It's so good to be back. We've been here only a couple of days and have already met maybe 40 people, been invited to a couple of church functions (game night and small group) and had several people welcome us into their homes. If only we welcomed newcomers like this in the States! In the States it takes YEARS to really get into a church, to really get to know your neighbors, to find a community. In the international world we're talking days, weeks, or, at the most, months.
Okay, there are downsides too. People are always coming and going. Everyone is far from home. It can be easy to connect on a superficial level and not go deeper than that. But people notice that you're new and take you under their wing, because they were new not that long ago too. You already have something in common with everyone around you.
The international community is like an ever shifting blue-green blob (the color is flexible, take your pick) that encompasses anything that moves into it's path while also splitting off smaller bubbles that leave and go their own way (and may come back at any time). In comparison, I picture the States as more of a cake. It's a solid and doesn't change much, so you really have to work your way into it if you want to be part of it. It could be worse - at least it's a cake, which is kind of soft and flexible and not a piece of ice or lead.
There's just such a wonderful mix here - and in any international community in the world (e.g. London in my experience =). The small group we went to last night had people of at least 6 different nationalities, from 4 different continents. That is a real melting pot of cultures.
Like I said, it's good to be back.
Okay, there are downsides too. People are always coming and going. Everyone is far from home. It can be easy to connect on a superficial level and not go deeper than that. But people notice that you're new and take you under their wing, because they were new not that long ago too. You already have something in common with everyone around you.
The international community is like an ever shifting blue-green blob (the color is flexible, take your pick) that encompasses anything that moves into it's path while also splitting off smaller bubbles that leave and go their own way (and may come back at any time). In comparison, I picture the States as more of a cake. It's a solid and doesn't change much, so you really have to work your way into it if you want to be part of it. It could be worse - at least it's a cake, which is kind of soft and flexible and not a piece of ice or lead.
There's just such a wonderful mix here - and in any international community in the world (e.g. London in my experience =). The small group we went to last night had people of at least 6 different nationalities, from 4 different continents. That is a real melting pot of cultures.
Like I said, it's good to be back.