John Gunter

Thoughts on Life and Living

First Impressions. . . Tai Qi on National TV and Asian parties

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(This post is part of a series I am doing called “First Impressions. . . my first few months in Asia“.  If you would like to read about this series and other articles, please CLICK HERE.)

Tai QI
We did not look as good as this guy, but at least we had matching undershirts.

Within a few months of living in Asia, I appeared on national TV on three different occasions.  This was my second such appearance and easily my most humiliating.

It was our entire group of six foreign students from America.  The story began about two weeks after our arrival in this country.  Our teacher informed us that part of our “cultural teaching” would be learning how to do this exercise named Tai Qi.  You have probably seen this.  It is the slow, almost hypnotic motions/exercise that you see being practiced mainly by elderly Chinese people.  It is the exercise that looks like Kung Fu, but only in mega-slow motion.  It was of absolutely no interest to any of us, but this was one of those “requests” from our university that we were not given the option of refusing.

What our teacher did not tell us was that we would be on TV doing this exercise with about 30-40 others during the National Day festivities.  She also didn’t tell us that everyone [Read more…]

3 overarching thoughts on cultural diversity in weddings (and life)

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(This post is building upon my previous one titled, “My most awkward 20 minutes. . . and culturally rich weddings”. . . you might want to read it first if you have not already.)

John Gunter at the Graham wedding
Ed and Janelle Graham’s wedding and life are examples of the strength and beauty of bringing out the best in multiple cultures.  (I am on the top row second to the right.)

I love seeing the various elements of culture which are present in weddings from different places around the world.  It really is fun seeing the pageantry of differing customs brought to bear in the ceremonies.

Chinese weddings have a rich tradition of both elegance and in light-hearted humor intertwined in the ceremonies.  I especially like how the Chinese wedding ceremony goes to great lengths to honor the parents of the bride and groom.  There is a “tea ceremony” in each wedding.  This is where it is as if the parents are put on a pedestal in the acknowledgement that they have been central in their child’s life up to this point in time.  It is really nice.

Thinking about these experiences and in my life of 10+ years of living, studying, and working overseas, three thoughts come to mind. . .

Cultural diversity in weddings (and life) is stressful at times

A great example of this is of me at Marcus’ wedding (click here if you have not read it).  This was a case of differences in cultures at play.  I would be lying if I said it didn’t cause me stress.  However, in the end, it was an incredible wedding of which I was honored to be a part.

Last year, I was in a wedding here in Asia. [Read more…]

First Impressions. . . my first few months in Asia

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John Gunter and Patrick Ku during the first few months of life in Asia
This was at a local attraction my first few months in Asia (Patrick Ku is with me).

I moved to Asia permanently in 1999.  At the time, I had no idea how long I would be here, only that it would be “long-term”.  With the exception of a few US based years in the middle, I have been in East Asia since.

It has been an incredible journey of which there have been many ups and downs. Those first few months were packed with new people, experiences, sights, sounds, and lasting impressions.

As is the case with anything new, I wrote more about my experiences those first few months than I have in the past few years combined.  This was a world before Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and everything we have now at our disposal.

Since there were no platforms to share those first few months with a broader audience than family and a few close friends, I thought it would be fun to write a series of posts on this topic. So. . .

During the coming months, I will write a series of posts on some of my FIRST IMPRESSIONS of living overseas.  Most of these will be based on emails written during that time.  I have since edited them and written in some perspective that I now have looking back at each experience.

Hopefully you will enjoy getting a closer look at some of the everyday occurrences and experiences of life in Asia as a foreigner though my first few months.

The following are the titles of the posts.  I will probably add to these ever few weeks as other memories come to mind of which I would like to write up.  So . . .

Also see. . .

My most awkward 20 minutes. . . and culturally rich weddings

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This post is part of my series, “My thoughts on weddings. . . (a series)“.  If you have not read the previous two posts, you can click here now to see them and read about this series.

John Gunter summer 2011
This was Teddy and Carrie’s wedding party from last summer.

One of the joys that has been a result of both being raised in a diverse city like Atlanta and in the profession that I have chosen is I have been blessed by having friends from many, many cultural backgrounds.  In thinking about the weddings I have been in, it’s not merely the amount or location.  It is also a matter of the many TYPES of weddings of which I have participated.

I have emceed at Asian-American weddings, participated in ornate Southern rehearsals dinners, toasted hard liquor at Chinese wedding receptions, and dressed in Filipino traditional clothing at a beautiful wedding in Manila.

John Gunter at wedding in Manilla
This was at Ed Graham’s wedding in Manila, wearing traditional Filipino wedding attire.

My favorite awkward wedding moment was at my friend Marcus Hinton’s ceremony.  You have to understand, Marcus is a beast.  Former state of Georgia football player of the year and four year starter at Clemson.  He graduated and worked with college athletes full-time.  His wedding party consisted of ALL division one football players in skill positions. . . and me.

Everything was quite standard until we literally got to the point of the wedding starting.  The guests were seated and we, the wedding party were uncomfortably waiting in the foyer of the church.  The music started and it was R&B Gospel music with a great beat.  The wedding coordinator then informed us [Read more…]

A Chinese parable and the Gospel

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young.old.Chinese_editedToday in class (yes, I am still taking language class!), we studied several local parables.  The one that stuck out is the one at the top of this article.  The basic meaning in English is “if you don’t work hard when you are young and vigorous, you will suffer hardship when you are old.”

Parables are, by definition, short and packed with meaning well beyond the words.  This parable has been used to motivate generation after generation of children to work hard and make good decisions so they won’t be tortured with with an awful life in the future.  As my teacher put it, “if you waiste your youth, it’s too late!  You can’t do anything about it when you are old.”

I like Chinese parables, I really do.  The Chinese are particularly blessed with a rich heritage of parabolic literature that we in the west can only look at and marvel.  This one, like all of them, has a [Read more…]

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