I'm not from Rome

I love the This I Believe essay entitled "Always Go to the Funeral." It's something I connected with. When people are mourning you do what you can to show support. Whenever someone's having a hard time, you do what you can.

And so, I ended up at a wake for a student's grandmother this evening. (The funeral's during school tomorrow, so I'll miss it.) I'm decent at funerals, but visitations....I went to the one for my great-grandfather. I don't think I've been to any others. It's not a tradition I'm familar with in my own culture. Trying to learn what to do in a different culture makes it all the more confusing. I ask for guidance from people I work with. They tell me that I'll learn. But still, I feel like it can be such an awkward blending of cultures. Being the outsider from the encroaching culture brings home the feeling that I'm not "from Rome." I'm just copying the Romans the best I can, asking what we're doing so I can learn the motions for myself.