Cultural Adjustments

I have just finished reading Sarah Lanier's book, "Foreign to Familiar:  A Guide to Understanding Hot- and Cold-Climate Cultures."  \it has given me greater insight into the many adjustments I'm aware of making since coming to Africa University!  And, actually, the many international students who are here have and are also going through these cultural adjustments!

Sarah has lived in many places in the world, and now lecturers about how culture impacts our lives.  She says that the Latin cultures are "hot," since relationship is the basis for everything, including in the work setting.  Northern hemisphere folk are considered "col," since efficiency is their ruling value.  Think carefully about the ramifications of these differences!!   It means relationships vs a task orientation, direct vs indirect communication, individualism vs group identity, inclusion vs privacy, and different concepts of hospitality, time and planning.  Whew!  That's a lot to take in all at once!

She talks about culture "shock" as well as culture "stress" ~~ that is the need to adjust your familiar routines of life, make new decisions every day based on your new circumstances, learning to shop differently, different expectations of you, your motives, communication, behavior.  Dealing daily with the unfamiliar can take a lot of energy and a constant awareness of those differences.

Here are just a few of these cultural stressors for me:
     Time:  no one seems to be in a hurry to honor a deadline, be somewhere on time, get things done in an efficient manner.  Our Counseling Services Unit has been waiting for nearly a month for a mouse in order to use the computer that was installed a few days before I arrived!!
     Walking and Stairs:  In Zim. folks drive on the left side of the road, and so when I walk from the campus to the gate, I always have to think about which side of the road I'm walking on because it is the opposite of what I do at home!  The same is true going up and down stairs, especially to and from the dining hall ~~ I must remember to go UP on the left side, and DOWN on the other side!!
     Having no wheels:  It is possible for me to take one of the buses into town for shopping, but only on the weekend, since there is usually a long que waiting for the one-way section over Christmas Pass, and it now takes twice as long as normal.  I was offered the use of a car, but I wouldn't trust myself to stay in the right lane, or make the turns on the proper side of the road!
     Telephones:  Cell phones here are very cheap, and almost anywhere you can buy $1, $5, or $10 cards to add time on your phone.  TeleCom reps even come to the window of your car while you're waiting in traffic!  Most phone calls we make from the office are internal to the campus; but if we do need to call out, it always goes through a switchboard.  (Oh, yes, we do have a phone, but it's not connected anywhere yet!)
     Laundry:  I was not prepared to do ALL of my laundry by hand, including sheets and towels!!  It dries very quickly here, though, but then must all be ironed, including underwear ~~ that is because if it was hung outdoors, it might have the larvae of the putzi fly, which, when it comes into contact with human skin, can cause quite severe lesions.  Yikes!  Can you imagine UW-W with no washers and dryers!!!
     Music:  "The Sounds of Silence" came rippling through the laundry room yesterday as I was ironing, sung by a lovely young lady with a beautiful voice ~~ but in Portuguese!!  Last night as I walked to my Flat from the library, one of the many religious groups on campus was singing in their own tongue, "Amazing Grace!"  And the choir this morning in chapel sang in honor of "the Girl Child," an emphasis on raising funds for scholarships for young women.  In so many cultures in Africa especially, little value is placed on giving girls an education.  But one of the recipients of scholarship funds was wearing a t-shirt that read:  "Educate a Woman, Change a Nation."  Similar to the phrase Hillary Clinton coined ~~ that it takes a village to raise a child!  Now think about what Sarah Lanier has said ~~ in these cultures everyone belongs and is cared for by "the community!"

Time now to leave the ICT Center, so I'll try to return with a few more thoughts on this another day!  Please lift in prayers all students here who have tremendous stress over finances, fees, meals, etc.

Till next time ~~~