Rudderless: Culture Shock

I've had a rough week. There is no Starbucks here.

It's not so much that I miss Starbucks itself (though I do). I had envisioned that I'd be able to spend some time working at coffee shops while I'm here. It's such a part of the Ann Arbor, university town culture, and I love it. But it just isn't done here.

For one, eating and working are not combined here. Many people don't even sit down at the coffee shop, they just take their espresso quickly at the counter and move on. Those who sit are generally there to visit with friends. When we did ask for the wifi password at one bar, it was a string of letters and numbers on a sticker, on top of the cash register, behind the bar, underneath the calculator- which shows you how infrequently people ask for the wifi password.

This is one small cultural difference that can easily be worked around, but in combination with literally everything else that is new and different here, it's made for a rough week. I don't function well without structure and routine in my life. For the first few weeks, after getting the boys off to school I had a purpose each day. Learn this, go there, figure that out, etc. Now it feels like I drop them off and I'm purposeless, drifting around and trying to find things to fill my time.

I'm fairly certain that this is being compounded by culture shock. I've traveled a bit, and also studied culture shock as part of my teacher training. When living in a new place, there is a period of time that is the 'honeymoon', where everything is new and enjoyable. After that comes a period of homesickness and struggle, followed by gradual improvement and acceptance. I'm floating around somewhere in the 'grumpy and struggling to improve' phase. I'm tired of apologizing for not being able to make myself understood. I'm tired of waiting for the bus. I would rather not fight the teenagers for room on the bus in the morning. Being out in this new world is frustrating and exhausting.

So I'd rather just stay home. Which is why the last week has been so rough. I'm also tired of doing laundry and dishes. I'm tired of studying Italian at the kitchen table. I've already done two puzzles. And played enough solitaire. Wifi only works in one room here. Man, I'm starting to sound whiny.

This morning, I got up determined to have a better day. I went to the coffee shop around the corner, where the barista has been friendly and taken the time to help me with my broken Italian. I sat for half an hour and (gasp) worked on a few things while I was there. Then I found the post office and figured out which form to use to pay the bill for the boys' school (more on that another time). Finally, I succeeded in getting Dave some medicine for his sore throat at the pharmacy. I may not leave again until it's time to pick up the boys, but that was a win for today.

This town is big enough that there should be a Starbucks. McDonald's doesn't even have mochas, just a regular Italian coffee bar. Though now that I think about it, I did see a guy working on his laptop there the last time I took the boys...