This week was my first week back on campus after being in
Indonesia for the whole month of January.
Everyone says that culture-shock hits harder upon return to the home
country than the first experience of the new culture, and I found this to be true
from day one.
I came to love many parts of Indonesian culture, such as
being welcomed by everyone, and I really miss these key cultural differences
being back in the States. I feel
unimportant, because I am not greeted or appreciated the way I was in
Indonesia. I’ve found that not everyone
wants to hear about my trip and the incredible experience I’ve had. Some friends do, and I have had some
wonderful discussions with friends about the experience, but unfortunately, many
others do not seem as interested. Most
of the people who are really interested in my trip were people with some
international experience previously, and I connected with some people I never
would have if I didn’t have this experience.
I’ve also had a really difficult time with classes, having a schedule,
and having to wake up on a specific time frame every day. I have still not adjusted to the jet lag, and
it has been a struggle to get out of bed every day. I must set 3 alarms, and I often sleep
through all three of those. I have often
been late to meetings because I am not used to being exactly on time.
It is also hard to not be surrounded by my Indonesian
friends constantly. After serving and
living with the same group people for 3 weeks, it creates a huge void when
those people are not a large part of your life anymore.
But the largest problem I’ve had adjusting back to American
culture is the technological advancements of our country. We are constantly busy doing something,
anything to get ourselves ahead of the competition. Unfortunately, life is not all about getting
ahead, and this is something I learned while I was in Indonesia. People were genuinely friendly there, and they
wanted to take the time to invest in your life, while people here are too busy
to develop real friendships. People in
Indonesia seem to notice the beauty in little things, such as flowers or
sunsets, but here people spend their time buried in their cell phone rather
than looking around at the beauty of the natural world. I didn’t have my cell phone for the month I
was abroad, and I didn’t miss it one bit.
I feel every time I’m ignoring a face-to-face conversation to send a
text, or neglecting personal reflection time to talk to be on my computer, I
feel that I am missing out on the true beauty of the moment. In Indonesia, it was so much easier to notice
the little things.
Although this week has been extremely hard, I’m gradually
adjusting back into American culture.
There are parts of America that I don’t like, and parts that I know will
take longer to adjust to than others, but I’m encouraged by the progress I’ve
made. It is definitely true that
culture-shock hits more whenever the person gets back into the home country.
Anyone who studies abroad becomes a family. I have so many new brothers and sisters, both
Indonesian friends and Messiah friends, and I miss them all dearly. The power of serving together in an
unfamiliar country brings people together in a way only God can do. I miss having such a vast opportunity to feel
like I’m serving God. I miss feeling
like I’m making a difference by walking out my front door. I miss seeing people who have the same goals
and dreams as I do. I miss all of my
friends from half-way around the world.
I never thought it would be so hard to come back. I really miss Indonesia.
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