Tuesday, December 19, 2017

There and Back Again...

I have spent (nearly) a year in Kenya as a volunteer with the Salesian sisters. I have returned to the cold, festive time of December in Illinois. It feels just like yesterday that I was here in my home..just yesterday that I was with my family.

Reverse culture shock is like looking down on the Earth from a plane:
it changes your perspective significantly.
In many ways, being back home makes the past year feel like a dream. Since no one on this continent was able to journey with me, it seems unreal somehow. But despite these strange feelings, it most certainly happened and I am forever changed by the experience.

Now, many 'normal' American habits* are seeming very 'un-normal.' This process is called reverse culture shock.  If you have ever lived in another culture for an extensive amount of time, I'm sure you've undergone this process. It is bizarre to return to a life that no longer makes as much sense as it used to.

The fact is this: a year really trying to integrate myself into Kenyan and community living has changed me. I am still the same person in many ways, but my outlook on life has drastically altered. A lifestyle that used to seem the only way has become just one lifestyle. A culture that used to be hidden from me because of its close proximity has begun to show holes and idiosyncrasies. 

After having Mass and lunch in this family's home,
they said I was part of the family.
I learned more about American Midwest culture in one year abroad than I did living in it for 24 years. The people I met in Kenya were very curious about our life here--their endless questions made me realize some things can't be explained, but are just a reality. But this unending 'interview' process opened my eyes to understanding many things (like the English language is weird haha). 

Here are some aspects of American living that are currently shocking me. This isn't necessarily a negative list, but something that my eyes are open to now:

  • Life of excess
I was immediately shocked by the amount of stuff people have when I first returned. I had become very accustomed to living out of 2 suitcases and having the bare minimum. In the US, we behave like squirrels preparing for winter. Items usually serve one purpose here, so we have an abundance of specialized products (for the kitchen, tools, body products etc.) We have larger homes, so it makes sense that storing things is more practical, but just FYI: hoarding is an American issue.

Standing on the Equator is also makes you
look at life different.
  • Value of Money                                                                                                                              
 I can better appreciate the value of $1 now. In Kenya, the equivalent to 1 USD is about 103 ksh. With that many shillings, you can buy some sakuma (kale) and a kilo of ugali flour. This meal could feed at least 2 people. So buying a chai tea at Dunkin' for $4 made me feel guilty because I know the value of money now. Obviously, the cost of living in Kenya is relational to their wages, as it is in the US. But now, I feel a greater responsibility to tithe my money to foreign missions because our money goes farther in places like Kenya. I can easily sacrifice a chai tea over and over in order to help those struggling to survive.
  • Machines rule our lives
Dishwashers, washing machines/ dryers, microwaves, refrigerators and electric stoves are necessary to American living. They are intended to be time-saving devices, but somehow Americans are always running out of time, busy at all times. It amazed me to live without all these devices and somehow I still had free time.What I learned: machines aren't completely necessary and they don't always save you time. 
  • Cost of independence
Living in Kenya, the thing i missed the most (even surpassing cheese and wifi) was independence. The ability to get into my car and drive wherever, whenever was difficult to adjust to. But that is American life--getting everything yourself. I realized there is little cooperation between neighbors because mobility is so high. The average Kenyan doesn't own a car, but relies on public transportation (aka matatus), so neighbors and family and friends work together and share what they have. Although my limited independence annoyed me, it allowed me to live in community with the people around me. 
  • Happiness is a state of mind
The children I met were joyful,
despite enduring a hard life
Unhappiness is found everywhere and there is no magic formula to find peace and contentment in life. But..I personally found happiness in simple living in Kenya. On the whole, I would say that I met more genuinely happy people in Kenya that I have met in the US. I was most struck by the children of Dagoretti--many of them lived in extreme poverty and had difficult home lives, yet they would smile with authentic joy. They have very little in the world, but they still have a reason to smile. Their joy even shined out upon those around them. They were Jesus to me in their innocence and simplicity. 

As time goes on, I know more things about this lifestyle will feel strange, but I will also reintegrate into Midwest culture bit by bit. This blog has been my attempt at translating my experience into coherent thoughts. I have not written these things to accuse Americans living, but to offer a new perspective. Culture is complex and deeply entrenched into our environment, our history and the individuals that live there. It is difficult to understand how we are a product of culture and it is a byproduct of who we are, but this experience has opened my eyes to see the world more clearly. I'm very thankful for the (sometimes) brutal honesty of Kenyans because it helped me attempt to describe my culture. 

1 comment:

  1. Megan, it sounds you had such a wonderful experience in Kenya! You inspired me through your mission in Africa, in my mission in the Middle East. You wrote your experiences and your reflections beautifully and graciously. It's inspiring to read how much you value simple things now after mission. I'm very proud of you!!

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