The Post-Tourist Blues

Well it's been awhile since I have blogged more than just pictures. Pictures might tell you some of the things that are going on but there is so much more.

It's been two months now that I have been away. On one hand it seems like I left yesterday but on the other it seems like forever. I no longer feel like a tourist. My mouth doesn't drop in awe and wonder so much anymore. I'm getting used to my surroundings. I can get around town on my own, go shopping by myself and communicate with most people ( I now speak Sringlish!).

Now what I notice are all the differences between cultures. I see things that I don't like or don't understand. Not everything makes sense to me and my way of thinking. Small problems irritate me more than usual and seem bigger than they are. In my head I understand these things but living them out is sooooo much harder. It like the difference between taking Cross-Cultural Communication and living cross-culturally. It's a whole different ball park! Practise is harder than theory.

We are having some difficulties with our landlords. At first we thought that our problems were about water -- not having any. Now we are beginning to see that is not the real problem. The real problem is miscommunication. It is really difficult to sort that out when we don't speak the same language as them. Their daughter speaks english but we can't tell if she is communicating clearly to her parents what we are saying. Sri Lankans do not like to rock the boat or even displease someone. If we explain ourselves a few times they rather say that they understand than ask us to explain it again. It is soooooooooooo frustrating because in our culture you ask until you understand.
Now this situation is not one of those little ones that seems big -- this is a serious situation.

An example of a little thing seeming big is my bathroom. In our house every bedroom has a bathroom. There isn't a bathroom that is accessible without going through a bedroom. My bathroom has some issues or at least I have some issues with it!

First is that if the main water line is on (the city water line) I can't get any water in my bathroom but if there is water in the tank I can get water in my bathroom. So basically if the tank is empty - no water. The second thing is that my bathroom doesn't drain. If I have a shower the water won't drain. This sucks on more than one level. Not only do I have dirty, stagnant water on my bathroom floor, it stinks! My bathroom always smells moldy. Oh ya, the tub doesn't drain either so no bubble baths for me!!! I should have known that it was too good to be true! The other issue I have with the nondraining bathroom is that the toilet is right by the drain so ever time that I wish to use the tiolet I either have to hold my pants up or take them off. I can't wear slippers or socks in my bathroom because they get wet. I'm not talking about the floor being slightly wet, it is usually 1-2 inches of water covering half the bathroom! Good thing everything is tiled.

Now in my head I know that this is not really a big deal. I can handle it. But it is really starting to get to me. It's been two months. Back home this would have been fixed weeks ago...days after the problem was discovered. These are the kinds of things that are starting to get to me. The inefficiency of how things are done.

So thus concludes my tirade. Sorry folks. I am really starting to miss people a lot. Before everything was new and took my mind off of home but now that things are becoming normal I am missing my friends and family. I keep thinking about all the things that I'm missing. Jenn and Dan's wedding, graduation, end of the year mission trip, birthdays, etc.

If you think to pray for me I would really appreciate it. I need God's grace to be sufficient in a very real way. I don't want to get stuck in this phase of adjustment. They tell me that it does get better but you do need to work these things through first.

Thanks friends. Miss you.