Honestly, I have been staring at a blank page for over 2 months. Since leaving Belize in October, I haven’t known what to say or how to express what I’m feeling verbally; each time I try, it doesn’t make sense. Last January, I was excited to leave America for the adventure and I was excited to return after 11 months, but it all changed.
Now, I only wanted to be in America to see my friends and family, the rest of it I didn’t miss. Of course I missed my occasional Panera soups, having easy access to all I needed, or the movies, but it doesn’t even put into comparison on how much I miss each country. The street vendors selling the delicious fruit, smiling at strangers who smiled back at you, learning new languages from locals, trying some of my new favorite foods, countless number of dance parties, the easy conversations with strangers, the local smells of the cities, the dirt bumpy roads, the crazy bus rides, and so many more things that my mind wanders to every day.
I knew coming back to America would have its blessings, but I always knew there were challenges. Challenges because America culture is so different than the cultures I have gotten to live in.
A squadmate and I were talking recently, and we came to a conclusion that I am sure a lot of other racers are thinking: the World Race makes us feel awkward now in conversations. We aren’t sure how to small talk anymore. Honestly, the only small talk questions I seem to go to are, “what is your favorite color? What is your favorite food? How are you?” Now, can you imagine me trying to talk to strangers now? In America, “how are you” is easy, because people are okay with the simple “good,” but that’s not how it is.
I think it’s the World Race culture, because December 2014 I was asking those bland questions, then randomly I JUMPED in, or some say, “I went to the basement.” The beginning of the race I started to ask, “What is God teaching you right now? How can I be praying for you? What are your passions? What are you scared of? What are you reading in the bible right now?” Those aren’t questions that are easy to ask in the American culture, because most of us like the surface level. I don’t know how to do the surface level; I want to JUMP to the basement. Jumping to the basement is how I built such God loving, God fearing, and stranger to family in .005-second relationships. I asked questions that were easy to ask, everywhere else but America.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I have a great community at home, with people that love me and would sit and listen to me ramble for hours and hours. And I have some people that would love jumping to the basement, but it’s still not the same. People in America tend jump to the basement if they’ve already known the person for a few months, or are alike in a variety of ways. I want to see people to jump to the basement with strangers, with people who are completely different than themselves, I want to see people being (insert WR world here) 🙂 haha, but honestly, be VULNERABLE!
Share things that are hard to say, share things that you wouldn’t normally share to a stranger, or someone that’s not family.
Make family with people you wouldn’t normally talk to. Family means sharing God, and sharing love because of who He is. Don’t be too busy, stop. And ask the deep questions and jump to the basement!
