You Crazy Americans

Whenever I come home after an extended time in another country it's fun to do a little anthropology on my own culture. Here's a few quick observations I've made so far...

--Rushing, rushing, rushing! Sheesh people! No body's rushed me in over a year, so I'm a little befuddled by all this hurrying and scurrying and worrying about being 5 minutes late. In Congo you say you'll be somewhere at say 10. But 10 is 10 until 10:59, so you can be almost an hour late and not be late at all!

--I'm not used to the kind of interpersonal relations we get with servers here. My waitress tells me her name and asks how I am! Congolese waitresses, a la francaise, kind of look like you're bothering them when they have to come take your order. Americans are hyper friendly when it comes to customer service.

--America is fat. Sorry folks, them's the facts. I'm used to twiggy Congolese bodies. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out why...we eat JUNK!!! When was the last time you actually had several servings of fresh fruits and veggies in a day? The Congolese diet isn't healthy either (sometimes the fish is actually floating in palm oil, the veggies are cooked to death and also floating in oil, fruit although it's falling off the trees all around isn't eaten much). But in our little missionary community I think we eat exceptionnally well--cooking from scratch, using lots of fresh fruit and veg, avoiding expensive snack foods, eating a lot of well-rounded home cooked meals. There are perks to the missionary life!!

--You can get stuff done here. Going to the PO isn't a major event like it is in Congo. You can get a week's grocery shopping done in an hour at just one store. The indoor temperature is perfectly adjusted for optimal comfort and productivity. I can get just about anywhere I want to go in my town in 15 minutes in my very own car. Woowee!!