Culture Shock

I embark on another venture into culture shock. This time it's with someone that I love which makes it so much easier. Language issues and cultural discomfort, however, cannot be avoided. I am living in a sort of language immersion program. From morning til night I hear Arabic. You would think I would learn faster than I do. Sigh. I know this process will take time, but I'm not very patient. I feel like I am a baby. I can't talk or do things for myself. I can't express to those around me that I have a functioning brain. I can't express myself at all. It's very frustrating. My fiance's parents, though, have been so patient and kind. Thank God for them. I hope their patience doesn't wear out anytime soon, because it's going to take quite a while for me to conquer this language. Until then I have to rely on my face and actions to convey what I want ot say.

This culture is not mine, and so I don't naturally understand cultural expectations, therefor I am constantly concerned about offending. It's draining to spend the whole day focussing so hard to understand just a little about what's going on around me or to have the right reaction to each situation even when I can't understand the situation.

People here are incredibly warm and gracious though, which makes my own faults easier to deal with. Lord give me grace and wisdom.

I am actually alive

Yes, I am still alive. Access to the internet and time to post have been non-existant for the most part. The past three months have been crazy. At the moment, however, I am staying in a location that has internet, and so I will post.

Over the past several months I have packed up my life in four bags and moved across the Atlantic once again. For the past two months I have been living with a group in an apartment in a neighborhood in Cairo, doing orphanage work. The group that I had been living with left the country last week to return to the USA, leaving me homeless. After a considering several bridges to live under, I decided to take refuge in the home of my fiance's parents who have been gracious enough to offer me a place to live until I find on of my own. My mission at the moment is to find a place to live before the school term starts next month.

I am very excited about the school that I will be teaching at, and the people who I will be working with. I'm slightly nervous about teaching secondary school since I have never done it before, but this is the level that I wanted to teach all along,so I can't wait to begin.