A wealth of culture

As I was watching the second installment of “We shall remain,” the native American saga as told by them on PBS, one Indian tribal leader interviewed said that the art of surviving was to extract the very best of both cultures (their own and that of the white man.) While I'm no American Indian, I walked that path many times during my life. From the days I was working in my parents' summer farm in the Alps, living in near-middle-ages conditions and going to a boarding high-school to discover a much more advanced way of life, to the day I came to America, more than 30 years ago.

My wife and I have always sorted out the best of both worlds - the American “new” and the European “old” - and made a successful run with the “blend” we picked for ourselves. Straddling different cultures and customs and making the wisest choice possible between their respective attractions isn't always easy, but when exercised with some discipline and a clear sense of direction, it can lead to priceless benefits.