Last week we were learning about cross cultural communication and had some fascinating discussions about different views on time keeping! We have some lovely African and Middle Eastern people in our group who have very different views on time to us anal Europeans!! We are beginning to understand that we have to become a lot more chilled when we move to Guyana and have started practising now. We were invited to dinner by a lady from Ghana and when I asked what time we should arrive she just said 'Oh...after sunset'!! I had to tell her it stressed me out not knowing a time so she relented and gave me 7pm but warned me she would be offended if we arrived on time!! We managed to hold off until 7.30!! For those of you who know how anal we both are that was no mean feat!! We have also looked at indigenous and folk religions compared to major world religions and realised we engaged in our own folk religion with the Tooth Fairy and Santa!!
The best session of the week was a morning spent looking at 'culture shock'. We learned about the stages and symptoms of culture shock and ways to minimize its impact. I realised that I have been through a mini culture shock moving here and the stress of that is probably what caused my headaches. Thankfully they have eased now so that is a real answer to prayer. It was so helpful to explore this issue in some detail and we both feel better prepared for the next big change.
I am finding the course extremely helpful but still finding it hard living in close community. I'm trying not to wish the time away though as it is lovely living near enough to visit with friends and family for this period of time. We are seeking every opportunity to get away and be normal!
We went to visit Emily and Chris in Cambridge last Wednesday and went punting on the river on a beautiful afternoon.
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Chris and Emily
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Please pray that I won't allow the irritations of community life to get to me and stress me out!
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