BY: CHELSEA
While we were visiting Rwanda in October, we ate at a street café that served African fusion dishes. Actually, the playful menu extended beyond this to include Mexican, American, and Mediterranean spins on dishes as well. There’s a good deal of creativity that comes into play when culinary traditions cross paths — a little of this spice and a little of that culinary technique… the final creation is something undeniably new but with deep roots in pre-existing cuisine. In the case of our Kigali café, this made for a pleasant lunch!
Culture is a bit like this too, I think — or more particularly, “third culture” is a bit like fusion cuisine. Third culture is that unique and dynamic space that emerges when one steps into a new culture but brings, of course, his or her own cultural background. The result is a cultural crossroads that forces a kind of blending or weaving together (whether in harmony, in tension, or some of both!).
Being an optimist and having a deep fondness for cultural diversity, I think this is something to be celebrated! (Though it doesn’t follow that third culture spaces are always cheery or easy.) I’m glad that when we move to Rwanda, our lives will truly be a fusion of Rwandan and American culture (and perhaps subcultures and other cultures entirely, too; it’s never simple, is it?). Thankfully, we don’t have to choose between the two, nor would that be possible.
In some ways we’ll be living and breathing Rwandan culture, yet we’ll also remain very engaged with American culture — we’ll interact closely with the expatriate population in Kigali, and our own cultural backgrounds will accompany us when we relocate to Rwanda. Wade’s past as a farm kid in the Midwest, my childhood as a beach kid in Florida, our memories of our church family, blood relatives, mutual friends — these things are a big part of us, and they’re coming with us! In thought and spirit, at least.
We’re looking forward to stepping into the joys and challenges of life in Rwanda, and we’re also glad that we can bring our whole selves — past heritage and future hopes; hunger to explore Rwandan rainforests and love for North American spring flowers. There’s space and time to lean into both cultures, which is wonderful. That means celebrating the beauty of each, and acknowledging the flaws of each — values and norms that remain in need of God’s redemption.
And as we anticipate this, I’ve been especially struck by the fact that while Wade and I will have many referent points back to our home culture, little Evie (18 months old at present) is much more of a tender little blank slate. On a core level she’s already been formed by the people, places, and seasons of our U.S. life, but as we look toward the future, I realize that her sense of cultural identity (is she American? is she Rwandan? Who is she?!) will depend largely on Wade and me, and how we cultivate our family life in Rwanda — conversations and interactions with others, traditions we establish in the home.
In large part, we’ll want to help Evie know the truths that we do: that our relatives and heritage are in the U.S. (and go back even farther to outside the U.S.), but that the body of Christ is a family, and that in a very real way, we have brothers and sisters in Rwanda. That God loves both Rwandans and U.S. citizens deeply, and wants them to be part of his family. That there’s beauty at the crossroads, and it’s a privilege to partner in mission and ministry with Christians in another part of the world.
So I’m eager to enter that third culture space — both to receive it and to cultivate it. We hope to read books to Evie that reflect the life and seasons of North America — Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables — as well as other classics like The Chronicles of Narnia. At the same time, we’re also looking forward to discovering Rwandan literature together. We hope that in time, the rhythm of Rwanda’s dry and rainy seasons brings about a sense of “home” for us, yet I also want to find ways to mark and remember spring, summer, autumn, and winter — seasons that are dear to our hearts. Our kitchen will in some way become our own personal fusion café as we juggle integrating local produce into our breakfasts (yum!) and trying to re-create pizza as we know it (cheese is a little different in Rwanda).
Perhaps one of our main tasks as we anticipate moving to Kigali is to enter with an open mind — one that is ready to stand at that crossroads of Rwandan and American culture, to see God at work there, and to join in his mission.
