relevant
the more time i am here - almost a year now- and the longer i am from the american culture, the more naive i feel, less knowledgable. like i'm missing out on the latest controversial topics, current politics, trends and entertainment. i don't know how to design cool web pages, or what the newest trick is in Halo 2.
WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO?
not that i've cared much about the aforementioned when i was in the middle of it, but there's a slight fear that i'll end up as some third culture - not fitting in back in the U.S. because i now march to the beat of a different drum, but not fitting in abroad because i haven't learned all the dance steps that go in sync with this different drum.
thankfully, i am certain of one thing: growing in relationships. i'm surrouned by an ecclectic group of staff and an assortment of troubled teens. i'm learning discipline, confidence, authority, servanthood and communication. surely these are applicable in all places with all people. i desire to grow in knowledge and be relevant to multiple cultures and various types of people.
do y'all have any suggestions on how to stay up-to-date and relevant?
WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO?
not that i've cared much about the aforementioned when i was in the middle of it, but there's a slight fear that i'll end up as some third culture - not fitting in back in the U.S. because i now march to the beat of a different drum, but not fitting in abroad because i haven't learned all the dance steps that go in sync with this different drum.
thankfully, i am certain of one thing: growing in relationships. i'm surrouned by an ecclectic group of staff and an assortment of troubled teens. i'm learning discipline, confidence, authority, servanthood and communication. surely these are applicable in all places with all people. i desire to grow in knowledge and be relevant to multiple cultures and various types of people.
do y'all have any suggestions on how to stay up-to-date and relevant?
posted by Autumn Rogers at 8:20 AM
4 Comments:
don't sweat it. you're adjusting fine to THIS culture... or at least the culture of the NHYM bubble withIN the DR culture... you'll adjust 'back' to a hybrid North American culture even easier... just with a little more experience and understanding under your belt.
Autumn,
I love reading your blog and I check it often without making comments. This one hit too close to home for me to skip the comment.
As far as relevance, I know how you feel. I was in Turkey during 9/11...9/11! That made me feel almost un-American to come back and not have a clue. The best thing to remember is that you ARE going to be a third culture when and if you come back to the States. Just think, though, the third culture IS still a culture. You will just march to the beat of that drum and join all the rest of us who belong in that culture. It is something I feared at first because it makes you different from mainstream (sometimes this 3rd culture can even come across as arrogant because of the experiential knowledge), but then I realized that you can minister to almost anyone because you've walked in their shoes. God has used this alienation in my life tremendously as I know He will do in yours. Keep pressing in to Him and the result will be fabulous!
That whoopin and hollerin from the staff lounge about two weeks ago was me finding out Jennifer Anniston was a single lady again...uh, yeah...gotta love the importance behind CNN.com's "biggest stories" these days. Sad when pop culture holds greater importance than political or religious culture...combined.
Third Culture isn't such a bad thing, Autumn. As long as you keep your trust secure in God, you won't be any more Third Culture than you were before you came here. Cause isn't following Christ a Third Culture in itself? I prefer to look at it that way. I grew up being "different". Different is different, whether you're in the DR or USA or CAN or anywhere else.
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