Cultural Changes

I went to this cultural integration seminar today and learned about the warm culture of Nicaragua and what it means to be here cross-culturally. Most of it I figured I already knew from the training in Mexico, but we did a portion on how you respond to changes, whether going to another country or to another college. It talked about how at first it is fun, and you love the new environment and what not. Then, after time sets in, you begin to fight the culture a little bit. Often you criticize the culture you are in or want it to be like the culture you were used to. This is followed by flight, where you seek another culture behind the culture you are in. You do this through doing things you used to do or trying to connect a lot to people you used to know. After you work through all your differences, you begin to fit into a new culture. It was interesting to see how that cycle happened to me differently in two different countries, and the amount of time it took me to find a place of fitting. I think whether you are living out on your own for the first time or going to college for the first time, it is not wrong to want to seek the old things you were used to but the amount you dive into them and live in them will prolong or shorten your time to find comfort in a new place.

Major Differences Between Mexico and Nica as of now.

-Mexico did not have a grocery store in the town. Nica has at least 5.

-For two months I did not watch TV in Mexico. Last night, I was able to watch the Clemson/Alabama game in English.

-Mexicans ate a very wide and tasty variety of food. Nicaraguans eat rice and beans with meat periodically.

-In Mexico, I thought we dug big holes. In Nica we dig bigger ones. ( See attached Pictures)

-In Mexico, I lived with 20 people my age. In Nica, I live with orphans 0-4,12-17 and women over 40.

Similarities to follow.

a different world

So I have traveled out of the country three times to do missions and found one re-occurring problem. The work Americans have just finished doesn't work anymore.  I think Jordan taught me this lesson when we were in Cancun because the church there before us had built a church but used a bad piece of wood as the main ridge beam for the roof.  Jordan asked the locals who

lived in the land how they would do it and that is how we built.

In Mexico we learned all about being a learner of the culture. One thing I learned is that Mexican culture is more Christian than America. When I got the truck stuck in Mexico I had two taxi drivers and a dump truck stop to help pull me out. In America, our schedules would hardly allow our friends to help us let alone strangers.

I think we have a lot to learn from the rest if the world.

I was wanting to post a blog about travels and all the stories aroundthat but failed to get around to it. But tonight I watch pursuit of happyness with the ten boys I live with. it was great for them to see a story about a dad who went through so much hell but held to his standards of raising a son. None of these guys have dads anymore but they got to see how people have those standards. It is cool to see adolfo, the house dad, and his mom jackie, the house mom, live there to give these ten boys parents when they don't have to. These are not your average good boys but adolfo and jackie give up their life to try and show these boys what a Christian family is supposed to be like.