Results vs Enjoyment: Second Meeting With My Conversation Partner

            Today, on the first floor of the BLUU, theCrew was having an event where could pot your own plant. So naturally, when Jose walked up I was busy planting a flower in a jar. When we sat down we immediately started talking about gardening. Apparently his mom is an avid gardener, but all of the beautiful plants she tries to grow here quickly die. Jose thought this might be because in the US plant’s are pumped so full of fertilizer that they can’t survive, and in Venezuela they just let the plants grow naturally at their own pace. When he said this I thought it was the perfect metaphor for the differences between American and Venezuelan culture. In America, we constantly work to get the fastest and most efficient results that we can. We set goals and run through life furiously trying to attain them, and don’t always stop to observe the beauty of life and enjoy it. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, attaining goals can be rewarding. It’s just a different mindset. On the other hand, Venezuelan’s seem to take everything at a natural pace. They enjoy each other’s company and take things as they come. I think that Jose summed up it when he said, “American’s live to work and Venezuelan’s work to live.”

            Jose and I later talked about the differences in the American and Venezuelan school systems, and this was the perfect manifestation of this principle. In Jose’s school he was required to try all of the disciplines. He studied two instruments, singing, art history, architecture, tried all different kinds of sports, and did the other cores subjects all as requirements for graduation. I thought that was interesting because in American high schools we choose our specific interests and tend to stick with them through out high school. The Venezuelan approach is more holistic, whereas the American approach is already beginning to gear you towards certain career.  The Venezuelans take their time and enjoy trying different disciplines, whereas we assign ourselves interests so that we can pursue them more quickly.

            Both approaches have their merits. Neither is better or worse, they’re just different. I think it’s interesting to see how the different mentalities so completely permeate societies.