Reverse Culture Shock: rush, rush, rush!

One of the frustrating parts about being in Malawi was the slowness of life. One of the challenges of being home has been the fast pace of life.

I noticed this in the airport on the moving sidewalk when we were quickly reminded that if you want to stand and ride, then you stand on the right side, and those who want to walk do so on the left side. This of course also applies to the escalator.

It was common to see men dressed in suits carrying roller bags and briefcases, running like mad. Perhaps for the first time, this seemed odd to me.

The first few errands I went on once back home seemed amazingly quick. It was incredible to see that driving can be efficient, getting from point A to point B actually took ten minutes.

The first few days we were back, the questions started coming. What would we do now that we were back? Did we have a plan? Were we moving back into our old place? Everyone wanted to know the details of coming home that were quietly resting in the back of our minds. I wanted my body to adjust to the time before I unraveled the details of what coming home would mean, and for all our people to see. But there I was being confronted before I had time to think about it myself. All of a sudden, the slowness and caution that I had gotten so used to was ripped away like a band aid from the skin.