for a variety of reasons, I chose FSU.

Hung out with the Cubans and other foreigners because I felt more comfortable with them.

Marry a Brazilian and go off to live in Brazil for another adventure.

Father in law was a German Brazilian. He complained that I didn’t “behave” the way a woman was supposed to behave. I was supposed to stay home all day and watch the maid clean.

Well my attitude was that I was in a foreign country and needed to explore. Brazilian friends used to laugh and say I knew Sao Paulo better than they did.

I had a bunch of foreign friends there because Brazilian men thought i would be a bad influence on their wives.

That’s as short as I could make it, but the point is being a product of our experiences.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

Nothing nearly so exotic. Never lived outside the state of NC. The product of an alcoholic father and a very liberal mom who loved Muhammad Ali for his “lip” and wept when Dr. King was assassinated. Two brothers, three sisters so it was a full house. Dad stopped drinking after I left for college and became the world’s greatest grandpa. He and mom helped raise my older brother’s two kids - they are very wealthy and bought my parents a house that backed up to theirs. After dad passed, mom moved in with us and helped raise our two. Her example (and his) stuck.

 

[hawkeyetraveler]

I traveled the world for business for 30 years. At one point I was responsible for an organization with 3,000 employees and offices in 60 countries. I have dined in the homes of Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and atheists.

My travels taught me

• America is a great country, but many other countries are equally great. I hesitate to say this, but I believe some may be even better these days
• I never want to live in a country with an autocratic leader. We are heading that way in the US and I’m not happy about it
• The greatest asset America had was the American dream. That has been eroding for decades and people seem to be just fine with billionaires eroding it more. In many countries it is damned hard, if not impossible, to escape your birth circumstances. In the US it was at least possible for a time. I hope this doesn’t erode completely.
• Most people, regardless of race, culture, creed or color just want to live peaceful lives. They laugh with their friends, they love their children, they want to do good in the world.
• Free trade is essential to our way of life. Putting up trade barriers will only harm us all in the long run.

 

[seminole97]

I had a bunch of foreign friends there because Brazilian men thought i would be a bad influence on their wives.