Exposure

The other day I was having dinner at this Thai Sushi place. While I was enjoying my regular, fried rice, this family of about seven walked in. Since I was dining alone and I had nothing better to do I decided to observe the family. There were five kids ranging in ages from about 15 to maybe 4. The first thought that came to mind was these children aren’t going to find anything on the menu they like. The mom and dad, mainly the mom, went through and explained the menu to the children.  The older children chose what they wanted to eat and the mother ordered for the younger children. When the food came out, the mom had all the children try everything on the table and she again explained to them what they were eating.  When she had them try it she would say something like, “You would like this because you like so and so.” You could tell the older children had experience with the food because one, they ordered for themselves and two, if they tried something they didn’t like they didn’t make a fuss. The younger children were the same way. The mom walked them through everything they ate. After they tried something she would ask, “Did you like it?” and they would simply reply yes or no.

So what’s your point Shanel? I know that’s what everyone is asking. Maybe this is the educator in me but I was thinking this is a wonderful illustration of exposure. This is the kind of exposure I was not privy to as a child. I absolutely love Thai food but I wasn’t introduced to it until grad school. Even still I only eat rice and noodles. More specifically fried rice, bangkok fried rice, pad thai, or drunken noodles. The only reason I eat those is because that’s what I’ve experienced.

But this transcend far beyond food. By that simple observation I concluded that those children are very cultured. I imagine they eat all different types of foods, they listen to all different genres of music, they appreciate all different forms of art, and in the greater sense they have respect for people from all different walks of life. Simply because at a young age someone took the time to teach them that there is more to life than hamburgers and french fries. Yes, the food may look, feel, and smell different from what you’re used to but go ahead and try it, you may actually like it. Don’t be afraid of something because it’s “different”.

A lot of people miss out on lesson like this. Which is the primary reason people run out of freshman lit crying when they first experience the writings of Jonathan Kozol. There are people who never leave their neighborhoods. I live roughly 40 minutes outside of the district and I know people from here who have never visited the nation’s capital. How can you ever learn tolerance of others if you never have experience with others? I believe that prejudice is a learned behavior. Intolerance is a vicious cycle that can only be eradicated through education. So friends, step out of your box and try something new. You never know, you just might like it J