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What if our identities were as fluid and adaptable as our travel itineraries? Join me, Josh Porthouse, as I engage in a thought-provoking conversation with Katie Johnson, affectionately known as Katie Katie J from the Tasty Trails Travel Pod. Katie shares her remarkable journey from being adopted in South Korea to forging a new life in Buenos Aires after exploring 59 countries. Her story, filled with the flavors and traditions of cultures worldwide, invites us to rethink our notions of belonging and self-discovery. Together, we explore the universal threads of happiness and community that stitch together our diverse human experience.
Katie and I also discuss the rich tapestry of American culture, weaving through themes of nostalgia and communal bonds. We touch on the comforting embrace of familiar recipes that evoke a sense of home, even miles away. Our conversation examines the contrast between America's individualistic drive and the communal spirit of other cultures, highlighting the delicate balance between personal achievements and the power of collective support. This episode is a celebration of the rich diversity and similarities that define our world, offering insights into how cultural exposure shapes personal values and fosters a well-rounded life.
In an age of instant information, Katie and I reflect on the importance of nurturing critical thinking through travel and cultural awareness. We delve into personal stories of cultural immersion, from sharing meals in Afghan villages to navigating the lively streets of Buenos Aires. These experiences underline how stepping outside our comfort zones can build resilience and adaptability. Our chat wraps up with a powerful message about embracing the fluidity of identity, urging listeners to break free from traditional labels and explore the endless possibilities of who they can become. Embrace this journey with us, and discover the transformative power of cultural exploration.
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An SDYT Media Production I Deviate from the Norm
All rights reserved. 2021
Transcript
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The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the podcast host and guest and do not necessarily represent those of our distribution partners, supporting business relationships or supported audience.
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Welcome to Transacting Value, where we talk about practical applications for instigating self-worth when dealing with each other and even within ourselves, when we foster a podcast listening experience that lets you hear the power of a value system for managing burnout, establishing boundaries, fostering community and finding identity.
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My name is Josh Porthouse, I'm your host and we are redefining sovereignty of character.
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This is why values still hold value.
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This is Transacting Value.
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It's been really interesting to learn how similar we all are and that we're all just kind of looking to find a place in the world and maybe we do that in different ways.
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But yeah, we're more the same than we are different and I've really enjoyed learning that.
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Today on Transacting Value.
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Have you ever had a conversation about what exactly is American culture?
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We're just this melting pot of all of these other nations and all of these other ethnicities and all of these other traditions and routines and customs and courtesies.
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At least until you travel the world and you realize that's not entirely accurate.
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Our guest today on the conversation goes by Katie, Katie J.
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She's Katie Johnson from the Tasty Trails Travel Podcast and we're going to talk all about what it means to have an American culture, an identity and a self-awareness, even as a nation.
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So, without further ado, folks, I'm Porter, I'm your host and this is Transacting Value.
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Katie, what's up how you doing?
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Hey, thanks for having me.
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Nice to be here.
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Absolutely.
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I really appreciate it.
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Now, as I understand it, you're not even in the US right now.
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Right, you're out traveling.
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I am in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but I live here.
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Oh, you live in Argentina.
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Yeah, so I haven't lived in the US for the last like 10 years.
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Oh, I'm way off.
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Okay, well, welcome back to the digital airwaves in the States, I guess.
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Yes, okay, cool, cool.
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So let's do this.
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There's a lot of things that I want to cover, but, as I'm sure you can attest, also having a podcast, there's also a lot of sort of you know house rule type things that are important to set up in the beginning too, right?
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So for anybody who's listening to this on their commute or at home or in the background and they can't actually see you or maybe don't even know who you are or anything about your show, let's just start at the beginning.
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Who are you, where are you from and what sort of things have shaped your perspective?
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I am Katie Katie J, because also Katie Johnson is kind of the most generic name ever, and so it just kind of morphed into a bunch of different nicknames and, yeah, Katie Katie J is the one that really stuck.
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I'm from the Chicago area but have been living, working, traveling abroad for the last 10 years and counting.
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So yeah, so I was adopted from South Korea.
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I was born in South Korea and adopted when I was like four months old.
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To parents in the States grew up my whole life in the States and then really I studied abroad in college and that's kind of where I was very lucky and privileged enough to be able to travel internationally, a few trips here and there growing up.
