I recently was able to spend almost a month back home in the U.S. Seeing my family again was a tremendous joy, as was reconnecting with friends scattered across the country. Prior to this visit, it had been the longest stretch that I'd been outside of the U.S.,¹ so I was more than a little curious about what the experience would be like.
I was expecting to discover that I'd either grown cynical and jaded, disappointed with the American lifestyle and how I found it lacking, or else would find that I'd become misty-eyed behind rose-colored glasses, with everything appearing to be wonderful, beautiful, and apple-pie on the fourth-of-July perfect.
As you might expect, it was a little bit of both.
You know what struck me the most? How easy everything was. I mean, everything, including many things that I never would have thought as being either easy or difficult in the past. But now, they were gloriously, splendidly easy, and I felt comfortable and capable in everything I did;
Going out to eat,
pumping gas in a car,
driving down the highway,
speaking to a group of friends,
buying groceries at the supermarket,
a million little things that I've always taken for granted.
Sometimes you have to be shown how little you know in one area to recognize just how proficient you are in another. When I'm trying to operate in an unfamiliar language, culture and country, everything is conscious. I have to think about the conjugation of that verb, the polite greeting to say to that person, carefully read that sign on the elevator before I realize that it's not going to open its doors for me unless I work there and have a key.
There are a million cultural codes that you never even realize you know, until you're in a situation where you realize you don't know any of them.
I may not know every code, pick up on every single cue, or read every situation perfectly, even in my home country. But compared to my capabilities overseas, I felt like a cultural wizard, understanding everything and a complete master of the situation at all times.
It was nice.
You know what else I realized? How little I've appreciated my country, compared to how much I complain about all that's wrong with it:
I complain about bureaucracy,
moan about the political system,
whine about the high taxes I have to pay,
make fun about how fat and obese we are,²
worry about the erosion of our religious freedoms,
and fail to appreciate a million little things that I've always taken for granted.
And, as usual, my failures in this area were brought to my attention when I realized how frustrated and annoyed I would become when others spoke poorly about the country they were living in.³ It's not a perfect place - I'll be one of the first to admit that - even if we do have the unfortunate reputation of sometimes acting as though it is.
But we've been unduly blessed with wealth, with freedom, and with more than I could possibly give words to in this space. I've taken it for granted, grown jaded, and mocked my home for all that is wrong with it. As my world has expanded and I've begun the dangerously delicate process of trying to unweave strands of truth from the tangled webs of culturally influenced beliefs which make up my world, I want to arrive at the place where I can appreciate that which is beautiful while also seeking to change that which is broken.
I'm not there yet, but I hope that my time overseas - and at home - will propel me in that direction
¹It'd been over a year and a half since I'd moved to Latvia, and a year+ since I'd set foot in the U.S.
²Ok, seriously though, America: it is so incredibly sad to see how far you've let yourself go. Please, put down the fork and go for a walk. Please.
³This is a double-edged sword of sorts, because not only am I convicted of judging others about something which I myself struggle with, but I'm also confronted with the weakness itself. Ouch.
I was expecting to discover that I'd either grown cynical and jaded, disappointed with the American lifestyle and how I found it lacking, or else would find that I'd become misty-eyed behind rose-colored glasses, with everything appearing to be wonderful, beautiful, and apple-pie on the fourth-of-July perfect.
As you might expect, it was a little bit of both.
You know what struck me the most? How easy everything was. I mean, everything, including many things that I never would have thought as being either easy or difficult in the past. But now, they were gloriously, splendidly easy, and I felt comfortable and capable in everything I did;
Going out to eat,
pumping gas in a car,
driving down the highway,
speaking to a group of friends,
buying groceries at the supermarket,
a million little things that I've always taken for granted.
Sometimes you have to be shown how little you know in one area to recognize just how proficient you are in another. When I'm trying to operate in an unfamiliar language, culture and country, everything is conscious. I have to think about the conjugation of that verb, the polite greeting to say to that person, carefully read that sign on the elevator before I realize that it's not going to open its doors for me unless I work there and have a key.
There are a million cultural codes that you never even realize you know, until you're in a situation where you realize you don't know any of them.
I may not know every code, pick up on every single cue, or read every situation perfectly, even in my home country. But compared to my capabilities overseas, I felt like a cultural wizard, understanding everything and a complete master of the situation at all times.
It was nice.
You know what else I realized? How little I've appreciated my country, compared to how much I complain about all that's wrong with it:
I complain about bureaucracy,
moan about the political system,
whine about the high taxes I have to pay,
make fun about how fat and obese we are,²
worry about the erosion of our religious freedoms,
and fail to appreciate a million little things that I've always taken for granted.
But we've been unduly blessed with wealth, with freedom, and with more than I could possibly give words to in this space. I've taken it for granted, grown jaded, and mocked my home for all that is wrong with it. As my world has expanded and I've begun the dangerously delicate process of trying to unweave strands of truth from the tangled webs of culturally influenced beliefs which make up my world, I want to arrive at the place where I can appreciate that which is beautiful while also seeking to change that which is broken.
I'm not there yet, but I hope that my time overseas - and at home - will propel me in that direction
¹It'd been over a year and a half since I'd moved to Latvia, and a year+ since I'd set foot in the U.S.
²Ok, seriously though, America: it is so incredibly sad to see how far you've let yourself go. Please, put down the fork and go for a walk. Please.
³This is a double-edged sword of sorts, because not only am I convicted of judging others about something which I myself struggle with, but I'm also confronted with the weakness itself. Ouch.