Chickens in the Bus: More Thoughts on Cultural Differences

By Joseph Mbele

Readers of the popular book "Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences," wanted a sequel. Here is "Chickens in the Bus," picking up where the first book left and offering more intriguing thoughts on cultural differences. Topics include African Time, Loud Music, and Chickens in the Bus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781300342083

Book preview

CHICKENS IN THE BUS

CHICKENS IN THE BUS

More Thoughts on Cultural Differences

Joseph L. Mbele

Africonexion

Northfield, Minnesota, USA

© Africonexion 2021

All Rights Reserved

Africonexion

Northfield, Minnesota, USA

http://www.africonexion.com

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Preface

In February 2005, I published a book, Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences,¹ which soon became popular, especially among Americans traveling to Africa and Africans living in the USA. U.S. colleges with study abroad programs in Africa adopted it as a cultural orientation resource, as did congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for their partnership programs with African congregations.

    After a while, readers began asking me if I was thinking about writing another book. I was, wishing to address issues not addressed in the first book. That is how the idea for Chickens in the Bus arose.

There were other sources of inspiration. In 2007, Bashe Said, a Somali friend of mine, asked me to write a column for his newspaper, the African News Journal. I wrote Chickens in the Bus, Do You Have an Accent? It takes a Village to Raise a Child, African Time, and I will Never be a Millionaire.

Then I wrote Troubles Over Loud Music in Brooklyn Park and published it on my English blog.² I also wrote Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child, which I did not publish.

    In early 2015, I received a request to give the keynote speech at the Cannon River Conference scheduled for April 11, 2015, at Lands Lutheran Church in Zumbrota, Minnesota. The caller, Marcy Irby, told me that The Cannon River Conference is an annual event of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod of the ELCA. We brainstormed and agreed on a topic: Cultural Differences in the Global Village: Challenges and Opportunities. The essay, Cultural Differences in the Global Village is based on my talk.

    I then wrote Culture and Business Between Africans and Americans on Medium,³ inspired by reports