Culture Shock in Reverse

Hey, Hey!

Hot showers, soft beds, In N Out, Mexican food, EnGliSH, Fantastic family, Fabulous friends, Shoes in the house, no one understanding what Thai I do know, driving on the right side of the road, missing my three buddies from Thailand, and bargaining. These are a few of things have stood out to me since being back in the USA.

Hot Showers- I will never look at hot showers the same. They are amazing. I absolutely love it. I know that I’ll have a hot shower when I get in there. (Unless of course someone is running the washing machine or taking a shower in the other bathroom, but still chances are pretty good the water will be hot!)

Soft beds- Oh my! I love my bed at home. It’s amazing I’ve missed it. I just melt when I go to bed. :) YAY!

English- Everyone speaks English! I know novel concept. It’s just weird now. Hearing someone say excuse me or hello, makes me turn around thinking they are speaking to me. It makes me laugh. I think oh yeah other people speak English too.

Fantastic Family- My family is fantastic. I love them. Many of them came home this weekend. It’s so much fun! I’m so glad they got to come. It means so much. They are wonderful!

Fabulous Friends- I have some pretty spectacular friends. The ones I have seen just make me smile from ear to ear. Some of them have asked if I missed them… I don’t think they read my blog if they have to ask.

Shoes in the House- Oh my! This is so weird! I want to take my shoes off and leave them at the door. Habits are hard to break?

No one understands what Thai I do know- I’ll say random phrases in Thai, but no one understands. They don’t get it. :(

Driving on the right side of the road- So weird! I was getting ready to take a friend to work and went to get in on the right side of the car to drive. Hmmm… that wouldn’t have worked so well!

Missing my 3 buddies from Thailand- Well, they’re not from Thailand, but that’s where we all met. We were strangers at first and them became close friends. I miss them even all their quirks! It’ll be weird not having all 4 of us in Thailand next year.

Bargaining- I'll give you $5 for that not $15. Too bad it doesn't work that way here. :(

Those are a few of the culture shock things that I've experienced thus far. It's good to be home and around family and friends. I'm still getting used to being here again, but it's good to be home. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone as my time here goes on.

It's funny! The first thing people ask when they see me is... "How's your leg?" My response is generally, "It's still there." hee...hee.... The next question is "How was Taiwan? No, Cambodia? No, wait, where were you?" So funny. I was in Thailand. Just so everyone knows. :) Just letting everyone know... how was Thailand is a VERY broad question. I'm not sure how to answer that question other than amazing, trying, growing, and life changing. I loved it. So in short, that's probably the answer you'll get if you ask me, "How was Thailand." :) I don't have a 2 minute answer to sum up the past nine months of my life that really was life changing. The way I view things has changed in good ways. I appreciate things in different ways that I did before Thailand. I'm looking forward to going back and seeing how God is going to use me and cause me to grow. But I am enjoying my time home with the people here who I love and have missed.

I am going back to Thailand. Many people have asked if I'm going back, I am. I'll be here until July. Great news! I got accepted to Azusa Pacific University's TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program. I will be able to do it while I'm in Thailand. In fact it incorporates my teaching while I'm over there. I am really excited about this opportunity as well.

I'm still getting over the jet lag. I thought it was going to go faster than what it has. It probably doesn't help staying up until 3 am with the fam, but it's soo much fun!

I'll be adding to this blog next year. I'm not promising anything. I'm going to try and stay on top of things and write consistently, but no promises. :) Maybe I can get a secretary or something to write it for me. ha...ha...

Lots of Love and Hugs,

Lainy J.

Writing from the Good Ol' USA.