“We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.” -Kofi Annan

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Jul 13, 2020 | by Jessy Desjardins

I wanted to go visit the Dead Sea in Jordan. Unfortunately, there is no public transportation to get there. To share the cost of a van, I made up last-minute a group filled with half a dozen tourists who wanted to see the world's most salted sea. We paid to use the beach at a resort, to be free to go in the water shirtless (or in a bikini for the girls in the group). It's a Muslim country, going in the water not fully covered is kinda rude.

What a great experience, the water was so saturated with salt that you could see the salt on its shore, you had the burning feeling on your skin when you got out, and the most fun? You floated so easily! It was actually hard to go underwater. The classic tourist picture is being in the water reading a newspaper or a book while floating around (without the need to swim to stay on the surface). All in all, a little higher salt concentration and you could almost walk on the water.

Now comes the interesting part. This beach resort had locals using it. The difference was that the tourists took pictures with the Dead Sea as a background (of course, the highlight). The locals took the pictures the other way around (the beach as a background) since it was packed with girls in bikinis and boys shirtless. It was quite a funny way to see the cultural differences. We were two cultures in the same location and both taking pictures in different directions to have what we each found unique.

This is a wonderful example of how culture can impact our perception. Our culture is only one among a sea of factors that impact our perception in our daily lives. There are no "right" ways of seeing a certain situation, only the way that seems right to us. This distinction is the key to let go of judgment and to open our minds and hearts to everyone no matter our differences.