On Monday evening, Brenda and I will have both passed the 3-month mark. One experienced young traveler suggests that 3 months marks the plateau for adjusting to a culture. I don't know if this is true. It must depend on how BIG the cultural adjustment is, I guess.
I think we might have adjusted a bit more easily in Sverige, but maybe that's retrospect talking instead of prospect. There is no doubt that we have come a long way since those first days when everything was so different. I think our age works against us too. We have such a long history, our experience is so ingrained at this point, that change comes at a higher cost. Some of our youthful observations of the particularities of old folks, now apply to us. One of the big changes here is that people are quite willing to identify us as "elderly", vocally and enthusiastically.
I have been a bit surprised at what has been toughest to which to adapt. Three of these pertain to driving, and keeping left, surprisingly is not on the list:
The food has not been a hard adjustment. They have an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruit, cheap chicken and beef, and many well-stocked groceries. The traffic and driving is a bit unusual, chiefly because of the combis I guess, but not nearly as bad as it might be.
In consideration of everything, I guess we really ought to be surprised that the acculturation has not been nearly so difficult as I originally suspected. And that is true of body as well as mind.
Human adaptability is impressive to me. As a physiologist, I get to notice the great complexity and great adaptability of the body and mind. Humans can do some very impressive physical feats, and mental feats. As a human, and an old one, I get to also note the great human frailties and short comings. Left to our own devices, I am fairly certain that we whould have wiped ourselves out at least by the mid-20th century.
So, why haven't we done it? The answer is amazingly simple.
G^d's grace, in this instance usually called, G^d's common grace. If you haven't heard of it, check it out.
I think we might have adjusted a bit more easily in Sverige, but maybe that's retrospect talking instead of prospect. There is no doubt that we have come a long way since those first days when everything was so different. I think our age works against us too. We have such a long history, our experience is so ingrained at this point, that change comes at a higher cost. Some of our youthful observations of the particularities of old folks, now apply to us. One of the big changes here is that people are quite willing to identify us as "elderly", vocally and enthusiastically.
I have been a bit surprised at what has been toughest to which to adapt. Three of these pertain to driving, and keeping left, surprisingly is not on the list:
- The turn signal is on the right, not left of the column.
- The rear view mirror is to your left, not your right.
- The driver enters the auto on the auto's right.
The food has not been a hard adjustment. They have an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruit, cheap chicken and beef, and many well-stocked groceries. The traffic and driving is a bit unusual, chiefly because of the combis I guess, but not nearly as bad as it might be.
In consideration of everything, I guess we really ought to be surprised that the acculturation has not been nearly so difficult as I originally suspected. And that is true of body as well as mind.
Human adaptability is impressive to me. As a physiologist, I get to notice the great complexity and great adaptability of the body and mind. Humans can do some very impressive physical feats, and mental feats. As a human, and an old one, I get to also note the great human frailties and short comings. Left to our own devices, I am fairly certain that we whould have wiped ourselves out at least by the mid-20th century.
So, why haven't we done it? The answer is amazingly simple.
G^d's grace, in this instance usually called, G^d's common grace. If you haven't heard of it, check it out.
If it makes you feel any better, I've been thinking of you as elderly for about 25 years now.
ReplyDeleteYEsss, now I feel much better.
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