The first few shocks of being home are always hilarious - I'm going to let you in on some of my inner thoughts, when I first arrived in DC last month:
-"Wow, this country is freezing! Why is the a/c on!??" (it was about 80 degrees outside)
-"I feel like I'm on NASCAR - seriously this cannot be a safe mode of transportation." (driving down 66 in rush hour)
-"I can't remember how to change my droid off of airplane mode!"
-"Why is there no dust anywhere?" (this in reference to the concrete jungle)
-"All these street lights are overwhelming." (neon signs and police car lights)
-"Why do I have so much stuff?" (unpacking my room)
-"I don't know if I still remember how to parallel park!" (turns out I do)
-"I don't know if I can go to the grocery store - I will be overwhelmed."
-At one point, I almost spit my gum out onto the beautiful tiled floor of the Nairobi Serena hotel pool deck area. Got it together just in time.
-I've forgotten how to cross the street like a normal person. I hold my hand out for cars to wait, as if they will obey me.
-My roommate asked why the bathroom was so steamy, and I realized I had forgotten that the water comes in different temperatures - not just hot and cold.
-I can't find the stars anywhere.
-I saw an ad for a motorcycle, and thought, "Maybe I should get that for traveling on dirt roads outside of town... oh wait, I have a car and I live in D.C."
It surprises me how much I still have South Sudan on the brain. Remember how I said that any time someone calls - you always answer in case of an emergency? You also return calls from numbers you don't know. Yesterday I was sitting in a meeting and got a call from an unknown number - I almost left the meeting to answer it. I miss sundowners on the Nile. I miss dancing and sweating out all those sundowner toxins till all hours of the morning until my self-imposed curfew rolls around. Yes, I miss Juba. Reverse culture shock lingers on... and I'm thankful for my friends' patience with me while I try to wrap my head around this developed world of D.C.
-"Wow, this country is freezing! Why is the a/c on!??" (it was about 80 degrees outside)
-"I feel like I'm on NASCAR - seriously this cannot be a safe mode of transportation." (driving down 66 in rush hour)
-"I can't remember how to change my droid off of airplane mode!"
-"Why is there no dust anywhere?" (this in reference to the concrete jungle)
-"All these street lights are overwhelming." (neon signs and police car lights)
-"Why do I have so much stuff?" (unpacking my room)
-"I don't know if I still remember how to parallel park!" (turns out I do)
-"I don't know if I can go to the grocery store - I will be overwhelmed."
-At one point, I almost spit my gum out onto the beautiful tiled floor of the Nairobi Serena hotel pool deck area. Got it together just in time.
-I've forgotten how to cross the street like a normal person. I hold my hand out for cars to wait, as if they will obey me.
-My roommate asked why the bathroom was so steamy, and I realized I had forgotten that the water comes in different temperatures - not just hot and cold.
-I can't find the stars anywhere.
-I saw an ad for a motorcycle, and thought, "Maybe I should get that for traveling on dirt roads outside of town... oh wait, I have a car and I live in D.C."
It surprises me how much I still have South Sudan on the brain. Remember how I said that any time someone calls - you always answer in case of an emergency? You also return calls from numbers you don't know. Yesterday I was sitting in a meeting and got a call from an unknown number - I almost left the meeting to answer it. I miss sundowners on the Nile. I miss dancing and sweating out all those sundowner toxins till all hours of the morning until my self-imposed curfew rolls around. Yes, I miss Juba. Reverse culture shock lingers on... and I'm thankful for my friends' patience with me while I try to wrap my head around this developed world of D.C.
