“Home”
“Mom, I’m sure glad that we brought the things on my walls. And I’m glad we got them up on the walls in my room right away, “said Esther. “It really makes my room feel like home.
“The rest of the house feels a little bit like home too. Nothing else feels like home. I feel like a visitor at school, at church, and in the city.”
“That’s normal,” said Mom. “I feel the same way, and I lived here ten years before we went overseas.”
“How long before it really feels like home?” asked Esther.
“Well, it will feel more and more like home every day,” answered Mom. “But it often takes about a year before it really feels like home.”
“That’s too long,” said Esther. “By then we’ll be moving back to our host country.”
“You’re right,” said Mom. “People who change cultures every few years feel like visitors much of the time.”
Just then Ruth came down the hall. “I don’t understand. Paul and I were just at the corner store. I bought a pen that cost 99 cents. I handed the lady a dollar, and she said I needed four more cents. What is tax?”
“I’m sorry, Ruth. I forgot to tell you. We didn’t have sales tax where we were. But here at home you have to pay the government every time you buy something. It’s called a sales tax. In our state it’s about five cents on every dollar,” said Mom.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” said Ruth.
“It doesn’t,” said Mom. “But that’s just the way it is here. Every culture has some way of raising money for the government, and here they have a sales tax.”
Dan poked his head out of his room. “I went with Dad when he got his hair cut. I went next door to the barber shop to the place where I used to get ice cream. Now it’s a hardware store. What a bummer!”
“It is,” said Mom. “Things have changed since we left.”
“So much has changed, sometimes I’m not even sure who I am,” said Dan.
“You sound like Alice in Wonderland when the Caterpillar asked her who she was,” said Mom.
Alice replied, “I—I hardly know, Sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning. But I think I must have been changed several times since then.”
Paul came around the corner, “That sounds like how I feel. I’m not sure who I am. I’m not sure what to do. If we’re ‘home,’ why do I feel homesick for where we were?”
“Paul, you and Ruth are too young to remember. But when we first went to our host country four years ago, we all felt the same way there,” said Mom. “We weren’t sure who we were. We weren’t used to bargaining for things. We felt unsure when we crossed streets—cars didn’t stop for us in crosswalks.
“We called it culture shock. The same thing happens when we come back. Lots of things have changed here. Dad didn’t know how to put gas in the car. I didn’t know how to ‘swipe’ my credit card. It’s a reverse culture shock. It takes most people by surprise.”
“People here don’t seem to really care about what we did or what it was like where we were,” said Dan. “Sometimes I haven’t even finished what I was saying, and they want to do something else. It’s like I was keeping them from what they want to do.”
“That sounds just like Alice in Wonderland again,” said Mom. “When she returned, Alice was telling her sister all about her adventures. Then her sister kissed her and said, ‘It was a curious dream, dear, certainly; but now run in to your tea: it’s getting late.’”
Esther said, “People are different here too. It seems like things are more important than people. They say that they like you, but they don’t have time for you. Instead of playing games with each other, kids have their own Play Stations.”
“Yes,” said Mom. “People are different, things are done differently, and stores have changed. Your feelings are very normal for anyone changing cultures.
“Don’t be surprised if you find yourselves not liking it here—that is normal too. As time goes along, you adjust to life here. Then it will feel normal, and you’ll know where you fit and who you are.
“Until then, I want you to carry these little cards. On them I have several important telephone numbers. These are our numbers here at home, my cell number, Dad’s cell number, our work number, and Pastor Bob’s number.
“Also, remember that if it’s an emergency call 911 from any phone.”
Paul said, “Doesn’t that have something to do with that movie we watched and the airplanes hit the buildings? People sometimes say, ‘Remember 9-11.’
Mom said, “That wasn’t a movie, Paul. Those were news stories of a terrorist attack in 2001. It happened on September 11, which is 9-11. That’s a good way to remember the emergency number.”
Things to do and think about
1. Use the following code to find the way many people feel about being “home”.
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
|
@ |
1 |
# |
2 |
$ |
3 |
% |
4 |
^ |
5 |
& |
6 |
* |
|
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
|
7 |
+ |
8 |
= |
9 |
< |
\ |
> |
? |
[ |
{ |
) |
! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9 |
$ |
6 |
@ |
{ |
$ |
2 |
|
@ |
7 |
% |
9 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
# |
+ |
* |
3 |
+ |
9 |
\ |
@ |
1 |
6 |
$ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
+ |
* |
$ |
< |
^ |
# |
& |
|
< |
@ |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
@ |
8 |
8 |
) |
|
6 |
+ |
7 |
$ |
6 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
< |
\ |
9 |
@ |
7 |
% |
$ |
|
< |
@ |
3 |
$ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@ |
3 |
9 |
@ |
^ |
2 |
|
> |
7 |
< |
> |
9 |
$ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
{ |
# |
^ |
\ |
$ |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
^ |
< |
@ |
8 |
8 |
+ |
^ |
7 |
\ |
$ |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
^ |
3 |
3 |
$ |
9 |
$ |
7 |
\ |
|
|
|
|
2. How do YOU feel about being “home”?
|
T |
R |
A |
N |
S |
P |
O |
R |
T |
A |
T |
I |
O |
N |
|
Q |
E |
W |
E |
E |
E |
R |
S |
T |
Y |
U |
I |
O |
G |
|
P |
H |
A |
T |
S |
O |
S |
D |
H |
D |
F |
G |
H |
N |
|
J |
T |
S |
K |
U |
P |
L |
N |
C |
Z |
X |
C |
Y |
I |
|
V |
A |
B |
C |
O |
L |
N |
E |
R |
M |
Q |
W |
E |
H |
|
E |
E |
R |
T |
H |
E |
Y |
I |
U |
U |
I |
O |
N |
T |
|
P |
W |
A |
S |
D |
O |
F |
R |
H |
G |
H |
J |
O |
O |
|
K |
L |
Z |
X |
D |
O |
O |
F |
C |
I |
S |
U |
M |
L |
|
E |
G |
A |
U |
G |
N |
A |
L |
C |
V |
B |
N |
M |
C |
3. In the word search above, find the following differences people often notice between cultures.
CHURCH CLOTHING
FOOD FRIENDS
HOUSES LANGUAGE
MONEY MUSIC
PEOPLE PETS
SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION
WEATHER
4. What differences do YOU notice between your passport culture and your host culture?
5. What changes do you see in your passport culture from what it was before you went and what it is now that you have returned? (This assumes you are old enough to remember what it was like before you went.)
6. Get the following telephone numbers and carry them with you everywhere you go until you know them by heart.
|