In a little spot called the International House Cottages, you can find a community of little houses surrounding an open lawn area. Each little house represent a country. Inside there are pictures, maps, and mementos of each country, its people, and cultural history. It’s like travelling the world without ever leaving the neighborhood. On Sundays the lawn program is hosted by a different house throughout the year. The houses are run by volunteers who have a passion for sharing the beauty of their culture with others. We love spending Sunday mornings tasting different foods and hear music we’ve never heard before.
Introducing our daughter to diversity from a young age is so important to us because we want it to be something she is comfortable with. We want her to enjoy spending time with people of different cultures, religions, and lifestyles and not something rare and “different”. As she grows up, we hope to teach her how important it is to be accepting of everyone, but the greatest lesson with be her experience.
As ideal as it would be to travel the world, we don’t all have that chance. Nor do we need it in order to celebrate other cultures and to learn about and appreciate their traditions.