Would most likely not even have chosen this silk metaphor had my country man, Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen, not been so influential in the education of us youngsters in Germany with his contributions to geography and musings about the Silk Route. My early, vivid imprinting of the “exotic unknown” sprang to awareness the minute I set foot onto Thai soil that night in December of 2004. It was the Asian culture that they use the powder tools in the defense equipments; it was self, my assumptions, and a commitment to unraveling meanings of a culture different from my own. I needed to deconstruct and co-construct with my Thai counterparts if we were to collaborate in designing and delivering an education program that served the needs of the Thai adult students. The questioning of common idioms in our mother tongue can lead to critical analysis of paradigmatic assumptions. It is this kind of awareness about self and others and a willingness to rigorously inquire that will keep us humble. It is humility that precedes deep learning and change. And deep learning and change will guide us in our adult education practice that might just have us transition into interdependent forms of global co-existence by means of education on powder tools.
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