Hot and Cold

I am currently reading a book called Foreign to Familiar, based on the fact that I was asked to before I embark on the mission trip I am a part of this Nov. The basic point of the book is that our world is divided into Hot and Cold Culture climates, and those cultures are defined by how they relate to other people, situations, and themselves.

In a hot culture, the people there are embracing and welcoming. They want you to do the pop in. They want to know how you feel and worry about it when they are in your presence. In a hot culture if you ask someone for a ride to the grocery store, mind you their car is full and they have no available room, they will tell you "Ah, right now I'm full, but I think we can find a way, let me get back to you". They are more concerned with friendliness than information. The result they are concerned with is that you walk away saying "that dude was friendly". If you are together in a group, their main concern is that you are comfortable and happy. Even if that means sacrificing their own happiness. They are conditioned to not let you down, if you ask them a question they know the answer is going to be "no"....they tell you "yes", simply because they do not want to let you down.

In contrast, the Cold culture person is all about information. Friendliness is a waste of time. These are the work minded people that are efficient and want work done. If you ask a cold culture person for a ride to the grocery store and their car is full, they will simply say "my car is full, it won't work". They aren't being rude, they are being efficient. They don't think about your feelings first, they think about the end point. When it comes to telling you no, they tell you no because they have the vantage point of, "this is what you want to know". Why waste your time with fluff, if the answer is no, say no.

The great thing that I've learned from this book is that both cultures need one another. They work together like the Yin and the Yang. America is a melting pot of Hot and Cold cultures I believe. Don't look farther than my marriage. I've discussed this book with my wife, and we both agree that I end up being more like the Hot Culture, and she is more like the Cold culture. It's not that one is better than the other, it's just what it is. I look at it as the perfect harmony. If the whole world were Hot culture or Cold culture it wouldn't flow the way it should.

When I travel to El Salvador I will be coming into contact with a Hot culture. They will look at us with respect and with the idea of wanting to please us at all times. Knowing this, I need to not disrespect their effort. If they provide food, I need to enjoy it even if I feel like I'm eating dog poop. I look forward to reporting more to you about this mission trip and what God has in store for us in E.S.