Passing through...

OK, so this is a gratuitious post just to show off the fact that my daughter Kim is working as an intern at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD. But it also allows me to comment on the phenomenon of "passing through." I am currently enroute to Nairobi, Kenya to join my student team. I've been trying to prepare myself for the mental shock of experiencing a new culture. But in order to get to Nairobi, I've been "passing through" other cultures as well. I've had the chance to visit Kim for about 24 hours and re-learn "east coast culture." This has not been too tough since I grew up in New Jersey. But, there are still differences. In Maryland, microbrew means Sam Adams - and I only saw about one mile of bike lanes in 100's of miles of driving. I'm now killing time in Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. (It's yet another story about how my expected 2-hour layover is turning into a 12-hour layover!) I know the beer here is Heiniken, and the bike lanes are more plentiful than in Fort Collins. But the culture is markedly different. The direct, matter-of-fact interactions (Yes, you have missed your flight. Have a nice day.) feel more abrupt and uncaring than I am used to at home. And yet, these are only "passing through" cultures. They offer no insight into what I will see, hear, and feel in Kenya. In fact, it is only by chance that I even traveled through Washington DC and Amsterdam on my way to Kenya - I could have taken many paths, and none of these paths prepare me for what I am about to experience. I'm just passing through.