7 More Weeks

We’ve made it to the seven week mark. I like talking about it in days, because 50-something sounds so much less intimidating than 7. Yep, it’s coming fast!

It seems like most of life revolves around tying up loose ends that are the inevitable by-product of living life. We’ll be moving into Mom & Pop’s next weekend, and as usual we have more junk than I thought we had. Where did we get all this junk? Didn’t I throw or give away almost everything 6 months ago when we first felt like God was leading us to something outside the US? I’m confident I gave almost everything away… well… I meant to, anyways.

I have sent away my final assignments for the Spanish class that I was taking online. I’m 1.5 assignments away from wrapping up the ELL class, and that just leaves the writing class, which I hope to get done in the next two weeks. That would be plenty of time to submit my paperwork to the State of Oregon for renewal of my teaching license. I caught myself daydreaming about how great it would feel to have all the class work behind me… Good motivator to finish!

I’ve been thinking a lot about life, more specifically about my own culture. In the US we have a tendency to think that we don’t have much culture… “I’m Heinz 57” is a relatively common phrase. There is nothing like preparation (and I assume actually going) to live in the context of a different culture to help remind you about yourself, your upbringing, and the kind of lifestyle you’re used to. I have culture, and although it’s a culture that seems fused with lots of different input, it remains quite American. I have a relatively large “personal bubble” that I’ve been trying to shrink in preparation for the DR. I’m VERY used to popping into the local Safeway and paying reasonable prices for easy-to-prepare food. I walk around in total safety, without worry about people really trying to take advantage of me on my 5 min walk to the MAX, or without worrying if the police are going to ask me to empty my wallet. I don't have to negotiate the price of most of the things I buy.

These are cultural axioms that will be changing in about 7 weeks. Pray for Kisha and I as we attempt to avoid being lost in translation, that we will be able to identify things that are cultural misunderstandings, and that we may navigate them in a way that helps us love the people we find ourselves surrounded by.