From: Terry W. Colvin (fortean1@mindspring.com)
Date: Sun Jul 27 2003 - 00:59:50 MDT
I haven't read the rest of this thread, but yes, we think
differently. I studied Vietnamese six hours a day, five days a week,
for eleven months. When I went to Vietnam, where I gained a great
reputation as an interpreter, I might say, I was ranked 3+/3+ by the
State Department. 5 is native speaker, and a ranking of 4 cannot be
given before one has actually lived in the country. So when I left
VN, I was certainly a 4. I never would have understood the Asian
mind if I'd not known Vietnamese. I adopted a lot of their "habits",
too. For example, I rarely call anybody by their name, like the VN
custom. All that caused me to "think differently" than the ordinary
American. I'm not sure which culture I "prefer" over the other one.
I have travelled so much and studied so many languages, my
personality is a hodgepodge of many cultures. So, to a certain
extent, I am never really "happy" in one place or the other. But at
least I understand why. Rob
-- Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1@mindspring.com > Alternate: < fortean1@msn.com > Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html > Sites: * Fortean Times * Mystic's Haven * TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program ------------ Member: Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB) Mailing List TLCB Web Site: < http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org >[Vietnam veterans, Allies, CIA/NSA, and "steenkeen" contractors are welcome.]
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