One of my favorite cross-cultural stories comes from a former colleague in campus ministry at a university. He had taken a group of international students to tour the state capitol building, and when they arrived, they were surprised to see that a wedding was taking place on the capitol lawn. What an opportunity to see up close an American tradition in a beautiful setting.
How “up close”? Well, two students from Korea wanted to get some good pictures, and before my friend could stop them, they walked straight up to the wedding party and sat down in the audience. And of course, the row that had the most available seats was the one in the front, next to the bride’s mother and father. So they sat there through the ceremony, nearly front and center. Best of all was that when it was over, as the usher’s dismissed the crowd row by row, the students followed protocol and walked down the aisle behind the parents.
No word on whether they took a place in the receiving line.
[photo: “QH3C3119,” by Jordan Smith, used under a Creative Commons license]
Clearing Customs 