5 Things I’ve Learned from Living Overseas, Part Four

I’ve been living in Chiang Mai, Thailand for roughly six years now (though I’m not currently there, because of COVID-19). I thought it would be fun to give you a little insight into 5 things I’ve learned from living overseas.

But, as I said last week, when went to write all of this down, I realized that I had way too much to say about each of these topics, and they each deserved their own post. So, here we are, on part four of five!

Here’s a refresher list:

1. It’s not wrong, it’s just different
2. Sometimes it isn’t “color,” it’s “culture”
3. It’s important to know who you truly are
4. Beauty is diverse
5. How to see things from a different perspective

Beauty is Diverse

Moving overseas, I got the interesting experience of being the minority. And I also got the wonderful experience of being surrounded by people who looked wholly and completely different, yet were all made in the image of God. Whether they were from Pakistan, Korea, Thailand, China, England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, or elsewhere, they were all absolutely gorgeously created in the image of a beautiful God.

On top of seeing people from all different countries, I got to see cultures from all over the world. And I truly began to realize what diverse beauty looks like. It’s more than just skin color – it’s cultures, experiences, everything that comes together to create an individual, unique person.

It took me a while to come to fully appreciate the Thai culture, and even now, I don’t think I’m perfect at it. It’s hard to fully appreciate something you can’t fully understand, but I’ve seen so many beautiful things. Holidays like Songkran (basically a city-wide water fight) and Loi Krathong (think Disney’s Tangled), customs like the Wai, the people – the list goes on and on.

Moving to Thailand helped me fully appreciate the beauty around me. Whether it’s fall in the United States, or summer in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Whether you have light skin or dark. Whether you’ve traveled the world or you’ve never left your home state.

God created such beautiful things. Such beautiful things. And I think it’s important, as Christians, to open our eyes, look around, and fully appreciate them.

I think in today’s culture, we’re very good at celebrating diversity in people’s appearances. Magazines, media, and TV shows are full of people that look different (although, admittedly, usually very super-model-like). But even though I love America very much, I have to admit that we haven’t fully grasped seeing the beauty in other cultures. Why?

Well, I think a lot of it has to do with fear. Fear of being accused of cultural appropriation. Fear of being misunderstood, or accidentally coming across insensitively when it wasn’t your intention at all. And, of course, America likes to celebrate America – so does that mean celebrating other cultures would be bad?

But the fact of the matter is, America (or, rather, the country of the United States of America) is one big conglomeration of cultures. We’re a nation of immigrants, after all.

So, this week, I want to encourage you. I want to encourage you to do a little research on a culture that intrigues you. Learn to appreciate another culture, and see the beauty of it. It isn’t wrong – and I think you’ll find that people from that culture will appreciate your interest in it.

Is there a culture other than the one you grew up in that you find fascinating? Tell me about it in the comments below!