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Cruise Crews
One evening the crew was the entertainment. Some were cultural, like the Thai dancer, and others silly like Cub Scout skits. But laughter and shared fun is universal and is needed and understood by everyone.
The crew roster looks like roll call at the United Nations. All speak at least two languages, their own, English, and probably another. English is the working language on this cruise ship, as well as all the towns we visited. Americans tend to expect that, don’t we? But I learned something interesting. It’s not because “everyone wants to speak American.” It’s because the King’s English is spoken around the world (and was before the U.S. was born!) in all the U.K.s provinces and territories, former and current, which are far-reaching, making it the language spoken in most parts of the world and considered to be their government’s working language. NOT because it’s spoken in the U.S., and not because the U.S. does business in all parts of the world. (Most countries do nowadays, and again, the U.S. is a late-comer to international commerce.) The English that is the working language on board and in most of the world, is not American English. That was a new perspective for me, how about you?
I’ve always believed that if Americans would approach travel with humility, they would learn more from the experience. But, in my experience, Americans who travel the most, are often most apt to be those lacking humility. And American businessmen who try not to be the ugly American can come across as patronizing. Because they are. But whether we are ready to admit that the U.S. is not the epicenter of the universe, or want to believe it, let this story sink in.
I was asked, “Where are you from?” I replied, “North Carolina.” There was a rather lengthy pause and a puzzled wrinkle on her brow. Then, “Uhm, United States?” I said, “Yes, United States.” She smiled, nodded, and said, “North American, then. You are North American?” “Yes. I’m North American.” “Oh, very good. You will like it here. North Americans like it here.”
Okay, Yanks, it might seem like the world revolves around us, but guess what? In the world community, we are North American. Much of the world, perhaps most, isn’t familiar with our states, only our continent, and perhaps country thanks to televised Olympics and news. Have you heard of Marigot? That’s okay. They haven’t heard of Raleigh, either! The world seems so big. And it seems so small. Americans need to understand the World View better.