Exactly, the Camino promotes generosity and consideration of other. You have that right
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I sincerely hope that all those who encounter me--or any others--on the Camino will forgive our errors---I have never been one who particularly worried about doing things "wrong" but having lived overseas for so long gave me some interesting learning experiences. You simply can't predict a cultural error.
It seems that bringing so many people together from so many different countries is always a recipe for 'mild' disasters, those niggling little social blunders that seem okay to an American but could be terribly wrong to a person from Japan, or Cambodia---two countries in which I've witnessed Europeans and Americans making cultural mistakes.
Imagine not knowing one of these rules:
---pointing your feet toward someone (dirtiest part of the body, disrespectful)
--not taking off shoes before entering a Wat (pagoda)
--placing two chopsticks in a bowl of food, sticking up (looks like two sticks of incense at a funeral--bad!)
--staring aggressively, or losing face by getting angry
--eating while walking on the street (rude)
--getting on a motorcycle like a guy (must sit sidesaddle if a woman, otherwise you're considered unladylike)
--saying that a woman is good, rather than clean--good implies sex, clean implies pure and clean and beautiful (language difference in Cambodia)
When I first lived overseas, I made a few of these mistakes, but I did have a wonderful group of friends who taught me the cultural rules and norms, so I was able to avoid getting myself into a pickle. These cultural norms are important, and I think it's respectful to observe them. Honestly, the Camino routes aren't to be taken for granted. I would think everyone should be most concerned about how they are representing themselves and try to be extra courteous. I know that being courteous is more difficult when one is suffering. I pray to be courteous and humble while I'm suffering! And I hope to suffer quietly if I am in pain, so as not to burden others....let's see how I do with that!