So I'm starting this blog thing up again. I stopped after I got back from Northern Africa...it's hard for me to make "normal, mundane" life sound super interesting, so I took a break....a 2 year break. Why not? Wouldn't be nice if you could take a 2 year break from work...or a 2 year vacation...sounds like a good idea to me.
Well I'm staring all this back up again because I'm in this "let's go overseas" thing again. It's not really a thing...it's my life...a life that I've been called to and a life that I love. It works out since the thought of settling in one place forever has always been super scarey to me. I admire people who do that...who invest their whole lives in one space. There are people who do it so well, but I tend to get restless. That's why people are different though I guess...so we can be ok doing different things...Praise the Lord for that.
It's been over 2 years since I got back from Africa which is crazy! There are times when I can't even remember the last 2 years because it's gone by so fast, and there are other times when that restless spirit of mine gets the best of me and I feel super trapped in the grad school bubble. In all of the transition of the past 2 years, I think back and realize that I'm still African in many ways which makes me laugh most of the time. Here are a few examples:
1. I'm cold-natured. Growing up I never thought that term would be used to describe me, but two years in the intense desert of Chad changed everything. I start putting on the jackets and cardigans if the temp. hits mid-70s. The first thing that happens when I hit my air conditioned apartment is put on a hoodie and sweatpants...and sometimes hop under the covers if my roommates are extra hot that day and the A/C is set a little lower. I know where blankets are stored at most of my friends houses...it's gotten pretty comical actually.
2. I am a refrigerator regulator....like an out of control one. In Africa (if our frig was actually working), we would open the frig minimal times a day to keep the coolness in, and we would have to know exactly what we were getting out to minimize "door open" time. I am constantly closing the frig door if one of my friends keeps it open to long. It's like I have radar and know it's being open too long. It doesn't matter that America has awesome electricity and it would be perfectly ok if the frig door stay open for a few extra seconds....but I usually can't handle it. I do it to myself too...if I think I'm taking too long to find something...I make myself close the door until I figure out what I need...it's such a weird quirk...but it has definitely stuck with me.
3. People look down all the time....at their phones. I can't handle it....talk to me....look at my face....don't keep checking your phone. It was just weird to me at first. Africa is such a relational culture and no one is concerned with who has commented on their facebook status. I like technology as much as the next person...its just something I still notice being really different from when I lived in the desert.
4. I love rain! In the land of the desert I used to long for rain. I would go out and play in it. The Africans would always look at me like I'm crazy, but I never cared. It hasn't changed since I've gotten back. Give me a gray, rainy day and I'm a happy girl.
5. I turn lights off. Throughout my childhood, my parents did their best to make me turn off lights when I left a room...but nothing ever really worked. I would just forget, or didn't care, or maybe it was my rebellious teenager attitude. My dad would joke that he could always tell what I had been doing by looking at the lights. I took for granted electricity plain and simple. Now...I'm always cutting lights off. I cut lights off on behalf of others...even if they're not ready for them to be off yet. I get out of my bed at night to make sure all the lights are off. Congrats mom and dad...Africa finally made the lesson stick.
So I'm still African in some ways, and despite loving America...there are times when it's painful because I miss Africa so much. I wish I could just walk down the street and be there. Here's to another culture becoming ingrained in my heart.
Well I'm staring all this back up again because I'm in this "let's go overseas" thing again. It's not really a thing...it's my life...a life that I've been called to and a life that I love. It works out since the thought of settling in one place forever has always been super scarey to me. I admire people who do that...who invest their whole lives in one space. There are people who do it so well, but I tend to get restless. That's why people are different though I guess...so we can be ok doing different things...Praise the Lord for that.
It's been over 2 years since I got back from Africa which is crazy! There are times when I can't even remember the last 2 years because it's gone by so fast, and there are other times when that restless spirit of mine gets the best of me and I feel super trapped in the grad school bubble. In all of the transition of the past 2 years, I think back and realize that I'm still African in many ways which makes me laugh most of the time. Here are a few examples:
1. I'm cold-natured. Growing up I never thought that term would be used to describe me, but two years in the intense desert of Chad changed everything. I start putting on the jackets and cardigans if the temp. hits mid-70s. The first thing that happens when I hit my air conditioned apartment is put on a hoodie and sweatpants...and sometimes hop under the covers if my roommates are extra hot that day and the A/C is set a little lower. I know where blankets are stored at most of my friends houses...it's gotten pretty comical actually.
2. I am a refrigerator regulator....like an out of control one. In Africa (if our frig was actually working), we would open the frig minimal times a day to keep the coolness in, and we would have to know exactly what we were getting out to minimize "door open" time. I am constantly closing the frig door if one of my friends keeps it open to long. It's like I have radar and know it's being open too long. It doesn't matter that America has awesome electricity and it would be perfectly ok if the frig door stay open for a few extra seconds....but I usually can't handle it. I do it to myself too...if I think I'm taking too long to find something...I make myself close the door until I figure out what I need...it's such a weird quirk...but it has definitely stuck with me.
3. People look down all the time....at their phones. I can't handle it....talk to me....look at my face....don't keep checking your phone. It was just weird to me at first. Africa is such a relational culture and no one is concerned with who has commented on their facebook status. I like technology as much as the next person...its just something I still notice being really different from when I lived in the desert.
4. I love rain! In the land of the desert I used to long for rain. I would go out and play in it. The Africans would always look at me like I'm crazy, but I never cared. It hasn't changed since I've gotten back. Give me a gray, rainy day and I'm a happy girl.
5. I turn lights off. Throughout my childhood, my parents did their best to make me turn off lights when I left a room...but nothing ever really worked. I would just forget, or didn't care, or maybe it was my rebellious teenager attitude. My dad would joke that he could always tell what I had been doing by looking at the lights. I took for granted electricity plain and simple. Now...I'm always cutting lights off. I cut lights off on behalf of others...even if they're not ready for them to be off yet. I get out of my bed at night to make sure all the lights are off. Congrats mom and dad...Africa finally made the lesson stick.
So I'm still African in some ways, and despite loving America...there are times when it's painful because I miss Africa so much. I wish I could just walk down the street and be there. Here's to another culture becoming ingrained in my heart.
