Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Life from A Pillow

Teddy and I are back on US soil!  A few highlights from the journey and my re-entry...

Thank You to the British Airways person who checked my bags in Nairobi.  Apparently, you gave me an upgrade on my bag allowance.  Your co-workers in Chicago were not amused, but you really, really made my day.  Thank you.

Culture Shock hit midflight.  I was enjoying a brief escape to the airplane bathroom when I noticed they had paper cups in there.  Free!  And why would they have free paper cups in the bathroom?  Because you can drink the tap water!  This is a luxury I hope to never take for granted again..... 
I felt so guilty in the Chicago airport....the bathrooms there had automatic flugh toilets and I was trying to change clothes to freshen up.  The stupid toilet kept flushing every time I moved - probably 5 times in so many minutes!  I kept thinking about all the people with no clean drinking water and here I was flushing a toilet 5 times in 5 minutes!

Culture shock has hit in other ways - some I have experienced before and some new.  I am always shocked by the general lack of clothing worn by ladies in the US.  Seriously- I've seen paper gowns that cover more. 

And there time and temperature differences. Surprisingly, the normal heat and humidity of the midwest is causing me to feel a bit ill after the cool temperatures at Tenwek. I compensate by hiding inside with the AC during the afternoons.

Teddy battles the heat with a bath...


The myth of the rude american: The airport is American/European culture at its worse (I would also add the DMV into this category!)  After 3 flights, 18 hours and 2 lost bags, I felt like everyone was yelling at me for no reason and that everyone was just plain mean.  I was tired and very overstimulated......to the point I was nearly in tears.  But once leaving the airport (and the DMV), I have been able to view my fellow Americans much more positively!

Re-entry: Since arriving back to the US, I have slowly been able to re-discover things I once enjoyed: Pandora, Netflix, super fast internet.  And I have continued in my Kenyan way of some things - grocery shipping is a big difficulty for me right now.  As much as I thought I missed food from the US, I find myself buying and cooking the same "menu" I ate in Kenya.  Plus ice cream, of course.  I missed American milk and dairy products!  I am enjoying my bed immensely - I never really got used to the one in Kenya. 

I am learning and re-learning some new things about living in the US.  Apparently now they have little crystals instead of fabric softner - and they just go in the wash anytime!  Amazing....

I miss seeing all my friends and colleagues back at Tenwek.  I am praying earnestly for them in hopes that they continue to perservere and fight for our patients, even in my absence.

I am learning to drive again.  I am blessed to have been given a van from a fellow missionary (the Jarrett family van aka Batiem!).  I have stayed on the right side of the road so far and am realizing I really missed driving!

Overall, re-entry is like the new pillows I bought for my "old" bed....its hard to get used to right now...but it time it will feel more comfortable.  Not better than life before.  But eventually...comfortable.

Teddy is re-learning some old favorite nap spots...


Advice for Others:  Re-entry can be a difficult time for missionaries.  I have decided to cope with it by re-integrating slowly and quietly.  I apologize to all my friends and family who I have no called or visited yet - I promise I am very excited to see you all.  Please continue to pray for me as I go through this difficult time of adjustment.

I have been working through the book: Re-Entry by Peter Jordan.  Jordan advices that there are several signs of reverse culture shock:

1. Feeling out of place - wanting to participate, but not quite being able to
2. Feeling lonely - relationships and people change during the time you spend on the field; upon returning those relationships have to be "renewed"
3. Reacting in odd ways - introduction to a new culture can be so overwhelming that little things can an extreme emotion.  For example, the grocery often overwhelms because there are so many options - in other countries - there are few if any options.
4. Negative reactions to material goods - there is a big discrepancy between what one has in their home culture and the field culture; this may cause feelings of guilt.

I list this both as information for other missionaries but also for people in my own life.  Just in case you see me acting strangely....

Jordan closes with this:

"The apostle Paul, who moved freely among a number of different cultures in the exercise of his ministry, had this to say on the sibject: 'I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through Him who gives me strength' (Phil 4:11-13)."







No comments:

Post a Comment