Culture Shock

Photo by  Al Elmes  on  Unsplash As an American who moved to Croatia more than 15 years ago, I've attended various Croatian classes. Some have been really helpful, others not so much.  Experience has taught me that if you are planning on living in Croatia for awhile, the best language practice is through conversation, making mistakes and engaging in everyday situations. That's how kids learn languages.  (I've also had the benefit of asking my wife and members of her family numerous questions throughout the years.) For example, I don't remember ever learning the difference between accusative and locative. But I do remember learning how to say phrases in both cases without even realizing it.  So, as a way of helping myself solidify various aspects of the Croatian language and hopefully helping others who are learning Croatian as a second language, I've decided to do a series on learning Croatian through songs.  An added benefit is that if you're fairly n...

Why did I just read that book? Job was the last Old Testament book I read during my reading of the Bible last year. And this was the first time that I listened to it being read.  By the end, I couldn’t help but ask the question “Why did I just read that?” For those who are unfamiliar with Job, the majority of the book is dialogue written in  dense Hebrew poetry . Yes, there’s a story with a beginning and an end, but the narrative predominantly serves to set up the dialogue. And here’s where my question comes in. At the end of the book, God makes it clear that three of the characters who talked with Job did so wrongly: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right…” (42:7) I’m not going to go back and count all the chapters in which there were “not right” things spoken about God, but it’s a large portion of the book. In fact, not only...

Photo by  Jackson Simmer  on  Unsplash Throughout my 18 years in Croatia, there are generally three ways I've dealt with the cultural differences I've encountered:  Completely accept the new culture's way of doing things. Coffee culture comes to mind. Completely reject the new culture's way of doing things. The draft is a prime example. Make some sort of compromise.  This post is about one of the compromises I continue arguing with myself about making. It still causes a degree or two of tension in my mind when it comes up. In fact, I sometimes end up talking to myself (in English) while speaking (in Croatian).  Since a year or two after I moved to Croatia, I have worked towards learning Croatian as well as I can. There have certainly been ebbs and flows, mountains and valleys, but the progress has generally looked like the sort of economic growth chart a company would strive for. But there's one thing I have to - and often do - push against when it comes ...

  What does it mean for us to pray like a child? That is, after all, what is implied by the opening words of the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father..." And Jesus calls his disciples to be like children , right? I don't think it's a stretch for this to be our starting position when we pray.  Of course, it's helpful to make the distinction between being child-like and childish.  I believe Jesus is pointing to the fact that children are inevitably vulnerable. We as parents take their hands when we're on a sidewalk next to a busy street. Children tend to make mistakes, say what they think at times when it can be uncomfortable and ask for things continually. Children don't have positions of power or influence either. In sum, they have to rely on someone to guide them. I think that's the point.  Our prayer lives ought to look like we are constantly in need of someone to guide us. Because that's exactly what we need if we're followers of Jesus. Praying l...

  "Pick up your feet!" That was my grandfather's tongue-in-cheek demand everytime we would approach a toll booth somewhere in the Buffalo, NY vicinity. (Go Bills!) Of course he was referring to the buh-bump, buh-bump the tires made on the grooved pavement to pursuade drivers to slow down. The image of my own feet dangling down, causing the car to make that noise often made me laugh.  Later in life, when I had my license, whenever I inadvertantly moved toward the shoulder of the road, the highway would rumble and groan warning me to stay in my lane.  It turns out that this technology can be used not only for the purpose of safety, but also for art.  I was in northern Hungary last week, on my annual retreat , when I encountered something I had never seen before. My first inclination was to (literally) steer clear of it. But later, I drove the same road again and experienced this:  I'm not sure what speed I was supposed to drive in order to hear the tune in its id...

Loving our neighbor as ourselves is not simply something we as Christians should endeavor to do. Rather, loving our neighbor is a natural result of abiding in Christ.  Photo by  Vimal S  on  Unsplash There’s an interesting line from Leo Tolstoy ’s novel Anna Karenina in which Levin is thinking deeply about how it is that he learned to love his neighbor. His first impulse is to attribute this value to reason. But as he ponders this possibility, he realizes loving ones neighbor cannot ultimately be discovered by reason, “because it's unreasonable”. Rather, he comes to the conclusion that what he knows about loving his neighbor was revealed to him. Tolstoy here offers us a glimpse into the biblical understanding of loving our neighbor.  Throughout the Old Testament, Israel was commanded love its neighbor. In Leviticus 19:18 we see a contrast; rather than taking vengeance or bearing a grudge against their neighbor, Israel was commanded to “love your neighbor as yo...