Culture shock doesn't ever go away completely. I recently went through a week or two of sadness, homesickness, and plain exasperation with the way things are here. However, each time a wave of culture stress surprises me again, I come out of it appreciating this culture a bit more.
A beautiful realization I’ve had is how much "history" I already have in this city. One Saturday I visited Azcapotzalco, the district I lived in the first six months in Mexico City, to have breakfast with old neighbors and celebrate a birthday at my old host family's house. It was the sweetest thing to "walk down memory lane" in that part of the city and reconnect with people who are so dear to me. I'm thankful for their friendships and the new ones I'm forming here in the south.
All through my eight months here and all the ups and downs and changes they have brought, relationships have been what's kept me afloat and persevering. From my first host sister holding me while I cried on her shoulder, to my second host sister (also American) being a place to vent frustrations with cross-cultural life, to my current host family letting me make them Thanksgiving food to celebrate my birthday and their anniversary. The Mexican people are unbelievably welcoming and all about relationships and fellowship (especially over food).
These relationships (and those with my fellow missionaries) are far from being easy all the time. But I am learning to value them even more because of the work and commitment they take, and the Grace that God provides as we seek to live in sacrificial love, vulnerability, and unity with one another. This is one of the most sanctifying experience we can go through, I believe-- it has definitely been for me these past months. I am thankful for this challenge, for these people and this culture in which I get to know and be known.
What are you thankful for? I pray that in this time, and far beyond the Thanksgiving Holiday, we can all fix our eyes on the goodness of our God that is constant through all joys and sorrows. He uses our relationships, our culture shock, COVID, and everything else we go through to work in us. May this become a joy and honor to us, because it draws us nearer to Him. May He be who we celebrate and praise, now and always.