Gospel ministry, Part 2 :: Culture Shock (food & language)

[Continued from Part 1] A handful of experienced missionaries had warned us of the culture shock we would experience in our new ministry situation, but we just couldn't imagine what they were talking about. The Welsh were an English-speaking people group, they lived in homes with all the modern conveniences, the climate was very temperate, and we discovered that Wal-Mart had a strong presence throughout South Wales. What could be so different? Why did we have to worry about culture shock?

One of the early indicators came in our first grocery shopping experience, as we tried to find things like Crisco shortening, Graham crackers, Velveeta cheese, grape jelly, sweet pickle relish, chocolate chips, smoked or cured ham, cake mixes, and peanut butter that didn't taste like some bizarre organic paste like they sell in health food stores. And some of the items we did eventually find had different and unusual names, like "courgette" instead of zucchini squash, "aubergine" rather than eggplant, and "gateau" referred to something that looked like a simple cake.

It felt quite odd speaking English to a grocery clerk who didn't have a clue what we were talking about: "We're looking for some grape jelly." She took us to the frozen food section where, displayed along the top of one freezer, was a small little box of powdered gelatin, similar to our Jello. The language transition has been interesting, and already our family and friends think we sound British after just two and a half years. Let me illustrate with a brief example:

Last Friday night, we decided to go for food (eat out) because we were a little peckish (hungry) and did not feel like boiling (getting hot) over a cooker (stove) when we could get tea (a meal) at the local takeaway shop (fast food restaurant). It cost a tenner (ten pounds) for the three of us, but we had not done this for donkey's years (a long time). Some of our mates (friends) called (dropped in) about nine o'clock and we were really chuffed (happy) to see them.

We still ask people to repeat themselves sometimes. The Welsh have a much easier time listening to us due to the influence of Hollywood and American television programs arriving daily into their homes, including some of my favorites like 24, Everybody Loves Raymond, Lost, NCIS, and Fox News. We have enjoyed some hysterical moments with our Welsh friends, when one person throws out a familiar phrase that means something totally different in the other's culture. For example, the word "pants" means "underwear" to everyone in the UK. Imagine the laughter when my wife commented one evening in a ladies Bible study, "I think I was the only woman who wore pants to church last Sunday." It was ten minutes before the Welsh women could explain why they were laughing uncontrollably.

[Continued in Part 3]