My New Normal #BloggingAbroad

Blog Challenge Day #12:  My New Normal

Two years ago, I moved to Ethiopia and my “normal” changed.  Over the past two years, what is normal for me has changed a lot.  My appearance has changed, I have adapted (to some extent) to a new culture and language, eat differently, and even live differently than I had before.

My “normal” appearance was different before I first came to Ethiopia compared to how it is now in that I lost a bunch of weight.  The weight loss had a lot to do with a drastic change in diet (no processed foods; primarily organic fruits and veggies), walking EVERYWHERE, and periodic bacterial infections.  The weight loss was needed anyways, so it was a welcome change to my new normal.

When it comes to culture, my “normal” now incorporates some aspects of my own culture as well as well as some aspects of Ethiopian culture.  When it comes to my own culture, I continue to read books, listen to the music that I have from America and I watch American movies and TV shows (and vast amounts of it at times).  Aspects of Ethiopian culture that I have adapted into my norm include taking my time when it comes to getting things done as well as taking multiple coffee breaks throughout the day.  When it comes to language, I have become used to talking to people in broken Amharic.  I also have become used to not always understanding what people around me are saying.

Coffee Breaks in Ethiopia

When once it was normal to eat with utensils, its now more normal to occasionally eat with my hands and injera (a spongy bread-like food).  In America, I ate a lot more processed foods and some sort of meat or fish every day.  Currently while living in Ethiopia, I don’t eat very much processed foods and eat meat only once in a while.  I do eat a lot of organic vegetables.

Lots of veggies!

How I normally live here in Ethiopia is different too in that my housing looks different (refer to my post about my house if you want to know more specifics), how I get around is different, etc.  I walk a lot more now and take public transportation when needed.  When in America, I drove myself everywhere.  I have had to adjust how I live based on what’s available to me and also based on what is culturally appropriate.

It has been interesting for me to reflect upon the past two years of my life in Ethiopia and think about how my “normal” has changed.  In less than two months, I will be leaving Ethiopia to move back to America.  I will go through another transitional phase and I will have a new “normal” again.  I think that my “normal” once going back to America will not completely go back to what it was before I can to Ethiopia.  Due to all that I have experienced here in Ethiopia, there will be a lot that I will take back with me that will influence my new “normal.”  My new “normal” will have a combination of my old “American normal” and “Ethiopian normal.”  This has taught me that despite how normal life can be, things are always changing and there are always new things to be experienced and to be learned from.

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