Culture Shock.
We have been traveling around the world living in what we like to call
squalor. The places we’ve lived and
grown to love have been less than standard of what typical Americans are used
to. But we’ve managed and been fine and
have really gotten quite used to sleeping on a wooden table with a sheet over
it or cramming six people into one tiny room or sharing twin beds. It’s become our norm, no one complains or
even looks surprised anymore…it’s just life :).
Aside from our living conditions, our personal hygiene and clothing options
have also deteriorated considerably. For
example, I had to set a goal for myself in India to shower at least every other
day. This was actually a challenge for
me…I felt like I was in there all the time!
Please also note, that I was a shower every day type of person when I
was still at home. Along with usually
being dirty, my clothes are a far cry from cleanly. Not only do we have a very limited wardrobe,
but the few pieces of clothing we have are rarely clean in regards to American
standards. Stains and holes do not pose
problems for us…clothing is too valuable to be judged by such a high
standard. I have sewn more on this trip than I ever have in my life :). So I
hope this gives you a decent picture of how our lives have been….I am here,
showering sporadically, and the only condition to determine whether clothes are
clean or not is by the way they smell.
And living in Third World countries for so long, we seemed to fit in.
Enter Kiev, Ukraine, our norms are shattered. We step off the plane to women in heels and
men with hair gel and designer jeans galore.
We roll up looking like the hippy/grungy nomads we’ve become and have
been traveling for 3 days on top of that. Compound that look with our above
mentioned hygenic norms and you find us sticking out like a sore thumb. The city is beautiful and clean and the
people all look like models. We ventured
out of our hostel (which seemed like heaven at this point) to get some
dinner.We headed to find the nearest McDonalds because we’re classy, thinking
it would be a safe spot for us.
Wrong. We stroll in, some of us
in sweats, some with hair still wet from the shower, and me, who still hasn’t taken
a shower from the 3-day travel experience.
Mistake. We had walked into a
fashion show and almost got mulled over by women and men walking the
runway that was McDonalds. It was the
trendiest place I’d ever been, and it was McDonalds! We were used to people staring at us, but
this was different. Instead of staring
at us with high regard and esteem because we were white and seemingly royal,
here we were getting curious and disgusted stares from the locals dressed to
the nines in America’s favorite fast food restaurant!
So all of this got me thinking and I was annoyed to find myself
annoyed. I had gotten so used to people
lauding over me and treating me like I was famous or something, I found myself
waiting for someone to come up to me and give me special treatment because I
have an American passport. But everyone
is white here and everyone is beautiful, so we don’t stand out anymore (for the
right reasons, that is ;)). Don’t get me
wrong, I have been longing for the day when I wouldn’t be stared at just for
existing, but this was wierd. Culture
shock, I guess. I was a little
disapoointed to realize I had gotten to
a place where I was expecting people to treat me a specific way or serve me or
something. I am the missionary here and
I am supposed to be serving! So it was
and will continue to be a humbling experience.
Who would’ve thought I’d learn so much from McDonalds :).
All that said, I am loving this country so far. Kiev is lovely and a welcomed change from the
crowded and dirty countries we’ve been in.
We arrived at our ministry site on the Crimean Peninsula and have heard
it is one of the most beautiful parts of Ukraine. We are on the Black Sea and next to a lake
with healing mud! We are excited to be here and just to be in Ukraine in
general. We are staying with a family of
16 and with us it makes 23 in this household.
They are all amazing and we already feel so blessed by them. I am sure I’ll be writing a lot more about
them over the next few weeks :).
And the McDonalds was delicious…totally worth feeling like a sicko loser
:).
