Raise your hand if you like to be humiliated. No? How about the brunt of your neighbors’ jokes. Doesn’t sound appealing?
Hmmm … are you sure you want to move overseas?
Human nature tells us to defend our position, fight for honor and be the man who comes out on top. Yet Mentanna Campbell reminds us in her TheMissionBook.com article how people relocating to another context need need to throw out the, “I’ve got this,” mentality and cloak themselves in humility if they expect to make any progress in engaging their new culture.
“Anyone can learn to conjugate verbs and dress like the natives, but only those who adopt the posture of recipient will learn to communicate and integrate,” she writes. “This is the posture of the humble, of the open-handed, of the seeker, of the one who knows that he is a guest in someone else’s home. And this humility, my friends, is key to effectiveness overseas….”
Develop a learner’s mentality. Welcome disorientation. Joyfully accept assistance from nationals. Embrace humility.
Note: Mentanna Campbell and her family currently live in the United States after years of working with students in France. She blogs and has been featured in RELEVANT magazine.
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