Spice of Life: A Glimpse of my Cultural Exchange

This time I feature the Spice of Life as a short glimpse of my Cultural Exchange Experience in the 'Land of Opportunities', the United States, as a Pakistan Youth Ambassador:

With my American friends!
(I'm wearing in my traditional attire: Shalwar Kameez)

Being part of the prolific exchange experience has been both a privilege and a challenge, but more profoundly, an opportunity to understand 'people' and their lifestyles. Initially thrilled by the entire concept of ''cultural exchange'', I later realized that we as individuals are much more coherently related to each other. Our differences exist, and rightly so, because of our values and beliefs. But even more highlighted are our common issues that link and connect us, defying concepts such as nationality, race, religion, and creed. This very year has been an eye opener; it has been a communicator of our 'common but differentiated responsibilities' and that no matter how distinguished our lifestyles may be, we are at the end of the day, jointed together by similar priorities, similar feelings, and similar expectations.

United States has been welcoming of me, and precisely, has been able to extend its warmth to an ambassador like me. With such a high exponent of diversity in this country, it was not surprising to see that mutual coexistence exists wonderfully in an American Society. This inspired me. It inspired me to give back to this amazing community that I am now so proactively part of. One of the best ways I define is to engage in dialogue. A dialogue is not limited to the clichéd round table discussion we often relate it to; it could be as simple as a discussion on a lunch table or an informal chat squeezed between school timings. This remained one of my most powerful tools to represent myself, and my people, and to clear a substantial degree of misconceptions and/or stereotypes associated with my beliefs, my country. This exchange of ideas was more pronounced in the International Education Week when I organized various talks in my classrooms, trying to stimulate debate, discussion and sharing of viewpoints. Rather than a typical multimedia presentation, I took a step forward to engage students in surveys, in question-answer sessions, and in dynamic group works. The topics ranged from Pakistan's cultural traditions, its food, its festivals, topography to serious topics. It overwhelms we with elation to recall the keen interest my audiences had to know, to become aware, and to rationalize their own ideas with evidence.

My trip to New York City!

Be it in a church, in a high school classroom, or a career center, my presentations had one focal element in common: the curiosity of people to understand, and to listen to what I said. Their input, and viewpoints not only added to the discussion but also supplemented my own stance on various world issues. One of the proud moments remain my class' acknowledgement that after attending my seminar, their image and perception of Pakistan totally transformed. A student exactly quoted that " I personally perceived your country as a desert, as a land of missed opportunities with terror threats around the clock. The videos you just showed us of your dances, your food, your fashion shows, and your lifestyle are pleasantly surprising!" For me, this was a moment pedestalled on pride, and honor and respect of being listened to and being recognized for what you are trying to do: to make a positive change.

Another marked involved I have had is community service. I feel that American Society is pivoted on work ethic, communal involvement and individual responsibility and thus, giving back to the society via services is very essential. Ranging from teacher assistance, to acting as a waiter, to community service in local Church, to various other types of involvements, I have learnt that the essence of a harmonious society lies in inclusiveness and holistic initiative by its people. My contributions to the community might not have been magnanimously huge, but I am proud that they have had a positive impact of some degree on the people I have interacted with. For example, at one point I went to a full-day service to a local gathering of old people for a reunion; interacting with them, serving them with food, engaging in a conversation with them not only gave me personal satisfaction but has motivated me to get involved with such indispensable activities back home in Pakistan too, since it is this bonding between people that hold us together in times of adversity and gives us to cherish our accomplishments in times of achievement.

I believe that we often confuse quality with quantity. The impact we have accentuates only with time and space. And that I am confident that "A journey of a Thousand Miles begin with a single step". What we must not neglect is that the single step may possibly be the most powerful one!