Tuesday, April 3, 2007

~A Journey of emotions~

THE WORLD IS A BOOK, AND THOSE WHO DO NOT TRAVEL, ONLY READ ONE PAGE! --St. Augustine

Come along on a journey of some of the emotions one faces while living in another country. Of course, living in another culture has it's advantages, and nice things, but it also has it's TRIAL times too. As a missionary, I'm doing my best to enjoy living where God has called us to serve, so I'm not complaining, just stating FACTS!
Every where we walk, in every store, in every bus, on the sidewalks, to the market, EVERYWHERE, people STOP what they are doing and STARE at us. (Because we are light haired and lighter skinned than most Colombians) I'm not talking a casual glance, I'm talking a WIDE-EYED, GAWKING STARE!
AND EVERYWHERE WE GO, WE ALWAYS GET ASKED TO SPEAK IN ENGLISH, SO THEY CAN HEAR IT. If I'm talking to my family or on the phone and talking in English, a whole group of people will gather around me and just stand there looking at me and listening to me English.
Some Colombian people have told us that it cost them so much money, and so much paperwork when they try to get visas to go to the USA. Our friend Carlos just got a visa to the USA, for 5 years, ON THE FIRST DAY THAT HE APPLIED. We have been applying for Colombian visas for 10 months now, and still do not have them! Carlos is so embarrassed about how unorganized his country must seem to us!

Us at the market!

As an American, I LOVE MY COUNTRY, I miss my COUNTRY, I love and miss my family, and my friends, and I love and miss the good ole USA food. NOW, I DO LIKE COLOMBIA AND THE FOOD HERE TOO, but Colombians are constantly asking me DUMB questions like, "Is Colombia a lot prettier than the USA?" Or, "Do you like Colombia more than you like the USA? or "Is the food here better than the food there?" (I want to ROLL MY EYES AND SAY, "Of course not, My country is My country...and of course I'm going to like it more than your country...) But, instead I calmly say that there is no way to compare the 2 countries and that I like both of them and their food. HELP!
A lady that cleaned our house while we were in the States stole several things(including my Creative Memories Scrapbooking pens and tape!)So, one of my dear friends bought and mailed me some more scrapbooking pens and some tape, and I knew it was on it's way. YEA! Well, today our doorbell rang and it was the Fed-ex man with my box of pens and tape. But, since it had a value of $51.00 on the outside of the box, I had to pay the government of Colombia $30.00 JUST TO RECEIVE THE BOX!! WHEW! That was HARD for me to do! I know that the USA is not perfect, but when you live in a foreign country, and in another culture that is soooo different from what you are used to, you really miss THE GOOD THINGS THAT ONE LOVES ABOUT HOME!
~~~GOD BLESS THE USA!~~~

2 comments:

Michelle said...

Hi Heather! It's Michelle (Hight) Krick here! I was so excited to find your blog. I'll be checking in often!

Martha C said...

Bless you, Heather, for all the changes you have to make. At least you have a sense of humor! A boring person must really dread life changes! :-)

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