When teaching a multicultural class to some BYU students I gave students a Chinese fortune cookie and told them the story of the cookie to emphasize how important it is not to make assumptions about a culture.
I use the Chinese fortune cookie because we assume they are Chinese in origin. After all, every Chinese restaurant gives us the treat along with the restaurant bill. Yet, the fortune cookie, like chop suey, is a U.S. invention. After much controversy as to exactly when and where they originated in the U.S., it was finally ruled in a 1983 courtroom that San Francisco is the homeland of fortune cookies.
Until recently, fortune cookies were virtually unknown in China. In 1993, Wonton Food Company began producing the treats in China. Yet, sales have not been as high as expected perhaps because baked goods in China are generally lower in sugar.
Despite the controversy over where and when fortune cookies originated, the small paper messages inside them continue to intrigue and fascinate many of us. I've even saved some and taped them in my journal or carried them around with me.
For this reason it is not surprising that an educator, whose name I can no longer remember, encouraged us in a conference speech to write what message we would like to read inside of a fortune cookie in five years describing our professional status. Then we should go about doing what we can to make that message a reality.
Since hearing this speech I've gone through at least 2 five year cycles writing my own fortune cookie message. I highly recommend this powerful way to write our own future.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
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