Q&A: Adjusting

So, how long have you been there in West Africa?
Last Saturday marked 18 months.  Crazy!

Does it feel like "home" yet?
No, not really.  I can honestly say that I'm at the point where I have embraced my life here - not that I enjoy every moment or love everything single thing about living here.  But I am here right now, and this is the life I'm going to live right now.  The good, the bad, the ugly.

What were some of the biggest difficulties/struggles initially - like, maybe during the first six months?
Where to start?!  Well, I got here during hot season, so I was sweaty all the time, I had a heat rash that didn't go away for weeks, and I was just so. tired.  I actually came home from class each day and laid down for a nap - something I never did in the States!  I also really disliked feeling like the village idiot almost every time I attempted to do something - even the simplest everyday tasks.

What are some interesting things that are different from the US, but have become more or less normal to you by now?
The small change thing (which I've already told you about).  Very little personal space.  Eating from a common bowl.  I'm sure there's a ton more, but I can't think of them right now.  Probably because they're normal. :) 

Can you share some specific examples of progress you've noticed?
When I first started one-on-one language sessions, my conversations with Marie-Claude basically consisted of, "So, what did you do this morning (or last night)?"  Slowly, I was able to give and understand more details, then I was able to express more and more abstract ideas, and eventually explain my opinion (and understand hers) on a range of subjects.  That's been really fun.

What are some things that are currently still hard to live with?
Traffic, if I'm on foot, that is.  Especially the guys on motorcycles.  I do not like the way most of them drive!  (I've almost been run over a few times...)  Also, I get super tired of flirty guys.  "Just leave me alone, for Pete's sake!"  On a less trivial note, I still haven't gotten used to the begging children.  Every time I walk past them, I just...don't know what to do.  I feel so helpless in the face of all the needs around me.

What do you miss most about home?
My family and friends!  And good Mexican food.  And California scenery.  California will always be the prettiest place in the world to me.

How have you dealt with the adjustments, the stress, the difficulties?
Um...well...sometimes I'd kind of just curl up into a ball inside and try to shut out the world for a bit.  That wasn't necessarily the ideal approach, I suppose.  Other times I'd do something crafty, or watch a movie and have popcorn, or read a good book.  I talked to my Mom (and a couple close friends) a lot.  It was helpful - probably essential! - having those trusted people to process things with.  And I listened to sermons in English to stay encouraged and fed, because obviously I got very little out of church in the beginning.

What do you wish you had known before you came?
Hmm.  Not sure...

If you were to hop on a plane and fly back to the States tomorrow, what would be the hardest adjustment(s) in reverse?
I think I'd be overwhelmed.  "Everything is so clean!  And orderly!  And there's so much stuff!  And people just take it for granted."

What have you learned from West Africa (or West Africans)?
A lot!  One area that comes to mind is sharing.  I think the Western world tends to place a high value on personally owning things, but here it seems less is "mine" and more is "ours".  I can definitely grow in that area.  Another thing is prayer.  Wow.  Although I don't want to make a blanket statement, in my experience, prayer is real strength of the African believers.  They just open their mouths and pour out their hearts to God as if it's the most natural thing in the world.  I love that.  Something else that comes to mind is patience.  Things tend to take longer here - preparing a meal, for instance - and people tend to be okay with that.  And I'm learning to slow down (at least...sometimes) and just take life at a moment-by-moment pace.

What do you love most about West Africa?
My friends - my teammates, my host family, the helpers at the language center.  And mafé.  And chebu yapp.  And the colorful clothes.  And the value placed on hospitality.  And the thunderstorms.  Someone else said, "...For every difficulty here, for impossibility, for every little thing that makes you raise your eyebrows and ask Why?, there is something else that makes you smile at its beauty, wonder at its simplicity.  There is a rawness, an openness, the simple humanity of needing one another.  And because you have lived and breathed these things, because you have embraced them and come face-to-face with your own prejudices and weaknesses and inadequacies, you are forever changed."  Life here is messy, but that messiness has its own kind of beauty.

What have you learned about God through this whole process?
He never changes.  I can cling to Him and to His promises when my world seems to be just a swirling mist.  He's so much bigger and more amazing than I could have ever imagined.  He always knows what I need, He is always with me, and nothing in this universe can ever separate me from His love.  I always knew that in my head, but the last year and a half has worked those truths a lot deeper into my heart.