Story One: The Woman Who Eats Snakes
Years ago, the director of the music and choral program at our seminary had just hired a choral assistant from Taiwan. During her first year here, she made a request of the director.
“Would it be ok with you,” she inquired, “if I brought snakes next week.”
“Snakes?” he replied, startled. “Why would you want to bring snakes next week?”
“For after choir rehearsal,” she replied. “So the students can eat them.”
The director had been trained for such a time as this, when he would inevitably encounter a culture that was different than his own. He knew he had to be sensitive and careful not to squelch the beautiful diversity on his campus, diversity that he himself had been advocating for a long time. So he responded with caution.
“Is that something that you do in Taiwan?” he asked, humbly. “Do you eat snakes in Taiwan?”
She gave him a quizzical look. “Yes,” she replied. “Of course we eat snakes in Taiwan.”
The director didn’t know what to say. He was eager to embrace his new assistant’s culture and perspective, but he was worried about how his students would respond to a plate full of cooked snakes.
“Well, OK,” he said. “You can bring the snakes. But please don’t be offended if the students don’t want to eat them.”
She gave him another puzzled look and promised not to be too disappointed.
The next week after choir practice, the assistant had indeed brought food for the students to eat.
Snacks, to be precise.
Story Two: Clean-Up on Aisle One
One morning, a student woke up early in order to get some laundry done in the basement of her dormitory. The sooner one commandeered the machines, the better. But her plans soon soured when she walked down the stairs, laundry basket in hand, and was greeted by something that unsettled her greatly. She quickly called security.
“There is a snack in the basement of Hodge Hall!” she yelled. “Can someone help me get rid of it?”
The security dispatch was understandably confused. “Was there a party there last night?” he asked.
“I think so,” the student replied. “But now, there is this snack. Help!”
The security dispatch sent two of their guards to discern the problem that the young woman was facing. When they arrived at the dorm, she was no where to be found. Instead a bundle of blankets were lying on the ground. So, the security guards picked them up, figuring they were hiding the mess that the student had called to complain about. Surprised and terrified, the guards jumped back and saw why the student had called.
A snake!
(BUT IT GETS BETTER…)
As it turns out, the security guards were afraid of snakes, too! But they knew they needed to do something and that they needed to do it fast. So they did what any thoughtful security guard would do:
Call up an international student from Africa and ask him to take care of it!
Which, incidentally, he did, swiftly whacking the snake on its head, killing it instantly, and disposing of it.
Ah, I love this stuff. It reminds me of my childhood.
