Culture Shock

As I mentioned earlier in the week it's time to wrap up this blog. And although I don't have much more to say, I do want to conclude fittingly. The theme of this blog has been culture shock. Originally I started it primarily as a way to process the move from America to Croatia. But it also had a faith-based component from the beginning. In the end, the transition from one culture to another, and in a way living in two cultures at the same time, has a lot of relevance to our situation in this world as christians. As I made reference to a few days ago, we're waiting to go to our true home. C.S. Lewis says it well:  " If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” But while we wait, we're already living and working in the new kingdom. This tension is both difficult and exciting. It's hard sometimes because we see the imperfection all around us. It's ex...

What goes through a child's mind when they find out they're moving? Since we decided to move to Zagreb, I've heard that moving is one of the most traumatic things a child can go through. This NY Times article says that the effects can be felt even into adulthood. Looking back at my own experience, I remember not being happy about moving. However, doing so as a child and teenager is what helped me adapt fairly easily to life in Croatia. Another thing the linked article talks about is the difference moving has on introverts vs. extroverts. Predictably, it's more difficult on the former than the latter. From my own perspective as an introvert, moving wasn't pleasant, but it brought about more personality flexibility. I am now more extroverted than I used to be. One of the positive things about moving to Zagreb (vs. somewhere outside Croatia) is that we have friends and family there. Our children have acquaintances and we already have a local church we're re...

The fifteen of us were in Poland surrounded by wooden structures of various shapes and sizes. We had traveled 12 hours from Croatia to live in tents for a week. In my calculation we formed the smallest campsite of all the villages that totaled 7,200 campers. We were at Royal Ranger (RR) Eurocamp 2016. This was the second RR camp I had attended in two years, but by far the biggest camp I had ever been to. The hosts had prepared for nearly four years and it showed. The infrastructure and organization could not have been better. In attending the leaders meetings every morning at camp I saw that there were some minor challenges here and there, but overall it was obvious they were ready when we came. On the second day of camp I was asked to share a message during the village devotional time. In similar situations in the past I'd have said no. I only had two days to prepare. The theme wasn't one I had spent much time studying. But the answer fell out of my mouth before I real...

Where is home? Petra and I lived in Orahovica for 9 years - longer than I've lived in any one place in my life. Without a doubt I considered Orahovica home. The house we lived in, our four kids who learned to eat and walk there and the daily routine all contributed to us calling it home. So how will it be possible to call Zagreb home now? For Enoh, our eight year old, home was most about his teacher and his classmates/friends. Here in Croatia you have the same teacher from first to fourth grade. Of our four children, this move is hardest on Enoh because of the relationships he has in Orahovica. That's what I remember most about our moves when I was a kid/teenager. Sure, I missed the cornfields and apple trees I grew up playing around in Iowa and the field I spend hours playing home-run derby in in Wisconsin. But it was the friendships I missed most. It's the friendships that created the greatest pull back to Croatia for my wife. Upon moving to Croatia 10 years ag...

It's been 10 years since we moved to Croatia, 9 since we began living in Orahovica and 8 since I started this blog. Of the three, only living in Croatia will remain. Yes, we are moving. We will begin calling Zagreb - the capital of Croatia - home next week. And so this blog will come to its inevitable end. Over the last few years I have blogged with less frequency. Acclimation to Croatia, more responsibilities and other outlets for writing have rendered it less useful. Its eventual end has been apparent for awhile. After this week it'll be official. However, the move and decision to end the blog give me a great opportunity to share some final thoughts. Over the next few days, I plan to post daily. These posts will be influenced most by the events of this summer and our move. This blog has provided me the opportunity to process a lot of what I was going through during my first years in Croatia. Although it has lost its importance to me, I value reading what I wrote in t...