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| Friends Blowing Kisses To Their Adoring Fans? I Guess Some Things Never Do Change Courtesy of Wesley Smith |
Initially,
I dreaded the idea of coming back to the states. Not because I didn’t want to
come home, but because I had heard so much about reverse culture shock. Though,
to be honest, so far it hasn’t been too bad. It’s been surprisingly easy in
some ways. It’s amazing how things come right back to you. Driving,
friendships, returning to your old haunts: all things that worried me about
coming back. I couldn’t help but worry that since I’ve changed, my hometown has
changed, and my friends have changed…are all these changes going to correlate
and make room for each other? For the most part, they did. I’ve enjoyed the
progress my town has made, and fortunately, talking with most of my friends
came easy, almost as if I never left. I really do have incredible friends
everywhere I’ve been and I’ll never take that for granted.
I
do miss Belfast. I do miss my old placements there. I do miss the people there.
A lot. Even more than I expected. But I also miss people from back home. And people from camp. And people from Chicago. I think that's just something that's always going to happen to me, especially if I keep moving around like this. But I've gotten better at handling missing people. I just gotta take all that nostalgic energy and transfer it into the present. So currently whenever I start to miss someone or some place, I
focus all my attention to all the wonderful people I’m meeting in Nashville, to my
awesome roommates, and to another fresh start in an awesome city.
Of
course there are moments that are out of my control. Small things are still
weird to me. I can use my debit card here and not get charged a big amount
because I’m not overseas. I have to remember to reserve a little extra cash for
the tax that comes with every purchase. If I don’t, I sound so pretentious:
“Sorry. I just lived in the UK for a year, and in the UK whatever
is on the price tag is what you pay.” *smug laughter and monocle adjustment*
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| Reunited And It Feels So Good (Fell Right Back Into Place With These Guys) Courtesy of Luna Anna Archey |
I am also sometimes surprised that American friends
can reach me again, that I can text them, that I can call them, that I don’t
have to always schedule a skype call.
I think in some ways, access to people has become my biggest struggle, not
necessarily in a bad way, but in a kind of overwhelming way. It’s as if the
good ol’ US of A welcomed me back by saying:
“Hi, T.J.! Here are all the people from your life
that you have talked to for a year through your computer! You have less than
two weeks before you move to Nashville—don’t forget to pack!—to see as many of
your loved ones as you can while simultaneously reacquainting yourself with
Michigan and America. Don’t forget about the churches you need to speak at, the
YAV documents you never turned in, the thank you notes you need to write, and
the fundraising you need to get at! Well, welcome back! I’m going to go be a
jerk to someone else now.”
My
adjustments, however, are of course straight-up for babies. These aren’t real difficulties,
especially compared to my other YAV friends who have returned from Guatemala
and Kenya. I can only imagine the adjustment struggle they are going through.
I’m not going to shorthand the cultural differences
between Belfast and the USA, but I’m also going to point out how subtle they
are. If you haven’t lived in Belfast and you’re just visiting, you may just
notice the fun accents, the cool architecture, the pub culture, the kind people, etc. You may
not go into areas like the Shankill and see FAP
written on the walls, or catch a flute band marching around Carlisle Circus, or
see a giant bonfire on the 11th of July. And even if you did, how
much digging would you do to see what that’s all about?
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| Whenever I Miss Belfast... I'll Wear a Belfast Shirt, Drink Dunkin Donuts, and Chill with these Fine Ladies Courtesy of Alaylay |
This isn’t a criticism because I’d definitely be the
same way. All I’m saying is that many cultural differences* between Belfast and
the U.S. are beneath the surface. Guatemalan or Kenyan cultures are obviously
an in-your-American-face difference, let alone beneath the surface. I don’t
envy the reverse culture shock my friends are going through, so I’m definitely
not going to complain about mine.
I’m already extremely grateful for the challenges,
growth, and experiences this year will give me. I asked to be a part of The
Room in the Inn because of how curious I am about homeless communities. You all
know the cliché “Knowledge is power!” (By the way, did that saying come from
the classic 80’s cartoon G.I. Joes? I feel like it did). The point is, I don’t
know much about the homeless, and I no longer want to feel powerless and/or
awkward when talking to a homeless person just because I don’t know what our
middle ground is. I just want to chill with them and learn about where they are
coming from. Hear what they have to say. Learn to meet them where they’re at.
Homelessness is worldwide and I’m going to keep encountering it, so I can’t
wait to do what I can at Room in the Inn.
Also, I start at Room in the Inn tomorrow. It’s a
half day. I’ll write about it soon. Later!
*And similarities too, but that’ll have to be a blog
for another day.
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