A Culture Shock

My stay in Mongolia these past two weeks has been nothing short of spectacular. I have accomplished so much in a relatively brief time: visiting historical museums, sampling the local cuisine (apparently around since 1206), learning the language, participating in an archery competition, heading to the countryside, and helping children at an orphanage. These activities all greatly surpassed my expectations heading into the trip.

During these activities, however, I expected there to be a significant culture shock. Traveling across the world from the United States to Mongolia, one would expect to be in unfamiliar territory. Yet, the primary culture shock I have experienced is in fact not a culture shock at all. I continue to be surprised and amazed at how truly similar my host brother and I as well as Mongolians and Americans tend to be.

During my host family stay in UB, I have become familiar with my host brother Eddy's personality and lifestyle. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that we enjoy similar songs and musical artists, we go to the same locations to seek entertainment (i.e. movie theaters, amusement parks, swimming pools), we both play sports, we both have dreams and aspirations, etc. On multiple occasions, I have even begun to consider Eddy to be more of a "American" than me simply by the way he conducts himself and his knowledge of pop culture.

I suppose if I could summarize my exchange up to this moment with one generalization, it would most definitely be to express my new found perspective on the world. I have come to appreciate the small nuances that make individuals so unique, yet I have also begun to realize that teenagers are teenagers regardless of where they live.

~Michael Boggess