No Feet Allowed

Throughout or preparation time before we arrived in Thailand we were warned, encouraged, and schooled in dealing with culture shock. Basically, we were told that you will experience it and how you deal with it can make or break your stay in a foreign country. Learning to function in another culture can be discouraging and exhausting. After one week in Chiang Mai I am already feeling culture shock, however, it is not what I expected. I am not yet experiencing anxiety over how my family is accepting the Thai culture but instead I am completely stressed out about how the Thai culture will accept my family!

We moved into a house in a neighborhood not too far from the school where Kevin and I will be working and the boys will be attending. We purposefully choose this neighborhood because it is far enough removed from the Western Christian bubble that the school has created. We wanted to be in a community where we would be in contact with the Thai people. We got what we wanted. We live on a street (or soi) where we are the only foreigners. There is a population of GIS (Grace International School) staff and students here as well but they are not next door. 

When we moved I was so excited and began to pray that one day when I know a little Thai that I can begin to build relationships. A week into our stay here the excitement is gone and I am now praying that my neighbors won't hate westerners before we have a chance to get to know them!

You see the Thai culture is a very polite society. When you encounter them they are always smiling and cordial. They keep all other emotions locked within and only show hospitality. Our family is NOT like this. I have been told by people outside our home that my boys are very well behaved and even gentlemen but at home not so much. We are loud, boisterous, full of emotion and my boys take pride in the term redneck. “Oh, Lord, help us!”

We have been working hard to education ourselves on what is considered rude and make adjustments. One of the first thing we learned was that Thai’s consider feet to be extremely dirty. You don’t point at, or touch something with your foot. You especially never show the bottom of your foot to someone. THIS IS VERY RUDE. Got it! Yeah, maybe not. While standing in a restaurant waiting to order, Shelby and Ethan begin there normal brotherly love exchange of  hitting each other. Wrestling, play fighting, this is how we show love. Before I could say anything, Ethan lifts his foot and kicks his brother in the leg! Ethan!!! Remember??? You could see the shock on his face. He does not want to offend but old habits are hard to break and new ones slow to take root.

Yesterday, I was cringing every time my children’s extremely loud exchanges broke the quiet of our very demure street. I thought, “Lord, why on earth did you send us here? Our lives are not a sweet aroma of Your goodness but instead a foul rude stench.” As quickly as I thought this the Lord responded, “I did not make a mistake. I chose you and your family to be right where you are. I will use you there for My purposes.”  Once again the Lord has brought me back to faith. This call, my life, is all about His plan. He will do what He wishes with whomever He wishes. He can even use this messed up redneck family. I don’t see how, but I will trust Him to do what he wills.