In our early days in another culture, we may learn culture and language more through our missteps than our triumphs. We asked Pioneers around the world what cultural blunders they’ve made that are now seared in their minds.
Many shared mistakes related to language which took them into embarrassing topics:
While most of us don’t like to share our most-embarrassing moments, those who are willing to give others a laugh at their own expense may reap surprising benefits. A Pioneer serving in South America finds that the story of one of her early blunders is a good way to affirm the ways of her host community and endear her to the local women.
“The most culturally significant food in the jungle is masato, or as I like to call it, spit juice. Women make it by mashing up yuca (cassava), chewing the yuca, spitting it back out, leaving it a few days to ferment and then mixing it with water,” she explains.
“I’ve already drunk my fair share of saliva, but when I got my first opportunity to make masato with the women, I knew that I had two options. I could feel deeply grossed out, or I could feel deeply honored that they were inviting me into one of their most treasured activities, one that they knew outsiders often judged.”
This Pioneer was in for a surprise, though.
“Once I started chewing the yuca, I discovered that it had the exact consistency of mashed potatoes, and it was so good that I chewed it up and swallowed it right down! Thankfully, the women burst out laughing, because they had never seen anyone swallow the mashed yuca instead of spitting it out.
“My partner, meanwhile, was doing a great job of not swallowing, but her spitting skills left something to be desired. She went back and forth between awkwardly dribbling her yuca down her chin and launching it onto the wrist of the hostess.”
Today, she loves to tell this story.
“The funny thing is that these mistakes might have been the best thing to happen to our relationships with the women. They couldn’t stop laughing at our blunders, and ever since then, this has become my go-to story with indigenous women. Between the surprise of hearing that foreigners made masato and the comedic relief of our blunders, nothing loosens up a quiet woman’s shyness faster than telling her that you love chewing mashed yuca so much, you swallow it all straight down.”
See also: Would You Eat These 10 Foods for the Gospel?