That is about what it takes to get to the Hairy Armpit from the USA. This trip was full of misadventures as usual. The best one being, leaving my backpack (and that would include all computers, electronics, passports and tickets) on the shuttle bus from the rental car return to the airport. O.J. Simpson would have been proud of my run through the airport to catch up to the bus . . . though we (the backpack and I) were separated for 15 minutes or so, all was well in the end (the bus driver was looking out for me since I tipped him well).
And of course we got lost driving to the airport and the other usual assortment of travel related horrors that usually occur to me when I travel . . . but that is not the amazing part of travel, that is just the normal part of travel.
The amazing part of travel is that the whole world can tilt on its axis in just a short 24 hours of traveling. The landscape changes, the mode of travel changes, the dress changes, the attitude changes, the architecture changes, efficiency changes, gas prices change, phone sounds change, the smells change (the sweet smell of cigarettes once again), standing-in-line protocol changes, the vehicles change, the expectations change, the welcome changes, the price of coffee changes (my venti cappuccino was $7), the signs change, the pace changes, how things get done changes and of course the culture and languages change as well. It almost seems like we left earth (American earth that is) and landed in outer space somewhere or a different planet or solar system entirely.
How quickly one forgets all these differences when in the USA for a few weeks . . . what did not change is my inability to save anyone, the way folks fill their lives with meaningless stuff in search of meaningful stuff, the way they worry about their families and their felt needs, the way they pursue something with all their busyness, the emptiness in their eyes, and their need of a Savior. A whole world of changes, yes, but most of the important things stay the same no matter what side of the planet you happen to be on today.
And of course we got lost driving to the airport and the other usual assortment of travel related horrors that usually occur to me when I travel . . . but that is not the amazing part of travel, that is just the normal part of travel.
The amazing part of travel is that the whole world can tilt on its axis in just a short 24 hours of traveling. The landscape changes, the mode of travel changes, the dress changes, the attitude changes, the architecture changes, efficiency changes, gas prices change, phone sounds change, the smells change (the sweet smell of cigarettes once again), standing-in-line protocol changes, the vehicles change, the expectations change, the welcome changes, the price of coffee changes (my venti cappuccino was $7), the signs change, the pace changes, how things get done changes and of course the culture and languages change as well. It almost seems like we left earth (American earth that is) and landed in outer space somewhere or a different planet or solar system entirely.
How quickly one forgets all these differences when in the USA for a few weeks . . . what did not change is my inability to save anyone, the way folks fill their lives with meaningless stuff in search of meaningful stuff, the way they worry about their families and their felt needs, the way they pursue something with all their busyness, the emptiness in their eyes, and their need of a Savior. A whole world of changes, yes, but most of the important things stay the same no matter what side of the planet you happen to be on today.
1 comment:
Glad you all arrived safely--we have been praying for you.
I have only traveled like that once, for a three month stint in Poland while in college, and it is a shock to the system--especially the smells.
How aweesome that despite our own cultural "stuff and business" God stays the same God and expects us to serve Him where we are. (Just FYI--this is the ladywith the messed up knee from Commmunity Women at Community Alliance church in Butler--as if you would remember that. :))
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