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But when I studied abroad, that was kind of what really opened my eyes and kind of was like, oh okay, like this is something that I'm really interested in, and so kind of from there just had different things lead me to abroad.
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Specifically, I was in Italy for a little bit and have just kind of always sought to, I don't know, different cultures, different people, different languages, it's all so-- it can be super overwhelming, but it's also so exciting.
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It's so interesting, I think, especially Europe, because you can go just a few hours and it's a different language, a different culture, sometimes different currency, whereas in the States, you know, you go to different states and there's certainly a lot of different culture within the United States as well.
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But it was just so fascinating, like the different languages and smells and so kind of from there my curiosity grew and have now been all over the world, all seven continents, traveled to and been to 59 countries and, yeah, Wow, what a life In 10 years.
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No, no, no.
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This is kind of throughout my whole life.
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I try to spend time in places and not just kind of, you know, tick boxes and stuff like that, which certainly has happened in a few places, but in general I do like to spend time and get to know countries and that's partly why I started my podcast is, every week I talk to somebody from around the world like a local and get to know their culture and traditions through the food that they eat, because I find that that's like such an easy way to kind of open people up and really get talking and then from there it can lead to even bigger conversations or you know anything and everything.
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Yeah, absolutely so.
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Then you've basically made, I assume, an entire professional and personal mission to showcase humanities right, culture, language, how people show purpose and meaning, or what's your driver?
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Yeah, absolutely, the more I travel and the more that I meet different people, it's really fun and interesting to learn about all the differences that we have.
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But I think also it's been really interesting to learn how similar we all are as well and that we're all just kind of looking to find a place in the world and maybe we do that through in different ways.
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So we're all just kind of looking to have good relationships and just be happy people and search for joy and all that stuff.
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And again, we all get that in different ways.
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But yeah, we're more the same than we are different and I've really enjoyed learning that.
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Do you think that you started catching on to that before you left the States?
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Or was it actually the study abroad and, you know, starting in Europe and moving around, that really started to expose you to that idea?
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I think it came later because, to be honest, like when I was younger, I wasn't really thinking about that and I was more focused on the differences because I was just learning and taking in so much new information that it was fun and easy to be focusing on the differences.
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It was like, oh, that's crazy, you do it this way, like you do it this way, or I do it this way.
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And I was teaching abroad in Thailand.
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So I was teaching English in Thailand and it wasn't in like Bangkok or any of the touristy areas, it was in the middle of nowhere where they need more English practice and stuff.
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And I remember just being really, the culture is really different and they just value different things than generally American culture does.
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And I was just feeling so pressured because they're doing things so differently than I would do them.
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And I kept being like well, in the States they would never do it like this.
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We do it like this.
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And I kind of said that over and over and over again and I was like, well, if you want it done that way, then like go back to the States.
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And I was like, well, if you want it done that way, then like go back to the States.
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And so that was helpful for me to kind of be like, okay, I'm in their place now and I'm going to learn, like, how they do it.
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And you know, they still managed to get the thing done.
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So that was really kind of what started, opening my eyes to focusing on, I mean, I guess, the differences but how they related to me, I suppose.
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And then through that and thinking through all of those things, um started to to realize the similarities as well, because I wasn't going to survive if I didn't kind of realize the similarities as well, because it can be frustrating.
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Yeah, I'm sure.
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Yeah, you get so used to doing something a certain way, the patterns or whatever you tend to recognize don't line up anymore.
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So then you know, what do you do?
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You try to survive, or you try to thrive, I guess.
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And why make it harder on yourself?
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Yeah, absolutely.
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And you said you've been to all the continents.
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Yeah.
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So what are some of the biggest cultural I think differences is an easy question, but what are some of the biggest cultural similarities that you've identified among every continent?
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Oh, among every continent.
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You already said that a lot of people are, you know, working on trying to build and foster good relationships and searching for joy in their own right, whatever that means and whatever that looks like.
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But is that it?
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Is that all we have in common, based on your experience?
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No, of course not.
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I mean I guess food in general, like how people connect over that, and it's kind of being a place where you can come together and talk and just enjoy music.
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You know, everywhere you go there's always some sort of different music and everyone is enjoying and coming together.
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Like through that as well, I feel like everyone arrives to the end point in kind of different ways.
