The inevitable.

I've been having a bout of homesickness recently. I've read that culture shock and adjustment goes in stages, sort of like a love/hate relationship. I guess now I am in the less positive stage of that process. Last week I got the flu and spent forty-eight hours throwing up; there is nothing like a good case of the flu to make one want to go home. Let me tell you, I was ready to hop on a plane and fly back to California if I'd had the chance. I feel better now.

I miss my friends, too. I've met some really great people here, but I crave being around people I love who know my heart and love me too. I was blessd with some amazing soulmates in college (and one soulmate from home!) that I really miss right now. Most of the people here are either Buddhist or emphatically non-Christian, and I miss being a part of a thriving Christian community. I've been going to an international church here in Chiang Mai for about two months and I like it, but I don't really feel like I have become a part of the community there. At least not yet.

Sometimes I am exhausted by standing out so much in this culture. People stare at me quite a bit, probably because I am so different-looking. Not only am I a white foreigner, but I have blonde hair and very fair skin. Being here gives me a sliver of an idea of what being a minority is like. I've gotten used to it, but sometimes I long to blend in with everyone else.

So I ask this from you, my friends and family: please join me in praying for Christian friends and a Christian community to be a part of. A very wise woman once told me that good experiences are not always fun to go through, but you're always glad you did them when they're over. I know that I am learning and growing. The process of change is not always enjoyable, but I am confident that being here is God's will, and I try to cling to that when things get rough.