el extranjero

I suppose my previous posts have not been as fair in showing what my real experiances have been like, while I am having a good time and learning a lot, it has been difficult. I´ve been sick for this past week which just plain sucks and living in a foreign country is very different than traveling through it. There´s kind of just a constant stress of language barriers and the uncomfortable-ness of being in an unknown city. I´m constantly stressed about making sure I know where I am so I can find my way home at night, which is difficult considering I just don´t plain see as well, and stuff just looks different in and out of the light. As many of you know, part of latin american culture involves the cat calling. It is somewhat different here, they don´t whistle as much or say derogatory things, but they will say stuff that can put me a litte on edge sometimes, espeically when i´m alone at night! Don´t worry though, i´m safe! Being blonde just doesn´t help! I just stand out, like i´m wearing a sign that says ´turista´and they´ll try to rip me off in stores or think i don´t understand when they use fowl language, not to mention just constantly being stared at!

There´s the obvious language barrier, but I think it´s amost harder sometimes that I do understand some of it and can speak it. It requires so much energy to listen and understand each word, then to plan out everything you want to say and use correct grammar, pronounciation, and the correct colloquialisms for that particular area or even age group. There´s just a lot of stress involoved in living in a foreign country.

But what í´m beginning to understand is that I suppose this is not only what thousands of immigrants experiance every day but in much more difficult situations like work and school, but that this is kinda what life should feel like to us as Christians. We are all strangers in this world and how different it is to actually feel like one. When i´m at home, or in Wheaton I feel like I belong and that is where I should be, but like what Peter talks about in 1 Peter 1 vs 17 we are to live like strangers in this world. As Christians we should always feel a little out of place, the world shouldn´t be a all in all comfortable place. Not to say that it´s wrong to feel at home or comfortable in a caring and loving environment. But at home I too easily become apart of this world in every way that It´s easy to fall into complacentcy in my faith and how it plays out in my words and actions.

I´m glad that I can be learning this, but that doesn´t make it easy. It has been difficult, but I´m happy to be here and very blessed to have this time. Keep posting, It´s really nice to hear from home!