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I don't know.
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That's a great question what's interesting, though I think about what you said, is the fact that music, art, literature, poetry, food are all forms of self-expression.
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Yeah, and I think when you talk about or when you think about these different, what would you call them Microcosms of expression around the world, or even in a neighborhood I mean, you don't have to go that far away to notice people do things differently but but each of these forms I think of self-expression, based on how people dress to dialect, even if it's all the same language, it all seems to me to give people a sense of pride and belonging and safety, more than the amount of courage it takes to focus on how different it is between you and your neighbor.
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Yeah, you know what I mean.
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Yeah, like I've spent most of my career in Marine Corps, infantry and deploying for any number of reasons, that's probably the biggest thing that stands out to me, despite whatever you know kinetic environments or tactics or whatever other militaries maybe we've worked with even is that everybody is just looking for some kind of safety and belonging and identity.
00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:13.986
I guess, yeah, and so, okay, here's a cool thought.
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You said food earlier is a way that people express themselves and show these commonalities and this pride and all that.
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How would you say?
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Food, or any aspect of it contributes to this notion of safety and belonging, and what does it actually do for people or for you?
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What did it actually do for you?
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Yeah.
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So I think food, you know smells are such a strong memory you know one way or the other, but there's so many or I guess I shouldn't speak for everybody, but I have found that, like so many memories are tied to food, whether even it's just the smell of a sandwich, like that happened to me, um, where my parents made they melted cheese on bread, and I guess I haven't done that in a long time, and it brought me back to a vacation that we used to go on every summer, um, because we ate a lot of cheese toasties, um, and so we were eating, yeah, cheese toasties with bacon on there, whatever, and I mostly only ever ate them on vacation.
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It's kind of like a fast lunch on the way to the beach or something like that.
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And, uh, they made it and I hadn't smelled it in so long and I was just instantly like transported back to that vacation that we would take every year.
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And so, having all those strong memories, like I could go out when I'm feeling sad or lonely or missing home or something like I mean I probably wouldn't make a cheese toastie, but something that like reminded me of home.
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I started asking my mom for all the recipes that she makes when I go home, that I grew up loving, and it's just a place of comfort.
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And it's also fun to share that with other people, because it's like, oh well, my mom used to make this or this is how we, you know, do this.
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A lot of.
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Some of the times it's whether it's explaining, like tailgating, to people, because that's not a huge concept.
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Everywhere else it's like, oh, we have so much fun, like playing bags and, you know, hanging outside the stadium and just explaining different parts of the culture.
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Or Thanksgiving I love talking to people about Thanksgiving and Halloween is coming up too Like, oh yeah, like perfect.
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This is what trick-or-treating is like at home.
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It opens doors because it just starts to trigger all these fond memories.
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Alrighty, folks sit tight and we'll be right back on Transacting Value.
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Hey there, welcome to Tasty Trails Travel Pod, the podcast that goes around the world exploring cultures through the food that they eat.
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I'm your host, Katie Katie J, and I don't know about you, but my favorite thing to do while traveling is eat.
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I found that nothing quite brings people together more than food.
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Each episode, we'll get to know a country or region by diving into its culinary scene.
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On this podcast, we believe that a dish is so much more than a meal.
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There's a story and history behind it all, and I can't wait to dive in with you to discover them.
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It opens doors because it just starts to trigger all these memories.
00:12:58.921 --> 00:13:04.774
Well, speaking of memories, then this is a segment of the show called Developing Character.
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And so for you, obviously, and anybody else new to the show, it's only two questions, and it's as vulnerable or in-depth as you want to be, totally up to you.
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But I'm curious because of all of these memories and all of these things that people experience as we grow up.
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I think, depending on the culture, explicitly talking about character is either at the forefront of a relationship or of a family or it's not.
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There really isn't a middle ground, unless you're talking about, like cartoons or movies or books and those characters.
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You know what I mean.
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So, over all of your travels and as you've been growing up and experiencing the world, my first question is about your character, specifically values.
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So what were some of the values that you grew up around or that you remember being exposed to as a child?
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Personally, like when I think back on it, a lot of me was just wanting to have fun and stuff like that, and we didn't specifically talk about it in so many words, and so it has been interesting to think about, okay, but without saying this is the actual value.
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What are the other words and behaviors and stuff?
