Reverse Culture Shock

Day 127 (Monday in America):

Our first night and day we spent with Doug's dad and stepmom: Grandpa Boo and Ginny. We woke up so early, only slept about 4 hours. Jet lag is crazy with two kids because when you're tired, they might not be and vice versa.  Ginny made us an amazing breakfast: eggs, bacon, biscuits, and gravy.  It was exactly what I was wanting.

This is Doug's plate. I would never defile my food with gravy or liquid death as I like to call it. (I'm teasing, I have nothing against gravy, or those who choose to eat it.)

I'm sure they'll be thrilled about this one... :)

Kora's first taste of gravy.

I'm lookin rough, get over it.

Playing in the back yard with Grandpa while we were getting showered and such.

Kees slept through breakfast, but I made him a peanut butter biscuit.

She loved swinging!

After breakfast, Doug and I went shopping. We thought it would be a quick trip, but it ended up taking longer than expected.  We each had a list, so we decided to split up.  I was looking for white undershirts for myself and clothes for Kora.  There are so many new things in America since I was here last, and all the prices are hard to figure out since I'm used to Thai baht.  I ended up talking to myself...a lot.  I'm glad we went on a Monday morning when there weren't that many people to observe my strange behavior.  I kept giving myself pep talks (out loud, but not too loud): "It's okay, there are lots of choices, but you don't have to buy everything today, just do the best you can."  About halfway through shopping, Doug and I crossed paths, I told him I had been talking out loud to myself and feeling overwhelmed. He laughed and said he'd been doing the exact same thing.  I was also overly friendly and chatty with strangers because it's kind of a novelty to say something out loud as soon as you think it.

I was still needing to go look at shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and cotton pads.  The choices here are insane and everything seemed so expensive. I think my biggest panic attack came when I was trying to choose face wash.  I just wanted plain old face wash that wasn't too expensive.  Doug was waiting on me and I could not make a decision.  I eventually picked something, but it wasn't without plenty of angst.

As Doug was checking out, I went to McDonald's to order a sweet tea.  When I said I wanted an iced tea, she asked me what size, and I couldn't think what sizes they have or even see them on the sign.  So I just asked, "What sizes do you have?"  She replied, "Small, medium, and large, they're all 98 cents."  Of course I went for the large.  When she rang it up, it was $1.08, which totally threw me for a loop. I had a few American coins and a few Thai ones, but I had gotten out a dollar bill because I forgot about sales tax.  Then I was scrambling trying to get the right coin. Then she handed me a cup, and I had no idea what to do with it.  There are almost zero self-service options in Thailand. They even have attendants at the gas station who pump your gas.  I had to ask what to do with the cup because the drinks were around the corner and I kind of froze.  Then, as I was walking out, I felt like I was stealing, even though I had already paid, it just felt so strange, like I was doing something wrong.

I spent twenty eight years of my life in this country, but the two I spent in Thailand have erased a lot of my understanding of typical American culture.  Once you leave your home for an extended period of time, you kind of ruin yourself on fitting in anywhere. I've adopted a lot of Thai culture, but obviously not everything, so no matter where I live at this point, I'm going to be "weird". I was probably never very normal to begin with, so it's not a big deal.  And I'm excited to see how God is going to use all of our unique experiences and background as we continue to move forward and trust him for our next adventure.

We walked into the house after shopping to complete silence. Both kids were asleep. Grandpa Boo told us that after about 40 minutes Kees had a bit of a panic attack and wanted to know where his mom was.  He cried for a little bit and then put himself to bed and went right to sleep. Kora was still awake, so he took her with him to pick up Doug's grandma, Gammy. Kora fell asleep on the way, and then slept all afternoon.

When my parents showed up for lunch, Kora was still sleeping and Kees was in a sleepy/clingy mood.  Not exactly the welcome they had in mind, but I think just seeing them in the flesh was good enough. I took my mom back just to see how big Kora has gotten. We had an amazing STEAK lunch with all kinds of crazy yummy sides.  I didn't take very many pictures, but I got a few.  Hopefully as I get over jet lag I'll get back to my picture taking ways.  Some things NEVER change.

Sweet sleeping girl.

Steak!