Why Not?

"It's not wrong, it's just different."  

That's been our motto for the last 3 years.  Every time we've been faced with a new food, new place, new cultural oddity, or the like, we have had to remind one another that just because something is different...it isn't necessarily bad.

Obviously, there are some things that our family has been exposed to, which we teach our children are wrong.  Strapping a bomb to yourself and entering a place of worship will never be okay.  Abandoning your wife because she can't have children, we take issue with that too.  Having more than one wife...we're gonna train our children that one's a no-no.  However, eating grasshoppers and rats, not revealing your baby's name until he is six weeks old, or using your car horn with the same frequency as your brake lights isn't wrong...it's just different.

We've realized, returning to this side of the globe, that we're the ones who might seem a bit "different." Our children aren't used to many of the conventions of life in these United States.  They don't know all of the rules.  That might be why I would walk into the kitchen and find the youngest two eating cottage cheese at 7:15 in the morning.  After all, it's a novelty to them, why can't it be a breakfast food?  Why shouldn't my teenager order a bacon cheeseburger when she's out with friends for breakfast?  Let them have their waffles, she can have those anytime in Africa.  And, I hope that my friend can overlook the fact that my high schooler picked a turkey sandwich for her sleepover breakfast, instead of cereal.

We also find ourselves doing some odd cultural things.  Like, when we were in the middle of a game at a New Year's Eve party and in an effort to encourage someone, I heard myself call out "Hup, Hup" and as I waited for those around my to answer, "Hooray!" I came to the realization that isn't a normal party chant here like it is in Ghana.  We also find ourselves getting excited about "finds" at the grocery store until we come to our senses and remember that jars of spaghetti sauce and cans of cream of chicken soup are readily available here.  We aren't sure what to say when asking for guidance to the restroom facilities...restroom? bathroom? toilet? WC?, which one is it we're supposed to use here?  There are still those moments when we see someone wearing University of Kentucky gear and want to inquire,  "Hey, are you from the States?"  Until we remember that we are IN the States.

All in all, we're adjusting well.  We've all had our moments of "too many choices induced paralysis" as well as "how do you live at this insane pace panic attacks," but all in all, we've had a really smooth and positive re-entry experience.