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What does that actually mean to equate to a value?
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I think it's hard to grow up in the States and not have achievement be a value.
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That's actually something that I've noticed a lot having left the United States, is achievement being a really strong force in the States as a whole.
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But also, yeah, relationships, and how important it is to, at least in my family, like foster relationships, whether it be family, whether it be friends, any kind of relationship, and how important those are to have and to maintain and to take care of, and that they can change over time.
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And that's okay, you know, and where are the other communities?
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I think as well, and sometimes that's hard.
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I feel like in the States there's a lot maybe kind of going back to achievement.
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A lot of it is sometimes individualized, and so maybe for me personally, sometimes asking for help was like hard because like oh, like I have to do this by myself, and you know if I don't have to ask anyone for help, then that's like makes me stronger and and stuff like that.
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s you know you kind of do need community.
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It takes a community to thrive.
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So then, to just talk about achievement for a second.
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If that, in your opinion, is such a core aspect of, let's say, this American cultural identity, how does it stack up then to any of these other cultures?
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I mean, you said it may be just more of an American thing, but compared to what you know what I mean, what's the baseline?
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Well, it's kind of in work culture and like hustle culture, where you know we get two weeks, you know 10 days of paid and you know this is standard.
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This doesn't apply to everybody and it is getting better to everybody and it is getting better.
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But even in just kind of yeah, just even in the amount of time that generally people get off of work is less than many places around the world, like it's pretty standard in europe to have like at least a month off per year.
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Um, sometimes even more, like four to six weeks and just kind of this notion.
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You know, like like you walk around Argentina and Italy and people are sipping wine at lunch but I've gotten like blast messages, other jobs where people are like, sorry, I'm going to be out for the afternoon, I'm getting surgery, but I'll be on as soon as I can like after I get out of surgery, and it's like no, you don't have to be, it's okay.
00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:43.707
Like just this kind of intense hustle culture where it's the more you work the better, and it's just so much more relaxed everywhere else that I've been.
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Um, and of course there are certain professions where you know like better life and death versus uh kind of office jobs and stuff where it all seems very important but no one's gonna live or die, kind of whether you send this email or not, and so I've seen it kind of a lot in the work culture and it's been really helpful for me to be in countries where it's kind of like okay, take a chill pill, like we're all gonna be fine, like even like sometimes the days are less or the lunches are longer, the siestas, you know, like in Spain and stuff.
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Uh, I went to Greece and they were like okay, like you know about the siesta, right, and they didn't call it siesta, but the break in the middle of the day because it gets hot and stuff and people go home and a little break, and we're like, yes, of course, sure, and she was like yeah, it starts at 12 noon and we're like okay, I kind of assumed that things would open up again, um, in like an hour or two, and she was like and they open up again at six.
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I was like oh, you take a six hour break wow during the day and I guess I don't want to speak for like the entire country.
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This is kind of like a beach, uh town or or whatever.
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But yeah, it's super normal in like Argentina, Italy and Spain kind of other countries to take long breaks, start a little bit later in the day, their day ends a little bit later as well, but yeah, just kind of a little bit more relaxed in that.
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But but do you find that those cultures maybe not those specifically and and not in any specific attribution, but those types of cultures the longer breaks during the day, right, obviously it's going to affect the types of industry that they favor.
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But do you find that there's also a correlation to the extent of family oriented quality time that those particular cultures also have?
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Because then you're not picking your kids up from school to rush home from work, to get them, to feed them, you have time to process with your family and maybe they're involved in nightlife, or is there a similarity?
00:18:37.980 --> 00:19:00.606
I would say that the cultures that are a little bit more relaxed, you know yeah, they have this type of a schedule like, yeah, the countries that have that type of a schedule I've actually found are more family oriented, because it is easy for them to like they can go pick up their kids when they want, like it's you know, they don't have to miss a deadline if they pick up their kid.
00:19:01.107 --> 00:19:02.570
Um, actually, high school is here.
00:19:02.570 --> 00:19:25.528
There's like three different sessions that you can go to like there's a morning, afternoon and like night session, and it also is like really helpful for how the because there's like morning people and night people who work better in one or the other and so like, if you're not which a of teenagers I don't think are morning people, they they go to like the later sessions and so they can sleep in, they can spend time with their parents at the lunch break or or whatever.
