When we first arrived on Mindanao we were invited to go out to eat at a restaurant down the road with our friends. It was described to us as “good if you’ve lived here for a while.” At that time we hadn’t lived here long enough. It wasn’t very good, but it was edible. 1 1/2 years later, we found ourselves back in the same restaurant eating and enjoying the same food and debating about whether or not the ketchup was “real” or banana ketchup. That got us thinking, “what else have we adapted to that might be an indicator that we’ve been here a while?”
Here are ten things that we felt are indicators that “we might be a due for recalibration.”
- We go to McDonald’s to get a good burger
- We no longer flinch when passing around a corner on a mountain road.
- We (actually just Brian) think that a Jolibee hotdog is nearly as good as anything else you eat in town.
- We enjoy the “free” rice and meat breakfast buffet at some hotels (no continental breakfast here)
- We can’t remember what a real pizza tastes like
- We consider hotdogs a big treat for a 4th of July BBQ
- We go to McDonald’s for good ice-cream.
- We pick the bugs out of our food and keep eating without a second thought
- We instinctively look in a prescription drug reference book and then research it online for recalls just to buy a decongestant or cough syrup.
- We naturally allot a full day just to renew our vehicle registration – and realize that even that might not be enough.
It will be interesting to see just how far out of calibration we’ve become. I think we may be in for culture shock in reverse!
Dustin Hibbard says
We recalibrated quickly by rushing to Baja Fresh. Their new bowls are amazing! Their is a new In N Out Burger next to Walmart in Arroyo Grande. Now you can eat lunch in Santa Maria, then stop their for dinner in Arroyo Grande on your way home from shopping in SLO. Oh, don’t forget to have a wrap at Mondeo Pronto in SLO! That might be a good snack in between. 🙂
Hey, what about Moose burgers with us in Alaska? Tickets to Anchorage are cheap in the winter!
Kay Hughes says
You guys are amazing! Once again, enjoyed your update!
Loved your “top ten” for recalibration! I could relate and even started to feel a little sick at the thought of a few of those. . .so it must mean that I’ve “recalibrated” more than I realize since coming back from PNG!
So thankful for the way God is going before you and providing what you need for “home assignment”
Hang in there and stay focused these last couple months. Thank you for your faithful service these past 3 years.
Hopefully, you will be coming by McNeal sometime during those 9 mths? I would love to meet you!
Kay