In Oprah We Trust...But There's More!

It’s peak busy season in the office as we’re preparing for summer departures; plus I’ve picked up additional workload to organize our popular Asia and Latin America placements due to a Coordinator leaving early for her pregnancy. Needless to say, my days are busy and full of ‘adventure’.  Yet, knowing that it was Oprah’s last show, my team and I took an hour this afternoon to watch her final episode.

We all know how dedicated, inspirational, and powerful Oprah is, and how much of an influence she is to our culture. She’s got the Midas touch. Everything she touches turns to gold. Let’s think about it…all the books that have been featured in Oprah’s Book Club turn in to instant best sellers; any product or service that makes it on Oprah’s Favorite List becomes a must-have in the market; all featured guests that she brings on succeeds to their own independent stardom (ie: Dr. Phil, Bob Greene, Suze Orman, Dr. Oz, and much more). How does she do it?

 I can’t claim to be a true die-hard Oprah fan. I don’t watch much television so I’ve probably only watched a few episodes through the years. I have subscribed to her O magazine several times in the past, but with time constraints and attention deficiencies I usually half-heartedly flip through the pages at airports or wee hours before bed. But, there is something about her that makes me want to listen, read, and hear what she has to say. Admit it--you feel it too, right? C’mon, um, millions feel it.

It’s all about the connection. As Oprah explained, “Something in me connected with each of you in a way that allowed me to see myself in you and you in me. I became your surrogate—to ask the questions, deliver the answers, learn, grow, expand my thinking, challenge my beliefs and the way I looked at the world. I listened and grew, and I know you grew along with me…Sometimes I was the teacher, and more often, you taught me.”
Isn’t that the what life is supposed to be about? Connecting ourselves to exchange ideas, love, opinions, beliefs, experiences, and so much more. To teach and learn. An opportunity for us to Discover the Similarities and Share the Differences.

So if in Oprah we trust, who does Oprah trust? Who does she turn to and how did she get so successful? Although I may have missed four thousand five hundred and sixty episodes; this one answer pretty much highlighted her 25 years on air for me: “My team and Jesus. Nothing but the hand of God has made this possible for me. I know I've never been alone, and you haven't either. And I know that that presence, that flow—some people call it grace—is working in my life at every single turn. And yours too, if you let it in. It's closer than your breath, and it is yours for the asking…Even when I didn't have a name for it, I could feel the voice bigger than myself speaking to me, and all of us have that same voice. Be still and know it. You can acknowledge it or not. You can worship it or not. You can praise it, you can ignore it or you can know it. Know it. It's always there speaking to you and waiting for you to hear it in every move, in every decision. I wait and I listen. I'm still—I wait and listen for the guidance that's greater than my meager mind.”

When I think of my experiences, I have to count my blessings because God has been good. When I think of who I turn to for support with Cultural Embrace I too rely on my team and Jesus. I am by no means Oprah. But I think it’s pretty cool that God shares His unconditional love equally. No matter who you are. It took me a looong time to realize and acknowledge it, but once I did, life feels so much more peaceful and easier. In fact, taking an hour this afternoon, or the time to write this blog (which by the way wasn’t anywhere near my list of things to do, but I can’t ignore this whisper in my ear) didn’t really phase me. I got enough work done to call it a day. There is more work, sometimes I don’t think it ever ends, but that’s the gift that keeps on giving, and allows me to look forward to my inbox each day.

April's A-Ha! Travel Moments (Julie Dean)

The first quarter of 2011 is finished and April is here--wow! Doesn't it seem like the Earth rotates faster these days--making weeks, months and years fly by? I watch my grade school aged nieces and nephews cram homework in between nights and weekends filled with soccer, basketball, and piano lessons. I hear my retired neighbor complain that she doesn't have enough time to tend to her garden, or visit her grandchildren in San Antonio (an hour drive from our neighborhood). I must confess that my work days can easily exceed 12-15 hours a day and even if I'm not in the office, my Blackberry keeps me work accessible at all hours of the day. I am fortunate that I usually don't feel like work is work. Cultural Embrace is my hobby. My passion. My purpose.
Of course there are hardships of owning a business particularly with the pressures of a volatile world, or traveler's mismatched views of cultural and travel expectations, etc; but I hope never to lose insight of the essence of traveling. Thus, I am dedicating April to the A-Ha! moments of why we need to stop, take a fresh perspective of the world (our own and others), embrace other cultures, and travel.