00:19:25.528 --> 00:19:44.689
Like they kind of like work around it because like everybody's schedule is different and like you'll see babies at a bar or a restaurant at like 10 o'clock because they just kind of like bring their families with them to do their stuff instead of canceling last minute because like they were sitting in comes or whatever.
00:19:44.689 --> 00:19:52.952
They're just like okay, we'll just bring the kids with, and I found that those cultures are actually closer with their family.
00:19:53.760 --> 00:19:58.406
I guess it's sort of a different what would you say familial routine upbringing.
00:19:58.667 --> 00:20:00.413
Yeah, it's a different dynamic upbringing yeah, yeah, it's a different dynamic.
00:20:00.433 --> 00:20:02.140
Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.
00:20:02.140 --> 00:20:05.859
Well, so then, having experienced all of these things, I got a little distracted.
00:20:05.859 --> 00:20:10.992
But my second question is then all that being said, what about now for you?
00:20:10.992 --> 00:20:19.835
What are some of your values that you try to stand by or that, from all these exposures you've found, are actually a little bit more true to you?
00:20:20.520 --> 00:20:32.811
Yeah, I think kind of the biggest thing is balance, because what I've loved about seeing all the different cultures and stuff is that I can kind of pick and choose from each.
00:20:32.832 --> 00:20:40.023
I'm like, oh, I love this about this country, I love this about this country, um, I love this about this country, I love this about this country and culture.
00:20:40.044 --> 00:20:53.593
And so taking and choosing the stuff that does like feel the most aligned with who I am and you know that's always a growing and changing process or whatever so being able to balance all of that I think is like super important.
00:20:53.593 --> 00:21:06.740
And I mean you can apply, I think you can apply balance to anything like having some junk food, but like not going crazy, and like also treating your body well and eating healthy, working because you know we need to work, but also like making sure to relax and take time for yourself.
00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:12.093
And I think that concept applies to pretty much every aspect of your life.
00:21:12.093 --> 00:21:22.848
And so I've been kind of seeing different drug physicians and there isn't, you know, one way of doing thing one culture, one country, one, anything isn't better than any other one.
00:21:22.848 --> 00:21:33.269
It's just kind of, yeah, what we're used to and not used to, and so, yeah, but seeing those different drug physicians are, I think really maybe value, balance and kind of everything that I do.
00:21:35.101 --> 00:21:37.549
Alrighty, folks sit tight and we'll be right back on Transacting Value.
00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:45.819
Alrighty folks, if you're looking for more perspective and more podcasts, you can check out Transacting Value on Wreaths Across America Radio.
00:21:45.819 --> 00:21:49.507
Listen in on iHeart Radio, Audacy, and TuneIn.
00:21:51.252 --> 00:21:57.109
Yeah, but seeing those different juxtapositions has, I think, really maybe value balance in kind of everything that I do.
00:21:57.741 --> 00:22:02.506
Okay, well, so let me ask you this, and this may seem like an off the wall question, but I'm going to take it somewhere.
00:22:02.506 --> 00:22:07.090
Do you like to read books, or have you ever liked to read books?
00:22:07.731 --> 00:22:07.893
Yeah.
00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:10.747
Okay, growing up, so I'm 37.
00:22:10.747 --> 00:22:24.463
Okay, and growing up, I remember library time, talking to the teacher or, you know, the librarian if she wasn't a teacher, which was rare, she was usually, but anyway talking to the librarian and she'd pull a book we wouldn't get a say in what it was.
00:22:24.463 --> 00:22:47.348
This was, you know, elementary school or I don't know what how primary school equates, but younger grades and she'd pull a book off the shelf and she'd read it to us and we'd have like a chapter a day and we'd have library time or library class twice a week, you know, and eventually, by the end of the school year we'd finally finish a book and there was no test, there was no nothing, it was just read the chapter.
00:22:47.348 --> 00:22:48.491
Talk about it.
00:22:48.491 --> 00:22:49.319
Ms.
00:22:49.319 --> 00:22:54.430
Conley, that was her name and I remember she talked about on a few occasions.
00:22:55.071 --> 00:23:05.252
Does anybody know or can you think of a time when you went through something similar to this, right, and just sort of develop this inquiry and critical thought based on books?
