reverse culture shock

Friends who have also lived overseas are usually the ones to ask whether we experience any reverse culture shock when we're back in the US or Canada. Perhaps we haven't lived in Africa long enough, or perhaps we haven't been back in the US long enough, either way, we haven't had many instances of sharp reverse culture shock yet. 


There are little moments here and there that surprise and amuse:  a sales associate apologized profusely and then thanked me for "my patience" after I waited all of a minute and a half for her cash register to get back online yesterday. Good customer service--what a concept. 


There are little moments that confuse us and give us pause as we've been away from the convenience, the abundance, the wastefulness and yet, also the many admirable developments of Western society for awhile: meals arriving within minutes of ordering, fancy cars and designer purses, teenagers on their iphones after tennis practice, bleachers at Duncan's high school accommodating those with physical disabilities. 

Then again, perhaps we have had some reverse culture shock because now that I think of it, there have been piercing moments when we just can't wrap our minds around the fact that this comfortable, clean, climate controlled world we are enjoying so much at the moment is on the same planet as Mwanza where a person caught stealing can be stoned to death and set on fire. Which has happened in our neighborhood, not far beyond our front gate. 

As the time for us to leave Mwanza approaches, we do wonder how our experiences throughout the past year will shape the way we live, and the way we spend our time and money wherever God leads us to next.