Today, I went shopping at our one bazaar. It was very crowded, being a Saturday and all. When I got there, I was hungry, so I went to the food court area upstairs. **Wait...let me stop and go back a minute...I have to explain Kazakh people. They are very nice, but their culture does NOT teach or understand taking turns, waiting in lines, etc. They just push, cut you off, move you away - whatever gets them to be first. Even the locals I am friends with admit it is annoying. Some of them are much worse than others. **Ok, back to story. So, I am in line when these two girls try to cut. I was hungry, my sugar was dropping, and I was feeling moody myself. So, I refused to let them cut. I was pushy, like them. I mean, I was there first. But, while trying to "defend my spot", I realized how irritated it makes me to be that pushy and rude. I wasn't raised like that. So, I thought about it. Which is more important: getting to keep my spot and maybe eat 2 minutes sooner, which means getting angry about something I can't change OR letting it go and just learning to accept the cultural differences here?
After a lot of thought, I came to this conclusion: I will try to accept the cultural differences of where I am, but at the same time, I can't compromise on my own values and morals that were instilled in me growing up. So, I will continue to try and hold my place, but not get upset. I will not look at it like being rude, I'll look at it like being me - the way I was raised. And, maybe, just maybe, someday these people will visit the U.S.A and realize why my culture is important to me too.
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