April 1, 2009 at 9:52 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: culture shock, culture stress
We have been living in Africa for five months now, and I am feeling the stress of culture shock. I find myself having strong emotional reactions to things and trying now to let it show because I know that whatever it is is probably not a big deal in reality. For example, the other night our team had a big dinner together and one of the things I was supposed to bring was cheese. This was a monumental problem to me. How much cheese should I bring? If I bring too much will it be wasted? If I bring too little will people not have enough to enjoy with their dinner? Do I have any grated cheese left? If not will I have to thaw out the new cheese and grate it? When will I have time to do that? Thawing and grating cheese is so annoying to me. How long should it I let it thaw before I cut it into chunks and how do I keep it from getting so mushy that it melts into a clump of grated cheese? Normally I would worry about myself for obsessing over cheese like that, but in this case I know that culture shock can do weird things to one’s psyche!
Fortunately, my dear husband sat down and lovingly made me face up to the fact that I’ve been hoarding chocolate. We talked through it together and I have come to the conclusion that it’s ok to eat and indulge in the chocolate and Oreos that we recently received in a care package. When they run out, they run out and it will be ok. We talked about depending on the old familiar things to bring us comfort and how trying to live off of those things or allowing ourselves to make those things so important is as much of a trap as not being willing to give those things up to move here in the first place.
So, I commit myself anew to enjoying the blessings that life here has to offer. I will enjoy the chocolate that was sent to us and not worry about the absence of chocolate once it runs out. There are really so many things I love about life here, and if we were to move back to the States (which on bad culture shock days looks like the Promised Land) I would miss Africa. I commit myself to enjoying Africa while I’m here instead of wishing I was somewhere else (which would only last until I got there, then I would wish I was back here.)
5 Comments
May 23, 2008 at 11:12 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: consumerism, culture shock, shopping
May 10, 2008
Today we travelled from Kara, Togo to Accra, Ghana as we are on our way to WAMR (West Africa Missionary Retreat.) Something happens when you cross the border from Togo to Ghana that is really quite obvious just from observing the police officers and border officials. How can one country be so sloppy and inefficient and a few yards away, the next country be so well groomed?
In Accra, there stands a phenomenon that is unequalled anywhere in Togo, the Accra Mall. It contains Game (a walmart-like store,) Shopright (a clean and spacious grocery store,) stores that carry high end designer products such as Coach, a food court, and Mr. Price (kind of like Old Navy.) Entering the Accra Mall, especially when one has come straight from the Togo border, takes a bit of mental gymnastics in order to process what you are seeing.
As it happened, we went into Mr. Price with our children just to see what was there. I we walked around, Maddie started asking for things. Maddie has never been the kind of kid who walks around begging for items from stores while we are shopping, we’ve always kind of had the rule that if there is something you want you can bring it to our attention but it may be awhile if we decide to purchase it. She broke down into tears, and we had to stand outside of the store while our friends finished their shopping. Of course, she calmed down and we talked through things, yet it’s really a strange thing to see your child behave in a way that is so uncharacteristic of them.
I’m thankful for that small experience because it gave me a heads up on some things that I think my girls may feel as we go back to the States. Initially, I was worried about how they would handle coming here, leaving almost all of their toys behind, having a few clothes, new food and much fewer food choices, and MUCH less entertainment. They have done so well that I have been surprised and giving thanks to God for it. There has been almost no complaining and I have found myself taking hints from them to “be happy with what I’ve been given.” However, if the whole Mr. Price meltdown is any indication, dealing with the disparity between living with everything at your disposal with minimal inconvenience and living with the mindset of making do and being content is going to be something we all have to process. Keep us in your prayers as we guide our kids through the ups and downs of switching worlds several more times this year.
3 Comments
