Table of Contents

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