More Culture!!

There are 3 phases of culture shock. 

1) Honeymoon Phase

        this is where everything is new, awesome, and fun!

2) Resistant Phase

       this is when the opposite happens: everything about the new culture seems to annoy you.  it's  

       during this phase that most people leave.  

3) Settling Phase 

       finally, you even out.  you recognize the differences but have accepted them and learned to be at 

       peace with their ways

From December of last year to now, I have been in Phase 2.  It hasn't been easy but helpful to know which phase I was in so I knew how to deal with it.  The good news is I think I'm on my way to Phase 3 and am glad for that (so are those around me :)

Let's see more the differences of Western and Eastern mindsets!!!

Blue: Western (us)

Red: Eastern (Asia)

view on leaders

view on yourself

what people do when they get old and retire 

(I've seen this! the grandparents are practically the parents of their grandchildren. the reason????  

they want their children to work as much as possible because the more money their kids earn the more they will be taken care of by their kids)

the noise level in a restaurant

(I'm sitting in the restaurant now and it's true! music BLARING! groups speaking loudly! and other fun stuff)

View on beauty (Westerners want to become brown…..Easterners want to become white)

How to deal with a conflict

On to what I've been up to!

Recently, I celebrated my 37th birthday!  this is my awesome roomie and this is what she got me.  The fact that she doesn't have a lot of money but she bought me this nice cake pan meant so much!!!

This woman of God took a few of us out to eat to this traditional Ind restaurant.  

this was our view.  sit in huts, on cushions on the floor and looking out at the rice fields.  

traditional people dress 

Ok, I HAD to post this picture.  Went to the island beside me to work for a week and there I stayed at a friend's guest house.  This interesting tree was in the front yard.  What is it???  It's a palm tree with eggs (literally) stuck on it.  The locals thought is made it look prettier and called it an "eggplant"  

Hilarious! isn't it???

where I went to work for a week, there weren't a lot of foreigners.  You might be wondering whose baby I'm holding.  Well, I'm wondering the same thing.  I just sat here because it was hot and next thing I knew, they were wanting to take pictures with me.  Random but common.  

As part of my work, I went with a CP team to make new contacts and P walk.  They said they would take us on the "easy" road which ended up being 5 hours of mostly up hill mountain.  FUN!  at least I got to eat Ind style (rice in a paper wrap topped with different veggies and spices).  

Now for the BIG news…….thanks to frequent flyer points and my parents, I'm getting to come home for 2 months in May! I hope to see many while home in NC.  

Hope you enjoy this update and hopefully I'll get the next update up sooner than a month.  

Thoughts Needed: 

1) confirmation from Dad for the girl thinking about joining me in S-island

2) I have a lot of big trips and trainings I have to do so for financial provision

3) As always……language