9 months ago I was falling asleep in a huge bed (full size), freezing cold because of the AC, and my stomach was full of haystacks and icecream, a foreign yet delectable food! Usually, such things would be normal, but that night was extremely overwhelming and strange because the last bed I slept had no AC buzzing, only the flowing white mosquito net to keep out the curious insects that would often visit during the night. It was on completely different continent and America was not that continent.
Re-Entry Culture Shock and I had entered into an extreme love-hate relationship from the moment I stepped on to that Lufthansa Airbus and flew away from the most amazing people I had been so privileged to meet and love! I knew that new things, old things, and the rest of my education awaited my humbled return, but no matter how much I prepped, no matter what re-entry book I read, or what news reports I scanned about the latest American trend on very slow dial up Internet, I knew that because of the time I spent as a student missionary in Ethiopia, I was a new and changed person. It was finding out how that "new" person fit into old shoes that made it a very interesting process.
To be completely frank, I wanted to find the closest plane going back to Africa the minute I landed in Atlanta. Everyone was so.......(fill in the blanks all you former student missionaries). I felt smaller then normal and had a difficult time speaking proper English! The flashy lights, fast cars, miles of fast food restaurants, and shopping malls seemed to make America one huge, lazy easy button. Why were there no donkeys and livestock in the middle of the street? What was the constant rush for?
I spent that warm and humid summer in good ole Collegedale, teaching swimming lessons and trying to figure out what my purpose of being in America was. I stumbled through the motions of American living, but my natural gait was hindred by laborious pains of re-entry. Summer ended and school began as did my transition to being a student again. It was neat to apply my year of teaching to my studies but at the same time it was extremely difficult to motivate myself to do much of anything. I compared everything I did and saw to Ethiopia and would get frustrated when no one seemed to care to listen to the stories I wanted to share. I sludged through 1st semester, paying special tribute to when the 5th of each month would roll around.
The past 9 months have brought many frustrations, lost friendships, adjustments, tears, and misunderstanding. In turn, I have been blessed with amazing new friends, memories, a sense of new belonging and a very heightened appreciation for all that God has blessed me with. Yes, living in America has its downsides and negative situations but it also has a smorgasbord of good things of which I have only recently been able to truly acclaim with a sincere heart.
My experience with re-entry is just that--> Experience. I am glad for the changes God has bestowed upon me and I can't wait to see what he has in store for me next, even if it comes with a side of re-entry at the end.
