Before leaving for Romania, everyone kept telling me that I would probably experience culture shock. And to some extent, I guess I did. Things are different there, and I had to adjust. But that didn't seem as hard as returning home.
Reverse Culture Shock... it's real.
After arriving back in the United States, I accompanied a friend to Nordstrom Rack to look at shoes for her. After being asked several times if the shoes she was trying on looked good, I slowly started to tear up.
Just days before I was walking with children in Romania to the Danube River Front. Many of them with calloused feet and breaking flip flops, which was probably the only pair of shoes that many of them owned.
How do I begin to reconcile these two images?
How do I balance the thankfulness that I have for the abundance we have here with the heartache that I feel for those who don't have that?
How do I bring the same eyes that I viewed life through over in Romania and Moldova back here to the United States?
How do I keep that sensitivity, perspective, and passion?
I feel like these next couple days, weeks, months, and even years... I will be constantly processing my time in Romania and Moldova.
I cannot wait for the chance to go back because I know the Word Made Flesh communities that I experienced stole a piece of my heart.
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