a little reverse culture shock...

I am still in California for a couple more weeks. After being in Argentina for almost five-years, I always experience some reverse culture shock when I visit the U.S. I continue to strive for a deeper sense of enculturation, home, and stability in Buenos Aires. I still have a loooooooong way to go, but every trip to the United States reminds me just a bit of the progress I have made. Here are a few of the funnier examples….

1) Greeting and Saying Goodbye at Gatherings – In Argentina it is customary to greet and say goodbye (with a kiss on the cheek) to everyone at a gathering (within reason). It always throws me off a little when people leave a party in the U.S. and don’t say goodbye. I also feel the urge to go around the room and greet everyone with a hug when I arrive or leave a gathering. My classes in San Francisco included daily evening prayer, which was closed with “passing the peace.” I found such a sense of home in Argentina with this worship tradition of saying goodbye to everyone in the room with a hug or handshake. I did catch myself leaning in for a kiss on the cheek. Thankfully, I resisted and didn’t break any social norms.

2) Late Night Dinner & Parties – I still am readjusting to dinner at 5:00 or 6:00. Someone in my class was talking about visiting Argentina and the parties and dancing that went until sunrise. I responded, “Oh, that makes me homesick for Buenos Aires.”

3) Pedestrians and the Right of Way – Oh yah, I have the right away in the U.S. I can’t tell you how many times I have stood at a crosswalk waiting for the cars to pass before crossing the street. Drivers stop and look at me like, “What are you waiting for?? GO!”

4) Summertime in La Boca – Talking about the hot humidity of summer, I recently shared about people in my neighborhood and all the activity that just happens outside on the sidewalk and street  (asado cooking, beer drinking, kiddy pools, guys with shirts off, etc.). I said , “Yah, I will know I have truly arrived when I feel comfortable walking down the street with my shirt off, perhaps with a bottle of beer.” I got some pretty strange and somewhat alarmed looks with that one. One guy responded, “Maybe that is a sign to leave?” I say…NAH!