Reverse Culture Shock

Well, I have been quite tardy in blogging. Something about not being in Bongolo gets me out of my blogging routine.

The trip back from Libreville was largely uneventful. Within ten minutes of stepping off the airplane, two different travelers came up to me and asked for directions to certain gates. I guess I look helpful?!...I had a 7.5 hour layover that made me feel a lot like Tom Hanks in the movie The Terminal. I set my backpack down on a bench and to sleep I went for about four hours. When I was finally up and functional, I walked around and took advantage of the German pastries available. I became very familiar with the Frankfurt airport during my layover. Eventually, I sat down on a bench and read for a while. Every once in a while, I’d peak over my book and observe all the people around me. I had lots of fun just observing all the people around.

As I was boarding the Frankfurt-Toronto flight, the German Lufthansa representative took the ID and info of the passenger in front of me. She quizzed the Iranian man on his address and Canadian resident information and he couldn’t remember. Needless to say, this made me slightly nervous. My nerve level increased 10x when he sat down in the seat in front of me and then a big, burly Middle Eastern man sat next to me. The man next to me had a watch with a timer that periodically went off about four times during the flight. The timer, the man’s refusal to look me in the eye, his constant need to get up and just stand in the aisle and his extremely nervous look, put me into panic mode multiple times. I was very happy when the flight landed in Toronto. I made it through U.S. customs in Toronto without any problems, except when the customs officer asked me where home was, I almost said Gabon…oops!

Side note…I have officially fallen in love with Lufthansa airlines. I’ve flown them before, but I forgot how wonderful they are. I have also made an official experiment of it and have discovered that if you speak German, the German flight attendants treat you better. Very interesting. I had the flight attendant completely fooled and she thought I only spoke German ;-)

After a 4.5 layover in Toronto, I boarded a small little plane with only 19 seats to Rochester, NY. There were only three other people on my flight and the plane was so small that there was no door for the cockpit.

It is a little bizarre being home. I feel a little bit like a stranger in my own house since it seems like I’ve been gone for ages (in one respect). It is just that life is so different in Bongolo, that it is hard imagine that Bongolo and Rochester exist in the same world. I am eating my fill of salad, vegetables and cheese since we don’t have much of that in Bongolo. I’ve decided my house here is too clean. There are no little granules of red jungle dirt, no ants, no geckos…its all a little strange. My mom sent me to the mall to use up a coupon...I didn't last more than 15 minutes and called my mom asking if she was ok with me not using the coupon and just coming home. I got to the store and was just too overwhelmed by the people, how different things are here and everything else…So, there is reverse culture shock for you, but I know that soon enough I’ll get back into the swing of things and life in the U.S.

On the health front, I am definitely feeling a lot better. My rash is gone and I’m feeling pretty good. Every once in a while, I have sweats/chills and I feel pretty tired…but MUCH better than last week!

Last night, Joanna Thelander's parents (who live in Rochester) came over and I was able to share my pictures and stories with them. It was an awesome time and I was so blessed to share pictures and stories with people who understand. It is a real blessing when people listen with interest to stories and things that God has shown you during trips like this one.

Thank you to all those who prayed for every part of this trip. Life in the jungle isn't always easy and I definitely relied on every single prayer. God really blessed my time in Gabon and I saw him move in so many ways. I had an awesome time getting to know the missionaries better and gleaning from their years of wisdom. I am so blessed to have also been able to build relationships with Gabonese people and other Africans…that is probably the hardest part. It is easy to come home if you just go in and out of a country and don’t build relationships. It is much harder when you leave a country and leave both new and old friends behind. It is so hard because I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I have to trust God that I’ll make it back to Africa sooner rather than later…already looking forward to my next trip!

I will keep blogging every once in a while even though I am not in Gabon, so stay tuned!