I continually ask staff, past, current, and future participants to share their A-Ha! Travel moments, and will be sharing a daily collection of what transformed their mind, body, and soul during their travels. If you wish to share your story, please send my your A-Ha! Travel moment to travel@culturalembrace.com. I hope you will take a few minutes out of your day to read these blogs, and to reflect on our purpose of being a global citizen.

My A-ha! Travel Moments normally occur in the most innocent and innocuous of times while abroad, often resulting in a bit of embarrassment for yours truly.  One of the first moments I distinctly remember was after a long flight to Brisbane, Australia.  I asked an airport taxi to take me to a hostel and while the driver loaded my bags into the trunk I decided I would be friendly and took a seat in the front so I could chat with him.  I didn’t realize my mistake until I was frowning at the steering wheel in front of me and the driver took the other seat in the front and asked:  “Well miss, where are you driving me to?”  Yes, I knew Australians drove on the opposite of the road than I was used to but I just didn’t realize how that would translate into some of the most mundane and ordinary situations being so different. The driver and I laughed, traded spots, and I knew the adventure had begun! ~ Julie Dean

Where is the Love: SuperBowl XLV postgame review

I'm not a big fan of American football, and even though I have watched most SuperBowls, it was more for party and half-time entertainment pleasures than for the love of the game. But last night, I was on a flight back to Austin and had nothing to distract me while watching the championship game on DirectTV, so I actually listened and paid attention to the commentaries. Since Cultural Embrace's February theme is love, I thought I would feature what I loved about SuperBowl XLV:

• Besides 4th grade American history class, when was the last time you listened to the Declaration of Independence in its entirety? FOX & NFL's pre-game rendition of the Declaration of Independence gave me goosebumps.  
• Oops, Christina Aguilera may have flubbed up our national anthem, but tears still streamed down my face listening to her belt out the Star Spangled Banner, and my throat was totally lump-filled when the camera shot over to soldiers watching in Afghanistan, and you could hear the stadium's background cheer (I'm kinda tearing up right now, just thinking about it).  
• Vikings Madieu Williams, who happens to be a fellow Terrapin alumnus, won Walter Peyton Man of the Year Award, which recognizes a player's off-the-field community service as well as his playing excellence. Williams recently gave $2M to create the Madieu Williams Center for Global Health at the University of Maryland, in which the center will address public health issues in Prince George’s County and Sierra Leone (his birth nation). He has already built a primary school in Sierra Leone and is now building a secondary school there as well. His foundation sponsored a mission to Sierra Leone that brought American teachers, surgeons and dentists to help educate the teachers at his school, give free dental cleanings to all of the students and provide free surgeries. And to heart this man even more, he wasn't even available to accept the award...because he was in the Persian Gulf on a goodwill tour visiting U.S. service members!
• The half-time show raising the Cowboy's stadium roof in Arlington, TX. Slash ripped his guitar, and Usher tore up the dancefloor as guest appearances, between Black Eyed Peas' acts. One of my favorite B.E.P. songs, ironically fits this theme, "Where is the Love" and they revised the lyrics to address more domestic issues that our government leaders need to hear, while singing to the backdrop of LOVE spelled out in lights.  
• I recently read a magazine article on Vince Lombardi, and love his motivational and winning attitude spirit. "People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problem of modern society." I know it was repeated about a gazillion times during the trophy and victory ceremony, but I agree, it really is nice to have the Lombardi trophy return back at Green Bay. Besides, I love cheese! :)
• To be fair and not jump on the bandwagon of supporting the winning team, I have to admit, I was more blown away by Mike Tomlin's optimistic attitude. I think he and his family should go to Disneyland! I google searched his coaching and leadership styles on-line today, and now I can see why he is the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl, and already has two rings at age 38. Here is an answer to a pre-game interview about what he is saying to his team, "I am just reiterating the points we talked about all year, the things that are important to us. We have to exercise common sense; we have to compete when given an opportunity, and be considerate of others. If we do those things, we feel like we can put together a winning performance"

