Culture Shock Again

When I came back to Canada in October I thought I was coming home.  I had missed my family and friends, cooler weather and coffee shops.  I was sure I would be happy just to slip back into my life here.  Although I was happy to be back I couldn't just slip back into my life.  Things had changed here and not only that but I had changed too.  Having gone through what is sometimes called 'reverse culture shock' last time I came back to Canada, I thought I knew what to expect.  I gave myself more time to adjust which was good.  However I have discovered it's not the same this time.  My situation is different and I am different.  I have left my home and work in Tanzania to move to another area where God is calling me.  I have left Shady in Egypt, desperately  praying that he will make it to Canada in the next few months.

So sometimes even though I finally look like I fit in somewhere, I don't always feel like I do. Once again I am experiencing that jarring sense of dissonance that comes when your expectations of life don't correspond very well to reality.  It comes when you realize that you don't view the world the same way most of the people around you do even though you used to.


I wish there was a book out there that had all the answers to this type of cultural adjustment but I think that even if someone tried to write that book, it could never have all the answers.  All I can do is try to understand how my experiences have shaped how I see the world and figure out how to fit that into a life in Canada.  Basically I just have to take it one step at a time, moment by moment as I learn how to live in Canada again.

  Which one is the real Rachel?  The one who lived in East Africa, spoke Swahili, hated the electricity going off all the time and loved working with the Ikoma translators or the one who lives in cold snowy Calgary, speaks English and is learning Arabic, loves coffee shops and  loves telling people about Bible translation.