contrasts and comforts

I was reprimanded today for my inconsistency in posting new blogs. So, Rachel Toone, this one's for you.

The reason I haven't posted much lately is because life is just pretty...normal. Volunteering at the hotel is keeping me busy, and we've settled into a nice rhythm of life - Daniel goes to class and studies, I work hard doing dishes and cleaning rooms, and we squeeze in times to get together with other people or go on a walk or relax at the beach. 

I have, however, been keeping a list of little things are different from life in the States that entertain me or make me laugh or are simply interesting. So, here are some: 

- Cars are smaller here. That goes for both the actual size of the car and for what's considered a "normal" car. Minivans are rare, and it's almost strange to see any sort of SUV. 

- Things are a bit unorganized, and even chaotic. We went to a picnic with the congregation, and everyone brought their own food and a couple of grills were provided. Grilling was insane. The minute a little bit of space opened up, the next person was squeezing in their meat. I almost had a panic attack because of the raw chicken rubbing shoulders with our burgers. In the grocery store, people just yell at their friend across the aisle and the cashiers shout back and forth and the whole experience leaves me feeling like I need to take a nap. At the beach on Shabbat (which is THE day to get out and spend time with friends or family), there is no such thing as personal space...your towel or chair is so close to your neighbor's that you might as well share your food as well. 

- Drip coffee is almost unheard of, and unless you're out at a coffee shop you'd better expect to be drinking instant. This was an adjustment for me, but I've found a good ratio of coffee to sugar to milk and I'm getting by.

- Speaking of milk, it comes in bags here. They remind me of udders, and it's still strange for me to carry a sack of them home from the store.

- One of my favorite things to do at the hotel is laundry. The normal way to dry your clothes is to hang them out on a clothesline; some people have dryers, but it's not common. At the hotel, the laundry room is on the top floor and the clotheslines are out on the roof, and you even have a view of the ocean. I'd like hanging laundry out anyways, because it feels way cooler to be hanging out your clothes and taking them off the line when they're ready to be folded. And there's something extra nice about the way things smell and feel after they've dried in the sunshine and the breeze.

Of course, that's a short list of differences between life here and in the US. None of them are bad, and I'm both gaining a new appreciation for the way some things are done here and thinking twice about the things that I have unconsciously considered to be "normal." 

One of the groups that stayed in the hotel this last week consisted primarily of people from Germany and Austria, but there was one American guy with them. The minute I heard him talking from across the room, it was like an alarm screamed "American! American!" and I immediately felt a sort of kinship with him. We didn't talk much, but chatted briefly about how his trip was going and laughed at how wonderful it is to run into people who can speak English well. We agreed that it was nice to get to talk to someone else from the US, both for the ease of communication and for the deeper sense of simply being understood. This week I think I finally started to become aware (or maybe just finally admitted to myself) that it's a little lonely being "the American" here. It's nothing that I'm upset or unhappy about, but I guess I'm realizing that it would take a long time here to feel like I really have my feet solidly on the ground. Doing the smallest, simplest things still makes me uncomfortable...I have to give myself a pep talk before going to the grocery store, because I rely on pictures and good guesswork to find the right items, and if anything were to come up that would require me to actually talk with the cashier we'd be in trouble. However, I'm being challenged to step out of my comfort zone, even knowing that I'm not exactly prepared for what's coming. There's no way I will start to adjust if I ask Daniel to go to the store for me every time; the best way to start getting used to things is simply by going out and doing them. I won't even start on my list of awkward and embarrassing moments so far, but little by little I'm learning. I think that's a good lesson for me to be reminded of, because in general I like to be fully confident before taking something on. However, that's a very small way to live life. Oswald Chambers (he wrote My Utmost for His Highest) had a sort of motto throughout his life, which was "Trust God, and do the next thing." For the small things as well as the big picture things in life, sometimes we just have to step out and GO in faith that God is in control and all we're asked for is our best effort.

With that, I will go drink another cup of my instant coffee.