Erik CP5

When Kukit and I met, I was excited for him to explain his computer world he had explained to me the week before. He had mentioned how he believed in a “real world,” where we were seeing each other, and another computer world, which was in reality the real, real world. This concept seemed a little deep for us to explore, seeing as Kukit still has difficultly fully expressing his ideas in English.

He went onto explain his love for Star Wars, and science fiction, and mentioned something about Einstein’s theory of relativity, and all the sudden I realized he wasn’t talking about his own ideas, but he was trying to explain the Matrix to me! He had been pronouncing Matrix “Mah-drex” so I hadn’t caught on at all.

After the confusion was cleared up, he explained how he really did view this sci-fi as a possibility for reality. He said Buddhist thought encourages this type of world view, and he then went onto say how the force from Star Wars could be attainable. I took him as seriously as possible, but I was internally chuckling. I respect this view though, because I do see the similarities between the Buddhism and the force. And if Kukit believes he can move a car with his mind, then so be it!

Kukit, tired of trying to explain his philosophy in a foreign language then asked about my religion. I explained how I was raised Christian, but I lean towards the beliefs held by the Baha’i Faith. But then I found the same difficultly trying to explain my world view, as Kukit did. Since the Baha’is believe most world religions to be true in their own right, I only stuck with trying to explain Christianity, since I know it the best. He only knew about Jesus Christ, but besides that, he didn’t know about the Jewish tribe, the virgin birth, or the crucifixion. At that point in time, I fully realized how differently we had been raised. My father was a pastor, so this was information I had been fed since a toddler. But here I was trying to explain these simple ideas, and failing at painting a fully picture for Kukit of what Christianity really is.

All in all, our conversation was a culturally enlightening one. I know it humbled both of us to listen to each other’s ideas, as well as feel the frustration of attempting to explain our own ideas in the midst of a communication gap.