culture crash

Sometimes its hard for me to articulate what is so different about my life in the States compared to my life in Honduras.

Other days, its a continual barrage of differences that get under my skin and get me all riled up!

Culture incorporates so many tangible and (more importantly) intangible things that make us who we are, that dictate what we do, and even how we react to things. You might be thinking, yeah, but is it really that big of a deal? I mean, people are people no matter where you go. And you might be right. According to my co-worker, any time I bring up the idea of cultural differences he tells me that it's an excuse and talking about culture is "papadas" (read: you're full of crap).

Well, I would just like to say that it's not crap. It's real. And I struggle to live with these differences, good and bad, every minute of every day of my life in Honduras. And I don't appreciate being told that it's an excuse when it's something that feels very real to me. Until you have lived in another culture and understand the subtle differences that culture adds to everyday life, you can't tell me it's nothing.

Primarily I get riled up in the work place where we have a LOT of differences in how we approach things. Granted, a lot of this is personality...and I will freely admit that. However, there are a lot of cultural trends that shape how we approach our work and how we do or do not get things accomplished. The inefficiency and lack of just...getting-things-done is enough to drive me crazy. There is always tomorrow. And you rush, rush, rush to wait. Hurry up and wait is very typical. And meetings...don't even get me started. If you just spent one hour actually DOING something at your desk, we would need 95% fewer meetings to talk about what you plan to do.

In a different vein, I was reflecting on the food of Honduras and how really, well, un-interesting it is. Every restaurant seems offer the same standard menu, no matter where you go. Oh sure, there are establishments that specialize in fried chicken, or pupusas, or maybe just baleadas...but really, Hondurans have a startling lack of variety in their diet.

It got me thinking about how many varieties of food I used to enjoy in a typical week...but then my daydreaming about Thai food got me drooling over everything so I had to stop that! But it is interesting to consider what a cultural trend there is in the U.S. to try something new, the latest thing, something rare...because it's exciting, and you might discover the next greatest thing. Here in Honduras, you stick to what you know. New is scary...new might be bad.

So where does all this leave me? What am I trying to say?

Well..I guess I'm just trying to blog-it-out  and express that living in another culture is challenging for the very ways it stretches you to do things differently and live in ways that don't feel "normal." It's not always bad...there are a lot of good things about it to (hopefully a future post ;) )...but I just need the acknowledgement and affirmation that it is hard. It's not papadas. That what I feel is justifiable and when you've only been steeped in your own culture, you can't really know what all is wrapped up in that word, and how it might make others feel out of place, or un-welcome some times. I know what that's like because I live it.

There are just those days...when it's too much. And you don't want to eat another piece of fried chicken. You really just want something...different!