Introduction – Why I wrote this book and why you need to read it.
Chapter 1: Be a Friend
- consider the virtues needed for being a true friend
- practice the Golden Rule
- distinguish between the politics of a country and its people
- make inter-cultural friendships
- know the correct name to call your friend by
- observe Do’s and Don’ts for making friends from diverse backgrounds
- access great resources like books, websites, music, globes and more
- assess how you’re doing with an International Quiz.
Chapter 2: Greet Your Friend
- be conscious of offering a friendly greeting in any culture
- coach your kids on what a good greeting looks like – here and around the world, for young and old
- be comfortable greeting someone with a name that is unfamiliar to you
- play games using the world’s most widely-spoken languages
- see the U.S. and the world in a new perspective
- learn greetings in the world’s top ten languages
- try speaking a new language and consider various strategies, from immersion to dabbling
- play and learn with foreign language resources for various ages.
Chapter 3: Play
- experience the world through soccer and the Olympics
- play sit-down games across cultures and generations
- try playground games from various countries
- play geography, language and culture games
- support play and sports in needy communities worldwide
- look for positive and global experiences in video games
- get off the couch and get active, with strategies tried worldwide.
Chapter 4: Go to School
- help your school become more internationally competent
- respect teachers and share your global perspective with them
- draw on home-schooling resources
- tap into the arts
- make music and learn how it’s done elsewhere
- start global learning at a young age
- imagine what it’s like in the best- and least-equipped schools of the world
- turn your school into a laboratory for global experiences
- encourage partnerships – with other schools, diverse community members, companies and charities
- improve your geography literacy.
Chapter 5: Break Bread
- imagine what and how people all over the world eat
- compare school lunches worldwide
- try new kinds of foods
- learn about the foods we all share
- host a “World Meal” – the average meal eaten by most people on the planet
- picture how McDonald’s adapts its menu to local tastes worldwide
- experience eating-out with kids around the world
- master how to eat with chopsticks
- create a multi-cultural Thanksgiving meal
- take a weekend to “travel to a new continent” even if it’s just across town
- try food remedies made by grandmothers everywhere.
Chapter 6: What Do They Believe?
- consider how the religions can contribute to peace
- learn what the faiths teach and have in common
- read their myths and stories
- learn the etiquette for visiting various houses of worship
- appreciate the faith-inspired arts
- create spaces for the sacred in your own home
- work to overcome prejudices
- share metaphors that help make sense of the diversity of faiths
- get comfortable respectfully, openly sharing faith experiences with friends whose beliefs differ from your own.
Chapter 7: Celebrate with the World
- share a new celebration with friends
- become familiar with diverse cultural and faith celebrations
- introduce global Christmas customs
- learn about various New Year observances
- initiate meaningful practices learned from global Life Cycle celebrations: birth, coming-of-age, marriage and coping with death
- encounter birthday celebrations worldwide
- try new birthday party themes and activities
- consider how best to direct a portion of your celebration to a good cause.
Chapter 8: Watch the World Read a Movie
- open your minds to watching movies not made in Hollywood or set in the U.S.
- aim for a fun, not simply “educational” experience
- look for the international angle in familiar Disney movies
- become acquainted with global versions of Cinderella, “oldies,” and other favorites
- process – or discuss – what you watch
- attend an international children’s film festival
- get used to watching films in sub-titles
- beware of different standards for family viewing which you might not consider appropriate
- watch my favorite foreign films, grouped by audience age and genre to take your own journey around the world.
Chapter 9: Sustain Your Friendship Service & Giving
- consider service and action locally and globally for making the world a better place
- evaluate if your actions reflect your priorities and family’s values
- create a giving plan
- get informed about the issues you care about
- familiarize yourself with websites and organizations whose missions match your vision
- join the movement to eradicate global poverty by 2015
- engage in one or more of the eight Millennium Development Goals: Discuss them with your family and start making a difference!
Conclusion: Parting Thoughts – Widening Our Circle of Compassion
Start with something, anything, to connect with the larger world – and enjoy the ride.
Appendix : Action Steps to Advance the Millennium Development Goals
Notes
Acknowledgements
Index