Different is just different

I just got back from my second trip to Guatemala (which also included a couple of days in Nicaragua). This time, we were a smaller group and I travelled with a coworker who'd never been on our trips before, one who has lived in the US for ages but is natively from a Latin America country. And so she had some awesome insights. 

One day, as we were driving, she commented how much she liked the houses. Now, if you have always lived in the US, Latin America houses do not seem that impressive. But, she pointed out, those houses are built for security and US homes are built to look nice. She pointed out that her home would burn down in an instant and probably wouldn't survive an earthquake, unlike these Guatemalan homes. The Guatemalans build for security, not looks. 

I've never actually been inside one of their homes, and so I can't speak to the interiors, but I was grateful for that insight. I had always assumed that the difference in construction was a question of money and I'm grateful to have a better understanding now of what else is at play. 

It was also a reminder that I still sometimes see different and don't realize that I'm also making a value judgment. I see a home that doesn't look American/Western European and without even realizing it am thinking it's less than--less sturdy than, less quality than, less comfortable than, etc. Rather than just different than. Or, I attribute the difference to the wrong thing, like money or a poor economy or a disorganized government, without really knowing. Maybe the difference is much more practical: Central America is NOT the US, in climate, geography, and culture. What works here might literally be the dumbest option for there. 

I think the same thing applies not just in national differences, but in all sorts of things. And I hope I'm getting better at asking the right questions (like, why might it be different? What am I assuming without really understanding?) and remembering that different is value neutral. It's not inherently good or bad. It is just different.