I have been here now for 4 weeks - living in a different
country, trying to find my way in what God has called me for. After this amount of time I wanted to share
five things. Some still amaze me, and some I find interesting.
- People and Friendliness – Luckily I grew up in a church that was very huggy. You would not get to your seat on Sunday morning without getting a lot of hugs. Since leaving there, though, I have become a person who likes my personal space. (Not with my kids and wife, just normally with other people.) That idea goes right out the window here. Here handshakes are normal for men, until you get to know each other. Then hugs, mostly side hugs, are considered good. Women, for the most part, greet with a kiss on the cheek. They greet both men and women this way. You can imagine my joy when, on the first day of classes, all the boys kissed Rachel on the cheek. I am getting used to this, but it still makes for awkward moments.
- Language Barrier – I knew Spanish would be hard. But, I didn’t understand the paralyzing fear that is created when you cannot speak to people. At least people are friendly here. And, though they laugh at you, they do not make fun of you. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would not have lasted this long without Andrea. At this point I am on my 3rd week of Spanish tutoring with a great Christian man named Guillermo, and I have gone to McDonalds by myself and ordered food. The worry of a language barrier is so great that I lock myself away unless I absolutely have to do something. Thank God for Andrea. She is my angel.
- Cold Water – I think this is a challenge everyone can try at home. Only use cold water all day, for one day. For everything but showers. Dishes by hand, laundry, washing hands. (Oh, and make sure you don’t touch your face before drying your hands. You don’t want to get sick). Now, to replicate a shower, turn your shower pressure down so it is about a quarter of what you normally use. Get the water to where the chill is just out of it. That is the average temperature. Occasionally warm it up so it is comfortable, not hot, then turn it to cold about thirty seconds later. This replicates the suicide shower head turning off. Repeat.
- Noise – You ever have a couple kids playing outside till midnight keeping you awake? Do you go out and tell them to be quiet? Call the police? Here, you never call the police unless you absolutely have to. They almost always make things worse. No one cares about noise, so good luck getting them to be quieter - especially if their drunken parents are enjoying their soccer game. This is somewhat liberating though. When our kids are running through the apartment making noise, who really cares?
- Hard workers – Ever wonder why all of those Guatemalans are risking their lives to get to the United States? Why they’re sending their underage children, with a high risk of death, rape, and mutilation? It is because of the poverty. There are no jobs. Now before we talk about no jobs in the United States, I want to let you know that before I left I went to Omaha. There, I saw at least twelve help wanted signs out at businesses. Yes, they were restaurants and places like that, but they were jobs. There are no jobs here. None. And, when one does come up, it is gone very quickly. No questions of health insurance, minimum wage, vacation, or sick time. Just, “I will take it.” Also, there is also no government assistance. You don’t work, you don’t have money. So, for the most part, people work very hard here. They stand in the market and sun all day, hoping to make enough to make dinner that night. The idea of retirement or savings is kind of silly, really. Being an American, I do often wonder, would I work that hard for so little money? If I knew that was my life here, would I send my kids on a risky trip to the United States, even though I love them and my country? Would I stop looking for work and drink my worries away, looking for easy targets to steal from? These are the kind of things I wonder about as I drive through the streets.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. While reading your post I try to put myself where you are and it's tough. What is driving like there? When I visited Colombia in 1997 no one paid any mind to the stoplights.
ReplyDeleteHmmm.... what is driving like? That's a good question, but a little hard to answer. I would guess it's probably much like what you experienced in Colombia. We do have stoplights here. Most of the time people follow them. Unless they don't feel like it. Despite the insanely narrow streets, the fact that no one stops at stop signs or can tell where the lanes are supposed to be, and there are way too many vehicles (of varying sizes) for the roads available, there are surprisingly few accidents. It is most definitely NOT like driving in the U.S., but somehow has its own flow and functionality. :)
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