My 13 days in America were a blur, but also pretty fantastic. My first culture shock back in the promised land happened in the airport. I missed my flight, I was calmly informed that there is more than one flight to Detroit from DC per day, which relieved me…I am accustomed to airports with 6 or less flights per day and none of them going to the same destination. Once I was on the next flight home, and after a few tears and me exclaiming, “I haven’t seen my family in over a year and a half,” I then had to venture the obstacle course that is American airport security. I had already been through 3 security checkpoints in my travels…but there were all sorts of monitors and new regulations; fortunately a guard took note of my distressed look trying to study what I needed to do and they walked me through the process. I was finally to the terminal looking for coffee and bagel bliss. They didn’t have a toaster at the coffee shop and I made it clear that I was going to eat the bagel regardless…all I needed to complete my dream of my first meal home being cream cheese, which to my delight they had.
My trip home can be summed up into two things: seeing people and eating delicious food. Meeting my parents after all my flights was so wonderful and they took me to Wendy’s, which is exactly what I asked for: cheap and greasy…home of the free and the brave. My mom organized an early thanksgiving feast, so I get to have two thanksgivings this year…and I got to see a lot of my extended family. I had a friend come to visit from upstate as well as got to see some who were in from out of state for a wedding, so I was very fortunate to see a lot of the people I love and miss. They made my trip wonderful, but also recognized how much I missed good food, so I was treated to many delicious lunches, dinners, and desserts :)
Other culture shocks: How many options were available in stores (I did have to sit down in the yarn section of Jo-Ann Fabrics to recover for a minute) How big Americans are & how big portion sizes are in restaurants. Every store wants to give you a gimmick at the check out, its easy to say no to a frequent customer program when you live in Africa. The ridiculous reliance on technology – gps devices and people walking around looking like looney toons talking on their bluetooths. Transport id everywhere…you can’t look in the sky and not see an airplane, and you can hear traffic on the expressway mile away from it. Lighting and electricity is strong and consistent. Water pressure is amazing. Dishwashers, washing machines, and microwaves, etc are amazing, but there are so many buttons. They play the same songs over and over again on the radio. I gave away a lot of things before I left for Peace Corps…but I still have a lot of stuff.
Aside from eating and seeing people I got to spend some time outdoors. The weather was mild for October, but cold for me coming from the hottest month of the year in Zambia…nothing a few layers of clothing couldn’t fix. Micah got a pontoon boat recently so we spent an afternoon on the lake. The leaves were exquisite, so I went for a few walks and even a picnic lunch in the park. I even made a trip to Ann Arbor and got to explore the remodeled art museum on UofM’s campus, which was so much fun!
Although it was really great to see friends and family that I haven’t seen in over a year, and enjoy American luxuries, I was ready to come back when it was time to fly out. I am happily living my simple village life once again and just enjoying the time I have left in my service.