My trip went smoothly (all of my flights were perfectly on time!) and I even had a sweet surprise at the end!
I've been re-reading a fantastic book on cross-cultural immersion (Cross Cultural Connections, Elmer) and on the plane to South Africa it hit me: I'm not interacting with AMericans anymore.
One of the things that I have gleaned during my travels is that I should not treat everyone the same (stay with me those of you who think I've lost my moral compass). I'm not talking about the value that I place on each person or the respect that I give them, but rather that the way I show respect and interact with others should change from culture to culture (since different cultures have different norms and guidelines for how to show respect and give honor to one another; I should adapt to that culture's ways in order to show them respect and honor). So what I mean is that the specifics (what words I say, gestures I use, eye contact, speed of speech, etc... ) of how I relate to others can and should change as I interact with different people if I am attempting to be consistent in treating everyone the same (that is, treating them well in a way that they will receive as respectful and honorable).
When I landed in Johannesburg (backdrop to Alan Paton's class "Cry the Beloved Country") I was pretty awkward talking with the airport informational helper people, and just people in general- I was re-learning a new way of relating to people. Thankfully the janirtor in the men's bathroom was nice and ended up talking with me for about ten minutes. After that enjoyable interaction I felt more comfortable and enjoyed the rest of my time in the airport by: walking for 90 minutes (to get in my exercise!), reading a lot, listening to a Zimbabwean choir thwas going to the states to talk about their church's involvement in a cholera outbreak in Harare, talking with guys from that choir, and (the highlight) having a 35 minute conversation with the immigration officer about my desire to honor God and have a healthy relationship with my girlfriend by not sleeping with her before marriage. I'll leave out the details, but it was one of the coolest conversations I've ever had, stranger or not.
After that chat I got onto my plane to Lusaka, took a pic of the Jo-Burg sunrise, and watched two hours of African scenery disappear past my window. After I got my luggage I spent about two seconds looking for the guy I had arranged to pick me up from the airport... only two seconds because someone else had told him to not come! Tada- Karen cam eto pick me up from the airport!! (what a gal!!) It was an awesome surprise and I greatly enjoyed the rest of the day with her. I got to take a shower at a friend's house, and then she and I ran errands around the capital city (renewing her work visa (aka waiting in line), trying to go the Indian consulate, and asking questions at the American Embassy). We eventually got on the Euro-African bus and headed up to Kitwe (a trip which should have taken six hours, but was more like 7.5 because... well, it just seemed like the cars were all going slow. I guess that's called traffic, but it didn't feel like the traffic I'm used to, I digress...).
The other awesome part of my yesterday was staying with Joseph. Joesph is a Zambian guy who is in change of the agriculture stuff happening ad the Boy's Ranch (where I'll be volunteering for three months, starting in June) and he's basically doing a bunch of stuff that I learned about in my community development classes in college! He's got a bunch of crops planted, is raising chickens, and tending rabbits and pigs too. He's got a well, a ltrine, and surely a bunch of other stuff that I haven't seen yet. Seeing all of that stuff, along with the cool night air really took me back to my trips to Fiji and Uganda, and it made for a really cool God-with-me-no-way-to-make-this-not-sound-overly-spiritual-and-I-hate-that kind of night. Yesterday was honestly one of the best days of my life. I fell asleep around 10 and woke up only once before getting up at 6 this morning to change the water and feed the the animals. I feel pretty adjusted to the time schedule here (thanks to the people on my Ukraine summer mission trip 4 years ago, who taught me to just grit it out and get on the new sleep aschedule the first day).
That's all for now. The next few days I'm going to be meeting the boys at the Boy's Ranch, learning from Joseph, and spending some much-missed time with Karen Hartman. I leave here next Thursday and arrive in Kenya that night (the 26th). That's when the real craziness begins! Nick and I will meet in the airport, go to the home of John Kinyanjui Gichane (my hosts the last time I was in Kenya!), get some stuff from Nairobi, and then head to Naivasha to stay with some missionaries there a few days. They're going to give Nick and I an opportunity to reconnect before heading to AMCC, and also give us tons of advice and good bits to think about as head to Thika to visit AMCC. Wow. Nick will be coming from Thailand. That's nuts.
For those of you who'd like to, please pray for:
- Nick and I to both be well prepared in the next week for our time in Kenya.
- Good (and holy!) time with each of our girlfriends, peaceful goodbyes.
- John Muhika's neck to get better.
- The kids at AMCC to have healthy food.
- God to raise up Kenyan partners for AMCC.
- Friendship with all at AMCC.
Adios!
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