Pickup Games As A Worldwide Experience
June 19th, 2010 by Dwayne Stoltzfus, under Travel and Leisure. No Comments
Some people call themselves cultured if they are well traveled. Others call themselves cultured if they are history majors, or have done in-depth studying on the traditions and pasts of different countries. Still others think that being cultured can only be attained through living within the actual cultures themselves.
While there are thousands of interesting facts and tidbits of information people can learn from books and travel excursions, true understanding of a new culture only comes through immersion. It is only through walking the streets, shopping in the back-alley markets, eating the local foods, and forming lasting friendships, that a person will ever truly become cultured. Perhaps one of the best, and yet rarely considered, methods of learning about new cultures is through pickup games.
Sports are an integral part of a country. For some countries, the most popular sport is soccer, for others, rugby, basketball, hockey, or cricket. Any country that has a sport that is easy to form pickup games provides a golden opportunity for people wanting to learn about the culture. Which game is played, the way it is played, and the attitudes of the players all shed light on a country’s underlying beliefs and attitudes.
The first thing one can learn about a culture is determined by how easy it is for a foreigner to join a game. If players are friendly and welcoming, generally that culture is welcoming as well. If they refuse to allow foreigners to play or do so with reluctance, it might be because they see foreigners as an inconvenience or clumsy. If the person trying to join is female, it is possible that culturally it is inappropriate to have mixed gendered games. Another thing foreigners can learn about a culture comes from the rules used within the game. Is there someone making all the calls or does no one ever call anything? If there is someone that keeps score and enforces the rules, that culture might be one in which following authorities and rules is viewed as essential. One more interesting factor to consider is the players. Do the players share the ball and include newcomers or do they ignore them? Some cultures are naturally more willing to share and have more confidence in the abilities of people. Often times, these slight details can be gleaned from a simple pickup game.
While one might learn lots about a culture from sports games, there are still some things that take time to learn about. An excellent example is security. Do the locals have any form of home security? While home security systems are easily accessible to Americans, many countries do not have this luxury. Security may not be seen as significant to the locals. Maybe they have guards around their home, maybe they have a high-rise apartment making it difficult to break-in, and maybe they have no valuables worth stealing. Yet, most Americans do not encounter those same circumstances. Americans typically live in a house, don’t have guards, but do have many valuables. It may be understandable and culturally acceptable not to have security systems in some countries, but in America, a security system is vital.
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