“Why would you do that?” our son, David, asked.
His new friends from Pennsylvania had just described to him one of their favorite pastimes—“spottin.” They told David that they would often go out at night, driving along dark country roads, shining a bright “spotlight” into the fields to see the beaming eyes of deer staring back at them.
This is NOT deer “hunting” . . . this is deer “spottin” (short for “spotting”) and “watching.”
“Why would you do that?” David asked, questioning his friends’ strange cultural form of entertainment.
“Don’t these people have a life,” he wondered. David was not a country boy.
They took him along for a ride . . .
Just Along For the Ride
“Mom, we saw two hundred deer!” David exclaimed as he described with great eagerness his first “deer spotting” adventure.
I confirmed with his friend’s mother the accuracy of the tale. The numbers were just slightly exaggerated. They were more along the line of 60 or 70, but who’s counting?
David was counting, and so was everyone else in the vehicle. That’s what you do. You “spot” deer, in all of their beauty, and you count them.
Our son was hooked for life! He came home from his first “country boy” experience, got on amazon.com, and purchased his first “spotlight.”
Hooked For Life
The next weekend, his friends invited him again. We decided to tag along.
“What in the world is this ‘deer spottin’ thing anyway?”
When David’s friends’ parents arrived at our house to pick him up for the ride, we had already loaded up Pierre and Bernie in our van. We were ready and waiting—not wanting to be left out of the fun.
Our friends later told us that in all of their many years of “deer spotting,” they have never had a second vehicle following along. They were surprised when we told them that the French family wanted to experience “deer spotting” with them.
The French Family Tags Along
We first headed to Dairy Queen for a late night ice cream treat and then headed out. The windows were rolled down in order to feel the warm summer breeze and to hold the “spotlight” out the window. Our favorite music was playing, and the long, slow journey began—along the dark, forest roads.
Our friends had multiple “spotlights” that they would shine on either side of the car while slowly driving down the road. Suddenly, they stopped their car.
We could see their eyes . . . not just one set of eyes, but two, three, four, five . . . sometimes ten or twenty sets of eyes in a single field. Wow! They were staring right back at us. It almost seemed like they were “posing” for the picture.
So Many Pairs of Eyes!
We started counting.
As we continued along the road, we suddenly saw a buck with enormous antlers right in front of us. We all stopped and watched him—motionless, paralyzed, facing us head on in the car’s headlights. What beauty! What majesty! We waited, and after a few moments, he ran off.
Then, we saw a mother and two babies standing on the side of the road. We stopped and watched. They stared right back at us for a few magical moments, then went on their way.
That first night, we counted at least 40 deer . . . maybe more. It was one of the most exciting and surprising adventures of our time in Pennsylvania.
Our whole family was hooked!
Our New Cultural Hobby
“Deer spotting” late at night, 10-11 p.m. became our new cultural hobby. We went out almost every night last summer . . . driving the dark country roads for an hour or more. Needless to say, we consumed a lot of gas during those months, but it was so worth it!
Sometimes, we would get lost, and there’s no internet or phone connection out there in the deep woods. Eventually, we would find our way back to a recognizable road that would wind its way back home.
We were becoming “culturally aware” and, once again, becoming “Cultural Chameleons.” Our family was observing, learning, and following. Don’t they say, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”? That’s exactly what we were doing!
“Deer spotting” . . . if you haven’t experienced it, we highly recommend it.
In addition to “Counting Camo,” it became another cultural game that our family played during our precious time in the “Land Between.
We haven’t played “Deer Counting” since last fall. Before we leave the “Land of the Familiar” in a few weeks, we better go out for one last ride. Hopefully, there are a lot of Pennsylvanian deer out there ready to show us their beauty.
This is one of the many things that we will miss when we travel to the “Land of the Unknown.” Unless, perhaps, there are some Spanish deer just waiting to for us to “spot.”
Watch this video to get a taste of “deer spotting” with some locals in Pennsylvania.
—The Cultural Story-Weaver
Let’s Weave Cultures!
Have you ever been “deer spotting” or played another interesting cultural game? Why do you think this “country” form of entertainment was so appealing to our European family?
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures!” Write about them in the comment box below.
