Thinking quickly, talking slowly...

My thoughts are going a million miles an hour in about as many different directions. A multitude of blog entries have been ruminating in my mind for the past few months but have never quite made it to post. A sampling of what's been running through my head...

Since Saturday, I've been in the tiny town of Akron, PA, where MCC has pulled together approximately 100 young adults from around the world for the SALT/IVEP/YAMEN orientation. Wondering about those acronyms? SALT, the program I'm doing, sends young adults from the US or Canada to work with MCC partners in countries around the world for a year. IVEP brings young adults from MCC's international partners to volunteer in the US or Canada for the same time period. YAMEN bypasses North America and lets young adults from MCC's international partners serve with other international partners (for example, a young Ethiopian will be serving in Indonesia). This week is filled with sessions about cross-cultural life, MCC, finances, etc., as well as abundant opportunities to start and build relationships with both fellow SALTers and those who will be serving through IVEP or YAMEN.

This week is very much a transitory time. My suitcases are not unpacked, and I am trying to keep track of everything to make sure I don't throw off my careful weight distribution. I spent the summer saying goodbyes and now find myself building close friendships with people I will depart from in only a few days. Orientation also offers a transitory space between cultures. Given our location in Akron, the underlying cultural norms are obviously still those of North America: there is a strong time orientation, the majority of every session is conducted in English, and the surrounding town is mostly composed of white middle-class families. And yet, I find myself conversing with Pennsylvanians as often as with Indonesians, Bolivians, and Brazilians. For many of our group, English is not a first language, and some would not even claim fluency. And so, session speakers will be reminded to "speak slower and louder," and there are constant whispered translations or explanations. Conversations about what to expect on assignment in East Africa or Southeast Asia are as frequent as those about how to adapt to life in Kansas, Oregon, or Vancouver. I am learning to see the world a bit more through the eyes of my brothers and sisters from around the world. And, as I slow my speech and enunciate more carefully, I know that I will soon be in a context where everything is just as unfamiliar to me as this place is to them. I hope for friendship, hospitality, and understanding as I take on the same challenge of learning new cultural norms and a new language.