Comfort

Comfort. Comfortable. These words can mean many different things.  For one thing, there's your comfort zone. The areas in your life where you feel comfortable. You are sure of yourself and you know what you're doing.

 When we boxed up our life and moved to the other side of the world some would say we left our comfort zone. Maybe that is true. However the good thing about comfort is that it can grow almost anywhere. When we first arrived here in the Philippines SO many things were new and uncomfortable.  Just the new noises alone are enough to talk about for a day.  Roosters, pigs, dogs, men selling food or household items- calling our their product or honking a horn wildly, children playing, neighbors in their apartments, the water tank churning and so many more new sounds- just in our home.....This morning as I lay in bed I noticed birds chirping... I'm not sure that I've heard that before. Has it taken 8 months to grow accustom to all the other sounds that I can finally hear the birds chirping!?

When we first arrived, we didn't know how to get places or where to get the things we needed or what exactly we did in fact need!  Finding food was a problem. Apparently this is a common cross-cultural problem. Of course there is food everywhere, but somehow you can't seem to get it figured out- you're trying to find foods that are familiar and try new foods all while figuring out a new system of money along with a million other things.  

At first, we did not leave our house at night. We were afraid and unsure of what we would find on our neighborhood streets. 

 In our first month or two here we ate  McDonalds a lot- something we don't even do much at home but it had familiarity- it was comfortable.  A hot fudge sundae and french fries tastes exactly the same here at home. (It is a struggle to find things that taste exactly the same as at home- even home cooked meals are different because the ingredients are just a bit different.) When everything in your life is new, it is really nice to have comfortable moments in your life.  Going to Starbucks- another thing we don't do often at home- felt like visiting a little piece of home. 

When we first arrived int he Philippines I don't think we felt too terribly shocked by anything but looking back, it really is a challenge to learn so many new things all at once.  Gradually, we learned but you don't realize how familiar and easy things are in your life until they are no longer there and you have to learn 100 new things at once.

Today, I have lived in the Philippines for 8 months.  I know my neighborhood, I know my city. I know how to get throughout the city and to other cities via public transportation.  I know the money, I can easily convert it to dollars in my head (well let’s be honest math is not my forte! but I’m pretty good at it!)  The sounds of the neighborhood are all but a white noise. I know what store to go to to get whatever I need and what the price should be.  I know what restaurants are good and how to get to them.  I know my way through the main part of the market like the back of my hand. I know what prices are fair and who is trying to rip me off.  I can ride a Jeepney like it's my job.  Walking in our neighborhood at night is pleasant and not scary in the least bit. We know our neighbors and they know us. Jeepney drivers honk and wave at us. People on the street say good morning. We are comfortable around each other, even if we don't talk, we know that we are safe with each other. I know how to make healthy foods with the ingredients available to me. I know when to hold my breathe because it will stink like sewage. I know which parts of the sidewalk have holes or loose stone and where to step or not to step. 
 I have found comfort.  

Or has comfort grown in around me? 

I’m not quite sure I know the answer but I do know that it takes a little effort, endurance and willingness. 

If you ever find yourself in a state of discomfort. Take peace in knowing that comfort can grow in around you.  If you aren’t afraid to continue to submerge yourself in new things, you will find comfort there in time. 

I do still enjoy a hot fudge sundae from McDonalds or a Saturday morning at Starbucks though. ;) 

-Meghan