I know I haven’t blogged in a while, but that’s mostly
because I’ve been doing a lot of traveling!
I was blessed with the opportunity to fly back to the states
for a week to attend my sister, Shannon’s wedding. So after a 5 hour flight, a
14 hour flight, and then a quick 1 hour flight, I was back in the states
(Charleston) and having a little reentry into American culture.
The first thing I realized was that after being in
non-English speaking cultures for almost 9 months, I began to automatically
assume that anyone speaking English was speaking to me. When I arrived in the
Atlanta airport… I realized that this was not the case.
Second thing I realized was that Americans are not quite as
happy on the whole as other cultures around the world. Again, I noticed this
first in the Atlanta airport where it seemed as if every couple I walked by was
bickering about something. (This could also be a direct result of being in the
Atlanta airport… which, is enough to make anyone grumpy). However, the airport
wasn’t the only place I noticed it. I can’t give you a lot of specific
examples, but the general vibe I got being in the states was that everyone I
ran into didn’t have the same spark, and many of the conversations I overheard
were full of arguing, sarcastic comments, and other passive aggressive
statements.
I never noticed this before I left, but after spending 9
months being fully invested in the World Race culture, it was difficult not to
notice the drastic change. The World Race cultivates a community of speaking
life and building one another up. There are only rare cases of bickering and
sarcasm as issues are dealt with, talked about, and resolved before things get
to that point. Everyday is met with encouragement and life giving words.
But the positivity on the race doesn’t end with my squad
members. The people and cultures we’ve come in contact with are, on average,
genuinely more joyful than those I encountered in the states. Smiles are more
abundant, forgiveness comes more quickly, and time together is more valued. The
people I’ve encountered have seemed less antsy to move onto the next thing, and
have been more content living in the moment and don’t worry about what the next
moment in life will bring.
I have no idea what the difference is. My instinct tells me
to attribute it to the joy Jesus brings to his followers, expect that the joy
I’ve noticed isn’t limited to those following Jesus. I’m not really sure what
it is, but my new goal upon returning to America is to bring back a little bit
of the joy I’ve found while abroad.
Side note: The third and fourth thing I noticed was that
there are now peanut butter cheerios (!) and that the NFL refs are all on
strike.
