Susan LaffertyFitting in when you enter a new culture can be a challenge.
My parents grew up in America and moved to Asia. Learned language and culture to fit in.
I grew up in Indonesia and loved the place of my childhood and teenage years. I spoke the language, played their games, knew how to bargain with the best. Had dear Indonesian friends.
But I wasn’t Indonesian.
Every four years we came and spent a year in the country of my passport. America.
I wasn’t sure I was American either.
Pause in the afternoon.
Fix a small teapot of darjeeling. Or steep ginger herbal tea in porcelain cups.
The simple cultural practice learned in other lands remains in my life today.
Taking time. Away from chores and computer and concerns. Sitting quietly or visiting with a friend.
Daily pause. To breathe.
Simple shelter. Close quarters with eclectic decor. Spare furnishings.
She welcomes us in. And starts the fire on a small charcoal stove. Takes her sauce pan and pours in the green coffee beans, newly washed.
And so it begins.
The slow, deliberate way of an Ethiopian coffee ceremony.
Traditional hospitality. With laughter. And conversation about life.
Daily and eternal.
