Raising Eyebrows

10-1-09

In the Marshall Islands, raising one's eyebrows is a tacit signal that speaks clearly. It means, "Go on, I'm listening, keep talking," when used in a conversation, and "yes" in other situations. At first it was a little disconcerting last year when I would take roll, and wouldn't get any answers from my classes--until I realized that I wasn't looking at them to get the answers, since they were raising their eyebrows. I had to look at them to connect and to communicate.

Americans don't look at each other. I wonder if it's because we're so busy, or because we're uncomfortable with each other. (And perhaps we're uncomfortable with each other because we don't spend enough time with each other, as a result of being busy, but that's a different topic, I suppose.) A few weeks' ago, my suitemates and I were having a conversation, and they were playing with the balloons that they and my roommate had filled the room with for my birthday. It felt as if they weren't listening, even though I knew they were listening. I was getting frustrated and something clicked in my mind, and I realized it was because I was expecting them to be raising their eyebrows. Silly me. Americans don't do that. :D

While on Ebeye, I learned something about God through this particular cultural custom. I learned that God created Sabbath so that He could raise His eyebrows at us, and us at Him. He wants to spend personal time with us, both on Sabbath and not on Sabbath. Face-to-face communication. Eyebrows raised in tacit encouragement and relationship building. The only way for us to get answers to the questions we have in life is to look continually at Him. It's the only way to connect and to communicate.

Just some of the things I've been pondering. More later.