Common Courtesy

Yesterday I had to take my daughter to two doctors at the children's hospital. The first appointment was actually only to see the nurse and have patches of various food items put on her back to test for allergic reactions.

We have never done this before and so everything is new and confusing. In general I always slightly dread going to doctors here because 1. Everything is in another language and 2. People are just different in various cultures.

I was a little taken aback when as a nurse sped into the office I was waiting by and I tried to address her she completely ignored me and closed the door in my face. All I wanted to know was if I was waiting by the correct door. . .

When we finally did get into the office we were cared for by the same unfriendly nurse. Not once did she address my little daughter. Not once did she make any form of friendly conversation with us. She did her job and that was it.

I was again reminded that I do not live in my home country.

As I recounted this to my husband he reminded me how little people make here in Latvia. He said if I wanted politeness and friendly conversation than I could have paid for our visit. There are two ways of doing things here- the planned way- where you wait and all medical services are for free for kids. Or where you pay and schedule more to your convenience.

I was saddened by this conversation. I know it is true that these people make very little- but in my opinion as humans and fellow walkers of the earth we ought to be kind to one another and at least show common courtesy- especially at a children's hospital-where the child is afraid already.

A tear slipped down my cheek as I told my husband with emotion in my voice "Let's raise our children to be kind to others, and show courtesy no matter how much they are paid. "

Because in my humble opinion a good attitude should not have to be so shallow that it can be bought with money.



Note: Not all medical workers are like this. We have one of the most wonderful family doctors around for our kids. She goes above and beyond herself, even outside work hours. 

Cross-Cultural Marriage

I read a lot of blogs, well I don't have time to keep up with all of them. But a lot of them show up on my reading list and at times I read a lot of them. I love keeping up with people I know and people that interest me. There are so many amazing people on my reading list.

As I have tried to discover my niche in this blogging world. I have been pondering what makes each of the blogs that I most enjoy reading unique. I have decided that there is a part of that person's life that makes them unique. Something they are an expert at or something they are wading through. Something that they can share with the rest of us- whether that be parenting, home school, jewelry, fashion, or something else.

I have been wondering what makes me and my life unique. There are many things I could choose, but the things I think would be most interesting to share and to learn about from others are: What life is like in another country for an American. And the quirks and tips in and for international marriages.

For anyone living in an international marriage or relationship you have your whole slew of stories and advice. I would love to hear from you on this topic. I love marriage advice when it helps lead to more happy moments together.

Of course the biggest obstacle in any relationship where you come from two different cultures is the language and the numerous misunderstandings that can and DO occur. We could write whole books on that.

Then you throw in the obstacle of living in the other person's culture and not your own. With this we get all kind of cultural differences, misunderstanding and funny stories.

My earliest silly story of life as a bride in a foreign country has to do with cooking. My husband likes all kinds of roots; beets, black radishes, celery root, etc. He had purchased a variety of these and so I, being the the good housewife decided to boil some beets for salad. I had eaten beets on occasion growing up in the states- but they are not particularly popular in my family. I boiled that beet for at least an hour and it would not get tender!  I began to wonder if this was going to be worth the time and electricity to get that beet cooked!

When my husband got home he "tested" it for me and began to laugh. He informed me that I was boiling a black radish and not a beet at all! Black radishes are not cooked, they are grated in salads and they don't get tender (I guess). I was embarrassed not to  have known the difference and accounted that to never having seen a black radish in my entire life. Of course I just assumed it was a beet. Ha, ha!

And so begins my tales of my life and love in a country other than my own- which I now call home.