Driving Someone Else's Car

I once heard someone say that living in a new country and getting used to a new culture is like driving someone else's car. You see, you know how to drive because you’ve been doing it for years. Yet, when you drive someone else’s car, you can’t be on autopilot. You are conscious of things like how big your new vehicle is, where the gear shift is, and which switch turns on the windshield wipers. When you live overseas, you have to work harder and be more conscious of even the smallest things. From correctly picking the gender-appropriate bathroom and navigating a school copier (with buttons and directions in Slovak), to taking big risks at the grocery store (is this meat what I think it is?), my brain is constantly acting and reacting.



I have to admit, the Slovak language can, at times, put my brain on overload. I have never seen so many consonants strung together in a word! Thankfully, my students get a kick out of helping me with the language. They tell me that I try hard, but I "just don't have the skills." : )



Whenever I am out to eat, I have a policy that I eat Slovak food (even Slovak pizza!). I try to order a different entre every time I go out. I have to tell you, I have eaten the most bizarre mthings. At one meal, I ate noodles with poppy seeds and jam on top. At one of my last meals out, I had grilled chicken with strawberry yogurt on top. I have to tell you, sometimes I wonder if the cooks are kidding! I have images of them sitting in the kitchen snickering to one another, "Let's try this and see if those silly Americans will eat it!"



Amidst all of this, I am enjoying living in Slovakia. It is truly like driving someone else's car --- nothing is quite as it seems, and even simple things can take a lot of concentration. Still, I see life in Slovakia as a challenge, and I do like a good challenge.


Because I have been so busy, I have plowed straight through any culture shock or fatigue I have experienced. There is so much to do for classes, that it seems I have had no time for feeling homesick. For this reason, I have been in Slovakia for a month, but I didn't realize that I was a little homesick until Sunday.


On Sunday, my friends and I were in Bratislava, and we got to go to an English speaking church in the city. I was pretty stoked on Saturday night to get to worship God in English. I joked with Heidi that God likes it best when I speak to Him in English. When we got to the church, I sat in the pews of the one of the prettiest little chapels I had ever seen. Arden Haug, the ELCA Pastor and Regional Representative of Europe (my ELCA boss) and interim pastor of this small congregation, led the liturgy in English. I cannot tell you nice it was to sing "Lift High the Cross." By the time Arden began his sermon by saying, "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ," I was tearing up. In fact, I tear up a little now as I write this.

I can count the number of times in my twenty-two years that I have missed worship on two hands. On most Sundays, I end up attending two to three worship services and spending ten or more hours at church. Worship on Sundays is an important part of my life. By far, it has been both a blessing and a challenge to worship at a Slovak church. First, it is neat to experience worship in another language. Because they are Lutheran, I can follow most of what is going on in the Slovak liturgy even though I do not understand it. I am even learning the Lord's Prayer in Slovak. Still, worshipping in Slovak is a challenge as well. It can be a little frustrating not to understand what is being said - especially to sit patiently while the pastor gives a ten to fifteen minute sermon in another language. It is also difficult not to receive communion each week. In Slovakia, communion is offered rarely - in fact, we have not yet had communion at our Slovak church.


For all of these reasons and more, it was wonderful to be at worship in Bratislava on Sunday. I know that I am fed and nourished by God, who speaks and understands all languages, no matter which church I attend; however, this past Sunday it was especially filling and comforting to worship at the "Little Church" in Bratislava. There is nothing quite like a piece of home.

To you, my friends in America who worship each Sunday at their home congregation, I say this: do not take it for granted. It is a privilege and a gift of grace to be surrounded by people who love you, who can call you by name and who speak the same language that you do.
To myself I say: It is a privelege to be surrounded by my brothers and sisters in Christ in Slovakia. It is a gift of grace that we can worship God together in different languages in peace and without fear. Thanks be to the God who unites us no matter where we live and no matter what language we speak.

I am remembering all of you in my prayers each morning. Thank you to everyone in America who is praying for me.