Okay, so my recap may not be sports related, but answers an important question...Where is the love? SuperBowl XLV proved that it can be found on a football field...on-stage...in Arlington, TX...in Afghanistan! As long as people work together and be considerate of others...we can find and spread the love all over this world.

Love and China: Q & A Part 1 with Robin & Jeff

February is full of love. Walk in to any shop or market, and you will see heart-shaped chocolates, pastries, flowers, and jewelry, prepared for Valentine’s Day.  Ironically, Thursday is Chinese New Year, celebrating the year of the rabbit, and I owe my love for travel to my first international trip, teaching English in China. So it seems naturally fitting to dedicate this month’s theme and destination feature to LOVE and CHINA! 
I am able to give travel related advice, but will leave the love and relationship tips to Dr. Phil. But this month, I’ve decided to take a different approach to my weekly blogs and have asked some alumnus, current and future participants that have either found love abroad, or are traveling or will be traveling with their loved ones on a Cultural Embrace program.

Meet Robin and Jeff. They are on our ten-month teach program in China, and arrived to Yantai in August, 2010. They were introduced to teach in China through a fellow Seattle Pacific University and Cultural Embrace alumnae, Luan (who I’ll introduce in my next LOVE and CHINA blog).  And they recently got engaged, and have taken embracing the cultures to another level. Congratulations Robin and Jeff! 

Q: How did you meet, and how long have you been together?
A: Jeff and I met at freshmen orientation right before college, but we didn't start dating until sophomore year. We have been together now almost 3 years, and on my birthday, Dec 19th, Jeff proposed at our favorite American restaurant here in Yantai. He rented the whole top floor and surprised me. I thought I was meeting him for birthday dinner but instead there were rose petals on the floor, balloons everywhere, and Jeff waiting for me on one knee!

Q: Who initiated taking the plunge of going to China? And how did you decide where to go and what to do together, and why this Cultural Embrace program?A: I (Robin) knew that I wanted to teach abroad after I graduated college, but I never would have picked China. Jeff however, had been there before on a study abroad trip, and was interested in learning Chinese to strengthen his resume. It was intimidating at first (for me because it was China, and for Jeff because it was teaching), but the idea of spending a year abroad together sounded a lot better than being apart for ten months. My college professor had mentioned in one of my classes that her son was teaching English in China, so Jeff and I met with her to learn more about his experience. She gave us Luan's (her daughter-in-law) email address. Luan was the one who recommended us to Cultural Embrace, and we really liked the idea of using an outside organization to help us figure out all the small details of preparing for a year abroad.

Q: What are the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of traveling together?
A: Pros-I get to see the world with my best friend, and we can build a lot of memories together. We have learned a lot about each other by adjusting to life in different cultures together. Cons-if we get cranky from jet lag or dealing with differences in culture, we take it out on each other.

Q: Who takes what roles while planning and traveling abroad?
A: Jeff does a lot of the logistics like booking the flights and hostels (he is a bargain shopper and always seems to find stuff for way cheaper than I can). I usually sit around and come up with all the fun ways to spend Jeff's money :)

Q: What is your favorite part of being in China together?
A: The best part about being in China together is that we always have someone to do something with, whether that means doing pull-ups in the snow, going out to dinner, or being there for each other when it is Christmas, since we didn’t go home for the first time ever.

