Sunday, March 05, 2006

Reverse Culture Shock

I've had some requests for another update.  Where to begin?  I've been home now for 3 weeks.  It's amazing how quickly these 3 weeks have gone.  My first week back was a little grueling.  It took me at least the entire week to recover from jet lag.  In addition to that, I dealt with some pretty severe reverse culture shock.  Interesting how it was so much more difficult to adjust to the time and culture change on the return home.  I felt misplaced here in the U.S. and felt like a bit of an observer. 

It didn't take me long to recognize how our environment is high stress and fast paced and how we are never quite satisfied with what we have at our disposal.  Not to mention, many of our "issues" seem to be self-induced.  It's not that I didn't realize this before.  It's just so much easier to recognize it now.  I listened to peoples' complaints (which seem to be ample here) and thought to myself "really?  THAT'S your problem?"  I'm sure I sounded the same way and am trying to be more conscientious about it now.

I miss the culture in Tanzania that I grew to love.  People ask me if I'm happy to be home and sadly my response is, without hesitation, "no."  Tanzania is a peaceful country as a whole.  The people I encountered were incredibly friendly, laid-back, welcoming, unselfish, and happy to be alive.  Hakuna matata & hakuna haraka!!  (no worry/problem & no hurry)

This was an experience of a lifetime that really made me put things in perspective.  My struggle now is to hold on to that as much as I can and not get completely drawn back into the American rat race.  Thankfully, a very good friend of mine is from Africa.  He is helping me understand how I can incorporate the African way into American life.  I often think it sounds much easier said than done. 

If anyone has an opportunity to participate in a mission trip like this I would highly recommend it.  It's my hope that I will be able to continue to have experiences like this.  Thanks again to everyone who supported me in this endeavor ~ couldn't have done it without you!