00:23:05.252 --> 00:23:13.262
Well now, obviously most kids and I guess maybe it's cultural aren't reading books because they don't have to.
00:23:13.262 --> 00:23:18.082
You can read it on your phone or you can listen to the audio book, or obviously you've got podcasts right.
00:23:18.082 --> 00:23:33.308
So not quite the same, but I think in gathering the information and the fact finding and these are options for how I can respond to a certain situation or stimuli or whatever stimulus I guess, or whatever same principle applies right.
00:23:33.308 --> 00:23:59.248
But I think the amount of critical thought and inquiry about those inputs, at least stateside, seems drastically lowered than what I remember it being as a kid, and I wasn't that attentive as a kid, so I don't mean it to say like I was taking notes in pre-K, you know, but it definitely stuck with me Because then you know learning to ask questions, the why questions, the how questions, the who, the whatever.
00:23:59.407 --> 00:24:01.069
Tell me, explain all these things.
00:24:01.069 --> 00:24:12.386
And so now I think we're at a deficit 2024, as it stands of this recording, we have all the answers at our fingertips and none of the questions to know what to do with it.
00:24:12.386 --> 00:24:15.842
So in fact now we have computers telling us the questions to the answers that computers are telling us.
00:24:15.842 --> 00:24:23.012
So there's all sorts of these things that seem new to me but conceptually maybe they're not.
00:24:23.012 --> 00:24:45.080
Do you think traveling for you has done the same sort of thing where you've been able to gather information and fact find and identify other perspectives to handle other situations in different countries or with different people from other cultures that you can rely on and fall back to, like somebody else might, from reading books or tabletop games or gaining insight from anything else.
00:24:45.703 --> 00:24:47.029
Yeah, I definitely think so.
00:24:47.029 --> 00:24:49.882
I think well, and I think you make like a really excellent point.
00:24:49.882 --> 00:25:11.207
I think also the way that even like TV has changed now, where you don't, where everything comes out at once and binging is a huge thing and very fun, but when stuff doesn't come out week per week like I noticed myself watching a show and I'm like I don't really care what happens because I'm going to find out in like two hours, I don't ask those questions because I know I'm going to find out in like three episodes or something.
00:25:11.207 --> 00:25:15.131
It's a muscle that you need to flex in whatever way you can.
00:25:15.131 --> 00:25:16.803
I think the book is great.
00:25:17.365 --> 00:25:25.490
Sure, traveling, I've needed to have a basic understanding of the, of the culture, to know even how to ask a question.
00:25:25.490 --> 00:25:35.965
Sometimes, um, and you know, there's some like basic things as well where it's like okay, like in Germany, we do not jaywalk, they will rip your head off, literally, even crossing the street.
00:25:35.965 --> 00:25:38.823
I kind of have to be like, okay, your head off literally, even crossing the street.
00:25:38.823 --> 00:25:40.227
I kind of have to be like okay, what is the culture like?
00:25:40.227 --> 00:25:40.929
Can I cross the street right now?
00:25:40.929 --> 00:25:44.423
Um, so, something like even as as simple as that you have to think about.
00:25:44.964 --> 00:25:51.503
And you know, in Asian cultures, many Asian cultures, touching somebody's head is uh, it's like a sacred part of the body.
00:25:51.503 --> 00:26:17.983
So it's like very disrespectful to touch somebody's head, which sounds silly, um, but if there's like kids running around and saying like playing soccer or something, you don't even realize that sometimes you're like have them on the head to like, oh, like good job, or something like you know what I mean yeah and if you're sitting down like kind of the opposite of the head, like the feet are the dirtiest part and everything, and so that's like if you sit and are like pointing your feet at somebody, like that is very disrespectful shoes on, shoes off, kind of those kinds of.
00:26:18.364 --> 00:26:26.694
And so really being mindful about how other cultures work and, yeah, figuring out which questions to ask.
00:26:26.694 --> 00:26:27.836
I was on a plane.
00:26:27.836 --> 00:26:33.673
My friend and I did a thing where we were like let's just go to the airport and like get a ticket.
00:26:33.673 --> 00:26:39.579
And so we got on the plane and then we're like wait, what side of the road did they drive?
00:26:39.579 --> 00:26:42.990
And we literally didn't even know what side of the road they drove on or anything like that.
