When you drop a pebble in a bucket of water, you never really know how far the rings will spread. I have had a professional interest in diversity in our country for a long time. More recent events have made me think about diversity and multicultural perspective in a global sense. The world is so vast yet so small. In order to understand our neighbors across the street, it is important to experience our neighbors across the globe. We need to understand who they are and where they came from in order to understand what they value and what they want to be, rather than let those decisions be ours based on our perspectives and our views of the world.
In the last several years, I have travelled to China, Peru, South Africa and Cuba with Nanda Journeys. As an educator and speech language pathologist, I never really thought about how enriching my life would in turn enrich the lives of generations of students that would follow me.
I recently received an email from a former colleague that talked about preparing teacher education students to be global citizens. It made me think about how one person can influence so many others for generations. Dr. Wendy Paterson, Dean of the School of Education at SUNY Buffalo State, wrote:
“I have been thinking of you a lot lately. As I have been reviewing some of my faculty for tenure and promotion, I remembered all that you did for me as you helped me attain the full professorship. Today I was reading the book 21st Century Skills and read two statements that immediately made me think of you: 1) “Diversity is one thing we all have in common.” 2) The skills to become socially adept, cross-culturally fluent global learners and citizens are more important than ever.”
I wonder if you know how far-reaching your global initiative took us…we embarked on a process to emphasize the importance of global attitudes and multicultural knowledge for teachers. In those first years, we engaged with some of our globally active faculty and were able to establish new PDS school contacts in Zambia and Chile. We are now on five continents with 6-8 active school sites where our students and faculty learn about education on a global scale. This has transformed Childhood and Exceptional Education…I just want you to see what you started. As we say in teacher education, ‘The teacher will never know how much she (he) affects the future, only that she (he) will.’ You have most certainly had an impact on my life and on the lives of so many of our marvelous students.”
As one of her students said: “Travel is the one thing you spend money on, that actually can make you richer.” {Original author unknown}
Day to day life is played out in a very small geographical area with 13 million people in and around Tokyo. Think lots of people in a total space about half the size we would be used to in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Yes, physically they are smaller in stature and size (I should be that slender!) but are amongst the most courteous and helpful when engaged. Some are shy, but culturally it is not appropriate to stand out and or make excessive noise or talk loudly. While this may seem unnaturally quiet it is a norm you soon learn to appreciate. In fact, you start adopting this approach when in a group setting, always mindful about others in a crowded space.
Much of Japan follows a culture of compliance and structure as compared to the US. While on the surface this may seem negative to some, it certainly has advantages when integrated across all areas. For example, education is very structured and provides a solid foundation that has universal meaning. Employment is also structured in that ALL 
Food and dietary are much simpler in Japan. Fresh food and an emphasis on fish from the surrounding waters of the country with a staple of a few starches such as sweet potatoes, other root vegetables, a variety of greens and of course rice; provide the basics at all meals. Japan prides itself on a high level of self-sufficiency in feeding the population. Given the environment-mountainous from volcanoes-think Mount Fuji- and being surrounded by ocean water, most items when served in balance provide an extremely nutritious diet. Preparation, natural flavors and using some seasonings, provides a variety but healthful food culture. Yes, there are fast food restaurants and other processed food items, but from a cost and diet perspective the people prefer to “eat healthy” and more natural.
As you fly into Narita airport (90 minutes from downtown Tokyo) you are immediately focused on the number of waterways throughout the entire coastal area. In conjunction with staying in harmony with the land, the major roads are created as elevated roadways along the “river” waterways therefore allowing the land for buildings. Fortunately, snow is not common in Tokyo but the temperatures do drop below freezing. These elevated roads connect with a series of bridges and tunnels that rival no other location I have visited. The underground main tunnels through certain segments of the city make the Boston “big dig” look small. As expected the tunnels were clean, did not leak or have pot holes, and appeared as accident free as you would hope. A polite society also carries over to polite drivers. Impressive!
The cars were mostly those that are produced by Japan. Yes, a few luxury imports but mostly Japanese cars. Also, the government supports hybrid and other alternative fuel vehicles which are abundant. Since Japan has very limited natural energy sources, pure electric cars are at this time not very common. With a population of approximately half of the United States and people clustered in key areas, public transportation is the lifeblood of most workers. We rode a bullet train, which some utilize on a daily basis, at speeds of 140 plus miles per hour. These trains then connect with other more local train s and rail options. While buses are available they are not a primary source of transportation as many streets are narrow. A surprising number of bicycles and moped supplement public transportation.
Everywhere you go in Japan has a long history and values tradition. From the appropriate and respectful “nod” or “bow” to the presenting of your business card, is all done with respect for others. What is more important is that the people do care about the meaning of these traditions and learn them from both the family and the education system. The joy of greeting and saying goodbye is equally important. Taking time for these little gestures builds a feeling of respect amongst all. We also had to opportunity to visit a couple of Temples and Shrines and observe 6 or more weddings. Again, these sacred places are open for Weddings, Religious services, tourists and locals to enjoy all. Most are free of charge to everyone except for Wedding Ceremonies. Families come together from the youngest to the oldest.
As expected, language barriers are always difficult to navigate. While living with our “farm family” the four of us and our hosts utilized simple body gestures and hand movements to attempt to communicate. This proved both interesting and somewhat amusing. In the end it all worked well. For all business meetings an interpreter was provided by our host. While many government and professionals understand other languages, all speak Japanese on a daily basis. Fortunately, with a little effort we were able to navigate.
visiting Peruvian Universities to interact with our professors and eager to learn students; bringing medical supplies and donations to a remote medical center in Ollantaytambo, a small rural community in the Sacred Valley. These are just some samples of what we collaboratively do with Nanda Journeys to immersive our guests and create a truly experiential and authentic journey.
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