for National Geographic News
Worlds Apart, the National Geographic Channel's new reality series, bridges cultural gaps—by making people neighbors. For nine days, an American family leaves suburbia behind to become part of another culture. Glenda Hersh, executive producer, speaks with National Geographic News about what it's really like to be that family.
How did you come up with the concept for Worlds Apart?
We were trying to think of ideas that would be culturally challenging, and our first thought was to have an American family and a foreign family switch houses. And then we realized that it would be much more interesting to have the foreign family become a neighbor by having the American family move in next to them. We really wanted the personal connection to be between the two families.
Do you feel that's what happened with the first family, the Palmers?
Absolutely. The bond that the Palmers and their host family, the Orgubas, formed is going to last their lifetimes. They learned so much from each other and really touched each other's lives in ways we didn't even expect.
So what you're hoping families experience is not culture shock, but culture exchange?
Exactly. The idea is not to scare the living daylights out of a family! The idea is for a family to be able to see how another family lives. To be able to step out of their own shoes, and walk a mile in another family's flip flops, so to speak.
What qualities does a family need for successful cultural exchange?
We're looking for families that are fundamentally curious. Families who have an interest in the world, who are open to learning, and open to sharing. They don't have to be mountain climbers or marathon runners or have traveled the planet. They just need to have a desire to learn what it's like to experience someone else's life and culture, and to share what they know with someone else.
How challenging is it for a family to be in the field?
There's no question that many of the environments we're going to are more physically challenging than a suburban environment in America. But, you know, we're very used to the challenges we find here. Like the freeway. That might be overwhelming for someone from a certain part of the world. And when we get on their turf, maybe we suddenly have to deal with camels, which is overwhelming for us, but to them it's something they've grown up with.
The challenges are going to be varied and in some ways unexpected. But we would never put any family in a position that would be dangerous or harmful, or put them into a position where they wouldn't be able to cope with that challenge.
|
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
|
