Community
Living in a college town has been a different experience. It takes me back to the days when we were first married and lived close to UCI. Collegians and grad students are everywhere, as are foreigners. Most restaurants and stores here have signs translated in English and, most of the time, you can order simple things in English.
We’ve met a lot of people from different places in the world. Australians, Brits, Americans, Africans, you name it. It can be nostalgic walking down the street and hearing a hint of Spanish or Russian or some form of English. In that way, it’s easy to meet people.
After checking out a few local ch meetings, we decided to commit to one nearby. The teaching is solid and we’ve been able to make a few friends there. H has been having some separation anxiety, so I usually stay with him in the nursery during service. As much as I want to be in service, it’s been beneficial spending time with the other kids and, sometimes, their parents. Because life in this area tends to be transient, the volunteers aren’t consistent and there seem to be different kids in attendance every week. Normally I would have H tough it out, but I feel bad knowing that he’ll probably cry the entire time (being the resilient and stubborn child that he is), and not have anyone to comfort him because they are usually short staffed. As of now I’m content being an extra set of hands in the nursery and trying to see how I can contribute more to the nurturing of these young minds.
Being a mom and not knowing the language makes it difficult to find community. I don’t have the freedom to go out as much, mainly because my day is dictated by nap time, meals, class, studying, and work. The few times I attempted to take H out to play in our complex, I wasn’t able to communicate with the parents and grandparents. They can tell almost immediately that I’m a foreigner and they aren’t always welcoming. This is something that has been on my mind lately and something that I would like to yarp for more intentionally.
I really miss having friends. I’m not the best at making new friends, so the struggle is that much greater. It helps that we have our team here, I know that he had a purpose in providing this sense of community for us. It’s my hope that we’ll each be able to build strong and lasting relationships with others here. And more importantly, that those relationships will be fruitful. I’m hoping to find a language partner to meet with on a regular basis. I’m a decent reader and writer, but I’m seriously deficient when it comes to speaking and comprehending. Most of our teammates are looking for language partners as well. Please yarp that he will provide people for us to meet with, for fruitful relationships, and for growing conviction and motivation to seek people out.