Comments on: Episode 61 – January 7 & 10, 2009

By: Frever t.

Frever t. — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:32:21 +0000

This is never easy.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:46:26 +0000

I found this episode on xenophiles very interesting.

I like to think of myself as a scientific xenophile. During my career in new product development I have switched between physics, chemistry, biology and medicine. Each scientific discipline has its own way of approaching problems and “standard solutions” it employs. By switching between fields, I have been able to “bridge the gaps” – bringing new ways of thinking to traditional problems – and provide unique solutions to interesting problems.

By: Ian

Ian — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:30:31 +0000

Ethan’s interview has deep resonance when it comes to “digital natives” and “digital immigrants.” The cultural differences between the two are alomst as dramatic global cultures. I see myself as a xenophile…someone who attempts to explain the digital world to a non-digital audience. I am an early immigrant, dating back to the mid-80s and an online service called Prodigy. While not entirely inculturated digitally, I am well ahead of many of my peers (mid-50s).
Spark is one of my windows into the digital culture. It would be cool for you to do a joint program with BBC’s Digital Planet.

By: Anita

Anita — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:40:35 +0000

I found there are advantages and disadvantages moving from one culture to another. In my case I moved to Canada from India at the age of 18. There are things I liked in India and things I liked it here. So I was able to use the things for my benefits what was good for me.Also being from different culture you are struggling to fit in this new culture.

Just like Eathan I really enjoy meeting different people. You can learn so much from other people’s background. It gives me trmendous joy. I am always educating people about my culture.In future I would like to travel to different countries.

By: Greg Watson

Greg Watson — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:11:10 +0000

Note that xenophile means “love of others”: Emotion matters.

Like Ethan, I left Canada to work in West Africa (Cameroon) after six years of University. I did a two year placement as a CUSO volunteer, teaching at an institute for training government field agents from across English speaking Africa. On my way to Africa, I stopped one day in Brussels. At that time, Brussels seemed exotic and foreign. After two years in Africa, I again stopped one day in Brussels. This time, I had the overwhelming feeling that, in Brussels, I was already home. Compared to Africa, Europe is not distinct from Canada.

I still had this feelting 20 years later when I worked for six weeks in Brussels.

Similarly, when I was in University, I thought issues like Quebec separatism were important issues and a major source of conflict.

After working with multiple African cultures for two years, I came to feel that most of the world would view Quebec separatism as an agreement. After all, we are not shooting at each other, both separatists & federalists respect elections and the vote of the electorate, and we are law abiding.

The logic, the facts, had not changed. What had changed, was how I felt about the facts.

By: Oscar

Oscar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:31:43 +0000

While living in Europe for the first part of my life I had not learned anything substantial about the people from the neighbour countries. This all changed when I moved to Canada and met with people from many other cultures, some of them close to my own, some of them quite different. It gave me a whole new perspective not only how to understand others, but also how to objectively see the place of my own background in the world. Something you can’t lern at home.

I wish people from all cultures may have the same opportunity to meet and talk to others and understand that we will get nowhere as a civilisation when divided.