Another Day With the Tanzania Program of Gustavus Adolphus College

Today I spent several hours at the Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center talking with students of Gustavus Adolphus College who are going to Tanzania on a study program. They have been undergoing pre-departure orientation, and Professor Barbara Zust had invited me to speak with them, as I reported in a previous blog post.

As in the past, the students, have been reading my book, Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences, and my meeting with them was an opportunity for them to meet me and ask questions.

After introductions, I started by commending these students for their decision to go on a study abroad program and experience a culture different from their own. I shared my own experience in the U.S.A. and the positive effects it has had on me, enabling me to be a bridge, so to speak, between Africans and Americans.

With those remarks, the conversation began. The questions the students asked, concerning appropriate behaviour, not only showed clearly how well they had thought about what I say in my book, but also afforded me valuable opportunities to clarify what I had written as well as what I had not. I did say, however, that I have been aware, for some years, of the need to write on matters I did not address in my book, and that I am working on that project.

This was another remarkable group of students from Gustavus Adolphus College. We talked for over two hours and were very pleased, as the photo above shows. Professor Zust is seen in the back row, next to me, and in the front row, on the right, is Pastor Todd Mattson, co-leader of the program. The group departs for Tanzania on January 4. For updates, visit withonevoiceTanzania.

Waiting to Meet Gustavus Adolphus College Students

I have received an invitation from Professor Barbara Zust of Gustavus Adolphus College to speak with students she is preparing to take to Tanzania on a study abroad program. She has informed me that the group will meet on January 2 and 3 at the Mount Olivet Retreat Center for their pre-trip orientation. I responded right away that I will join them on January 2.

Professor Zust has led this program again and again and has always invited me to talk with her students about cultural issues. Before our meetings, she has the students read my book, Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences.



I always look forward to these opportunities to talk with Americans about what they should expect when they go to Africa or when they interact with Africans in the U.S.A. This is the work I do under the auspices of Africonexion.com

I have always been touched and humbled by what the students say when they are in Tanzania and after their return to the U.S. A. They admire and appreciate the hospitality of the Tanzanians, and they note how their experiences in Tanzania accord with what I say in my book and in our orientation meetings about cultural differences. As I reflect on all this, I tell myself: what a great way to foster mutual understanding in our world, which is increasingly becoming a global village.

A Meeting With Students from Gustavus Adolphus College

Today I went to the Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center in the Farmington area of Minnesota, to speak with students from Gustavus Adolphus College who are going to Tanzania this week on a study abroad program. I had been invited by Professor Barbara Zust to talk with them as part of their pre-departure orientation, and, as in the past, our conversation centered on my book, Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences. As has always been the case, the students came having read the book and eager to learn more.

After the formal conversation, which lasted from 10am to 12 noon, some students brought me copies of my book for signing. Then we had lunch, during which, of course, we continued conversing in small groups. I shared a table with Professor Zust and Pastor Todd Mattson--co-leader of the trip--and several students. When we finished our lunch, I signed some more copies of the book. We then said goodbye, and I hit the road back to Northfield, where I live.

This was another memorable meeting which involved much reflection and sharing of cultural issues and perspectives, both African and American. I am delighted to be involved in the students' quest for greater understanding and appreciation of a culture different from their own.