What’s it like there?

by sharethewell

Some people have sent me this question and I struggle to answer it. “What’s it like there?”

What does that question mean? How do you answer that about America?

As I’ve pondered my answer, I’ve started to pay attention to some of the little things that make life different here.

1. Our bathroom is one room with the shower head in the middle. When we shower, everything in the entire bathroom gets wet.

2. The call to prayer from the mosque down the street wakes me up around 4:30 AM. Sometimes this is annoying. On other days, it moves me to compassion and prayer. On other days, I sleep right through it.

3. Everyone is so nice and hospitable. On the other hand, it’s exhausting being stared at everywhere we go. People are not generally kind when we pass them on the street, until we give a nod and a greeting. Their scowl turns to a grin and they smile back. I might even get an invite to lunch.

4. Frequent power outages and lack of central heating. At this point, I’m kind of enjoying this. Huddling around a space heater when we do have electricity, cooking by candlelight when we don’t and laughing with housemates.

5.We want to respect the cultural rules and norms. We don’t want to be boundary pushers. Generally, we are home before dark. If a friend invites us out at night, we have to arrange a proper ride home (from a married couple) and still not be out late. Don’t laugh too loud, wear proper clothes, don’t look like a slob, ignore the men, don’t draw attention to yourself, constantly be aware of your surroundings, act in a way that honors our hosts and the people around us… the list goes on. Wearisome on some days and exciting on others, we know what message we want to communicate to those around us. This message is one of peace and Light. And for that, this new lifestyle is worth it.

So that’s some of what it’s like. I’ll have to revisit this one as I pay more attention.

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