Q: Do you have any advice for others that are thinking about traveling with their loved ones?
A: Moving to the other side of the world with your significant other is a pretty big step. Make sure that you and your significant other have a solid foundation in your relationship because quite possibly, you may be all each other have for a period of time. Jeff and I spend a ton of time together, so make sure you like the person and have common interests. You also have to be willing to grow together. We have learned so much about each other by seeing how we react to challenges and adjust to change. It has been really incredible seeing how our relationship has been shaped by our time in China. I never would have thought I would be planning my wedding from China!



Life's Gifts

“Life is a gift. If you do not value your gift, nobody else will.” This message was attached to my Yogi tea bag string, ironically, on the eve of my birthday. I come from a family string of gifted sisters that have high achievements within their personal and professional community, yet somewhere along the gene pool, I never embraced science and math like two of my sisters, nor had much talent with music and arts like the other two. In fact, I had a really challenging time figuring out what to major in at college, and what to do career wise.

I love learning, discovering, and education in general, but being a student was not my cup of tea, so I quickly finished college in four years with a communications major. After working in the corporate world for about five months, I jumped off the conveyor belt we seem to mechanically get put on, and went abroad to teach English in China. Some may perceive this as escaping and procrastinating with responsibilities (it’s okay, these thoughts crossed my mind too, and it continues to bring a worry brow across my parents’ forehead), but living and traveling on a Chinese wage budget, buying groceries at the local street market, creating daily lessons to my college students, hanging socks to dry on an outdoor bamboo pole on the seventh floor, and making travel plans for weekend and holiday breaks brought me more ‘life’ skills than any textbooks, diploma, and staff meeting.

After three semesters of teaching, I still wasn’t sure what my ‘calling’ was, yet life kept bringing me gifts of random opportunities. I ended up working as a cruise director on a river boat cruise along the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River, which introduced me to the hospitality and tourism field, where I managed and organized luxury tours all around the globe for three years. Getting a bit restless of over 900 days of international travel, I went back to teaching, and taught ESL and GED to at-need communities in Austin.

After all of these life and global experiences, I came to the realization that these are my gifts! People, cultures, equality, service, diplomacy, education, and travel are my skills set. I may not be able to discover vaccinations, or design jet engines, or be a concert pianist, or build office complexes, but I am capable of sharing my gifts to others. Cultural Embrace exists so we may introduce people to ‘Discover the Similarities and Share the Differences’.

We all have different opinions, expectations, experiences, highs and lows with life. That, in itself, is a gift of being human. Our knowledge and skills at Cultural Embrace are to form the box to best fit your shape, and wrap it up with the appropriate ribbons and wrapping papers. Cultural Embrace’s goal is to bring additional value, so when you receive your package, you will untie the bow and open it to discover the beautiful gift called…LIFE!

The Spirit of Christmas in Guatemala

It has been exciting to return back to Guatemala from our inception of Cultural Embrace’s H.U.G. project exactly one year ago. What is our H.U.G. project? In 2010, I wanted to establish a way to offer support on a more personal and corporate level, so we may work together to Help, Understand, and Grow select local and global non-profits. Cultural Embrace will continue to connect our participants with the best suited local placement for our volunteer, teach, intern, work, and travel programs, but I wanted to have a more meaningful commitment to causes that personally touch my heart.

In 2010, we sent 52 individual and group volunteers to Guatemala to support our H.U.G. project. Our participants have built a library, pharmacy, garden, helped build a new home for a family, painted seven homes in the village, created a jewelry-making co-operative, and spent hundreds of hours tutoring their school work, and being positive mentors.

We wanted to throw a party to start the Christmas holiday weekend right. On Thursday, my niece, Alexa, and nephew, Michael, picked out two piñatas that we filled with candy, and we bought little toys and presents for the kids. There is something so special about the H.U.G. children, as there is a sense of family, love, and togetherness.  The older children would look after the younger children when they sang songs and danced for us. The children that grabbed more candy from the piñata would share it with the other children.  One of the boys handed Michael a lollipop without anyone requesting him to be generous. But isn’t that the true spirit of Christmas? To laugh, care, share, and give back to others.