I have passed the halfway point of my internship! For those of you with awesome math skills, that means I still have halfway to go. Is the glass half empty? Is the glass half full? More like my cup is overflowing!
I've been in Portugal for two weeks now. I have two weeks left to go. Then I will travel to Northern Ireland where I will stay for two weeks before going home.
My first week in Portugal was pretty chill. I stayed at the home of a missionary that works at the camp I'm eventually helping with. I have two Portuguese sisters and a brother who are all close to my age. I knew I was in the right place as soon as I walked into the house because I saw a buzz lightyear hoodie hanging on the coat rack! They still have a VCR that they use regularly to watch old disney movies on VHS. They live a short busride away from Porto- where a lot of Portugal's history is rooted and also where Port wine is made. Living with the family for a week was truly a blessing from God that I don't take for granted. It was a week of rest and becoming familiar with the people and culture before moving to the camp and getting the summer started.
I toured a couple of museums, spent a couple days at the beach, had a few movie marathons with my Portuguese siblings (who got out of school for the summer the day before I flew in!), played some Mario Kart (both on the Wii and the N64!), and I met a lot of Portuguese people.
Cultural Difference #1:
The common greeting is not a hug or a handshake, like an American would expect. It's definitely not a mere nod of acknowledgement. Instead, a Portuguese greeting is to kiss both cheeks. I've lost count of the people who've kissed me without me ever learning their names. This is especially prevalent at church or large meetings when I meet 10 or more people at a time. The hardest part is that I keep forgetting that a greeting kiss is normal. A new person walks up to me and in my head I'm thinking, who is this? Why are they standing so close? Their face is getting closer. Oh! A hug! Oh.... not a hug... don't freak out! This is normal! (Mind you, all of this happens in half a second.) Sometimes I totally forget what's happening and I go for a hug, which is then made extra awkward when the other person ends up kissing my neck or my ear. I'm slowly adjusting to this cultural difference. This is a common European practice (as you obviously already know from all of the movies that show the Europeans greeting one another as such) so I'll get over my American conditioning soon enough.
Ok, so I had a relaxed week near Porto with a beautiful family. The Monday of my second week in Portugal we drove to Esmoriz where the camp is. Much like in France, I will be working at a Bible camp while in Portugal. In France I was mainly surrounded by Americans and did a lot of behind-the-scenes help in preparation for the bigger camps that I wasn't going to be there for. This first week at the camp in Portugal I was the only American. I've been helping in the kitchen and doing a little bit of cleaning. We had a group here from the Assembly of God Church. They came Monday night and left today (Saturday) after lunch. An American 2-week team just arrived from YMI. The first real camp of the summer starts tomorrow (Sunday).
The most difficult part right now is not knowing the language. I'm picking up a few words here and there (sumo= juice, obrigado= thank you, bon dia= good morning), but there's a lot more to a language than a few nouns and greetings. Most of the teenagers and young adults can speak good conversational English. I'm very thankful for everyone who translates for me and takes the time to converse with me. At the same time, it would be ridiculous for me to expect someone to translate everything for me and speak English 100% of the time. The work team for this past week ranged from 4-8 adults and 4-6 other young adults. Each day some of the people would come and go as their schedules allowed. Everybody is Portuguese besides me and have known each other for a long time. The young adults, as far as I understand, grew up coming to this camp and have returned as volunteers.
I observe and listen for most of the conversations as the others speak rapid Portuguese. (Portuguese, to the untrained ear, sounds like altered Spanish words spoken in a Russian accent. And don't accidentally confuse Portuguese with Spanish- in language, culture, politics, or geography- because the Portuguese are quick to claim their own identity. Also, Brazilian-Portuguese and Portuguese-Portuguese are almost two different languages.) One lady from the Assembly of God group has come up to me every day and made a comment or two in Portuguese. I must be good at nonverbal responses because after a week of this she still hasn't figured out that I don't understand a word she's saying. It's kind of isolating to realize that there's so much going on around you, but you can't understand any of it because you speak a different language. Sometimes I feel like I'm sitting in a movie theater watching life happen, disconnected from the role I'm supposed to play in the movie.
I am learning to be more intentional in the conversations that I have. If somebody makes an effort to talk to me, I need to be fully engaged in the conversation. In other places I can politely step away from a conversation after a while and step into a different one. However, I can't be choosy about conversation here because communication takes a lot more effort and is harder to come by. If I were to remain here for a year or longer, the first thing I would do is learn the language to the best of my ability. Nothing holds you back from a culture more than not being able to effectively communicate with other people. You know what? That rings true for every aspect of life. The greatest obstacle in life is not being able to communicate effectively.
To turn this on a spiritual note- we first and foremost have to communicate with God. He created us to have a relationship with Him, but no relationship works if you don't talk to each other. I've heard a lot of people say, "I just can't hear God speaking to me," or, "God doesn't talk to people anymore like He supposedly did in the Bible stories," or, "I can't see or hear God, so He can't be real." We could have a million different conversations about this, as a simple Google search will demonstrate, but the most important point I can make is that God does want to communicate with us. Like the Portuguese lady who keeps talking to me, God could be talking to you in a way you just haven't learned to understand yet.
Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- His eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
General Revelation: God speaks to us through His creation. We can have a thousand conversations about the intricacies of God's creation and how it points to His perfection and His innumerable characteristics.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Special Revelation: God speaks to us through His Word- the Bible. We can have a thousand conversations on the reliability of Scripture, the purpose of Scripture, and the life change that happens when we take His Word seriously.
1 Corinthians 2 talks about the wisdom of God revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:14, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."
Talk to God and He will answer back. But you have to be ready and willing to listen to what He has to say in the way He wants to say it. God can communicate with you through reading the Bible, through another person, through a song, through nature, by putting thoughts in your head, through dreams, and so many other ways! Are you listening?
I will NEVER apologize for a spiritual rant, but I understand if a few of you skimmed over it. If you have any questions, disagreements, comments, or any thoughts concerning anything I've said, PLEASE leave a comment or message me about it. God wants to communicate with us. He wants a relationship with us. But just like when entering a new culture where the people want to talk to you, you have to open your eyes and mind to how they communicate because it can be different from what you're used to. God talks to us in so many ways. Don't miss the train because you're waiting for the bus.
So here I am, struggling behind a wall of cultural misunderstanding, learning and being reminded of the eternal truths of Christ through the temporary troubles of today. It's not easy being here without a team. I am thankful for the opportunity to travel by myself and enter new social settings without the safety net of teammates, but every day I understand the value of friendship a little bit more. God created us for community. He created us to communicate with one another. I get to learn a lot about myself as an independent person, which I'm very thankful for, but I am all the more aware of my dependency on others for my mental well-being. You can only go so long only watching and listening. I'm excited to go back home and put to practice all that this trip is teaching me!
Here's to new friendships, life lessons, sleeping on the beach, and experiencing the eternal truths of Christ while traveling through Europe! My cup overflows with the good and perfect gifts from above! I'm excited to share this enduring hope and joy with the campers who come in the next couple of weeks.