00:26:42.990 --> 00:26:51.489
And that's important to know because you know you got to look right if they're driving on the left side of the road, uh, oh yeah, because they're gonna come first died a few times.
00:26:51.630 --> 00:26:54.482
Yeah, yeah, look, I mean always you should look both ways.
00:26:54.782 --> 00:27:28.384
But you know, sometimes you get a little bit lazy and and whatnot and like oh yeah, no one's coming, but newsflash is because the traffic doesn't come from that side of the road, and so just these, like simple things that, um, yeah, you really do have to keep in mind and kind of flex that muscle and the more, the more that you do, the more you're like, okay, I need to make sure to look this up, I need to make sure it looks, um, even sometimes, like in cultures, talking while you're eating isn't polite or yeah, just kind of things that wouldn't even occur to us, or to ask because they just don't exist.
00:27:28.384 --> 00:27:31.751
And so, yes, but there's a really long way of saying yeah.
00:27:31.751 --> 00:27:48.806
I think it's really helpful to critically think and to also to be yeah, to be able to anticipate things ahead of time, to plan ahead, or to be able to pivot as well and kind of think on the spot like okay, well, that didn't work, or I have no idea how this works, so like, how do I figure it out?
00:27:49.548 --> 00:27:56.740
Yeah, that agility is tough, I mean, I guess, like any other sort of muscle memory, like you said, if you don't train it it's going to atrophy.
00:27:56.740 --> 00:28:04.144
But yeah, even conversationally, it's like the siestas you brought up earlier having that kind of dwell time in between tv show episodes.
00:28:04.144 --> 00:28:08.941
Or you know what's what's going to happen to the Ninja Turtles next episode, I don't know.
00:28:08.941 --> 00:28:23.594
Newsflash probably the same thing as the last one Shredder's around, but, like you know the intricacies, you're feeling it out and I think I think there's a lot of that that is going to be a problem decades from now, at least in the U.
00:28:23.773 --> 00:28:23.814
S.
00:28:23.814 --> 00:28:26.604
I can't speak, obviously, to anywhere else, but well, maybe you can.
00:28:26.644 --> 00:28:28.729
But where do you see it going?
00:28:28.729 --> 00:28:29.672
You know what I mean.
00:28:29.672 --> 00:28:39.086
In societies, in cultures, where maybe there's a, let's say, a minimized focus on that kind of character siesta dwell time.
00:28:39.086 --> 00:28:46.834
You know conversation, processing, critical thought, I guess when does it tend to lead cultures?
00:28:46.834 --> 00:28:56.644
Is it just take things for granted and sort of societal jellyfish in the current, or what's the-- What have you seen happen or have you seen any impact?
00:28:57.227 --> 00:29:00.099
Culturally, I don't think I've seen anything different within different cultures.
00:29:00.099 --> 00:29:14.714
I think we've all kind of become so reliant and dependent on getting answers immediately, like having computers at our fingertips and stuff, that I think that's kind of a universal that has access to the internet and things like that.
00:29:14.714 --> 00:29:15.214
Sure they can.
00:29:15.214 --> 00:29:25.686
Yeah, I think it would be interesting to look at percentages of the population that haven't had that access or anything and see if there are differences.
00:29:25.686 --> 00:29:28.268
But in some ways I think it also can be helpful.
00:29:28.268 --> 00:29:41.603
Especially with Google Translate, you can start to communicate with people more and deeper than you could before, because you're able to actually understand one another through the AI of um translating stuff.
00:29:41.603 --> 00:29:45.510
So I think in in some ways it can certainly bring us forward.
00:29:45.510 --> 00:29:48.965
But I think it's something we all have to be super mindful about.
00:29:48.965 --> 00:29:50.730
I mean, it is actually.
00:29:50.789 --> 00:29:59.891
It's really embarrassing how horrible my sense of direction is, like because I do most of my traveling solo and I don't know how I've survived for so long, because it's so bad, and like also.
00:29:59.940 --> 00:30:11.270
But I think part of it is because, like, I am so reliant on Google maps that I don't have to think, like I can just like open my map and follow the little dot and I don't have to think about where that is.
00:30:11.270 --> 00:30:21.253
And even in a city that like I've been to a bunch or you know, feel like I know pretty pretty well, like I'll still have to be like, okay, I gotta put it in maps and I'm not like learning any of the new cities.
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