The honeymoon is over...

... so to speak, in a figurative sense. :)

Since I obviously haven't gotten married in the last month, you might wonder what I mean by that statement. As I was looking back over the last two weeks and thinking about what I could write for my next blog post, those are the first words that came to my mind to describe what the last two weeks have been like... the honeymoon is now over and real life must continue on from this point. I realize that statement could sound negative, but it really isn't. Let me explain...

I have now been in Montreal for an entire month! Can you believe that? In some ways, it feels like I've been here longer and, in some ways, it feels like I haven't been here that long! I'm not quite sure how those two completely opposite perceptions of time can exist together in my mind, but they do and I have decided not to try and figure it out.

Anyways... back to my explanation! So, my first two weeks in Montreal were quite exciting (albeit overwhelming at times) in the sense that everything was new and there was so much to discover and explore and experience. Of course, Montreal is a HUGE city, so there is an abundance of things to discover and explore and experience and I have only begun to scratch the surface of what life is like in Montreal, but here's what I realized two weeks ago.

I am not on vacation. I bought a one-way ticket to Montreal. Failure to do what I have come here to do is not an option in my mind, and neither is leaving before God asks me to leave.

That probably seems really obvious, right? It is in a way, because I knew all of those facts before I even left Victoria, but something was different one day about two weeks ago. Perhaps it was a result of my declaration that I need to think of Montreal as my new home? Perhaps it was the thought that I need to start to look for a job very soon (which I don't like to do in any circumstance)? Perhaps it was a result of my frustration with not being able to understand half of what people say here unless they speak slow enough? Perhaps it was because, at times, I feel a bit alienated, out of place, uncomfortable, and disoriented living in Montreal and I don't like that feeling? Perhaps I was missing life (my church, my friends, my job) in Victoria? Perhaps it was a little bit of all of those things and my emotions went to town?

But then I had a bit of a revelation, for which I was quite thankful! It was quite simple and came in the form of two words... "culture shock". Like everyone else, I had heard the term too many times to count, but what on earth did it really mean? So, I went to Starbucks (source of internet access), drank a tea, and did a bit of research on the internet about culture shock. I was so relieved to find out that I really wasn't going crazy, but simply experiencing culture shock.

Don't you just love the internet for such purposes? Some of the websites I found even give lists of ways to cope with culture shock... nice! And one website that I found described culture shock in five stages... the first of which is the "honeymoon stage", simply because everything encountered is new and exciting. The honeymoon stage usually lasts for the first few weeks in a new culture, after which stage two sets in... hence, the honeymoon is now over. :) It's not a bad thing... it's just nice to know what's going on in my head!

You might shake your head at the thought that one would experience culture shock after a move from BC to Quebec, but I'm seriously not making this up! Before I left Victoria, a friend told me that when she moved from Quebec to BC, she felt like she had moved to another country. I don't know if I completely believed her, but I do now that I'm here! The differences are incredible and I do feel like I am in another country.

Anyways, now that I know that I'm experiencing culture shock, it makes it a lot easier for me to deal with it. Guy had a thought about culture shock and I can let you know in a year if it's true... His thought was that one would probably continue to experience varying degrees of culture shock for an entire year after being in a new culture, because it would take a year to experience every significant occasion, holiday, etc. once. The same thing is said about the grieving process when a close loved one dies, because it takes a year to experience all of the anniversary dates and holidays with the loved one gone... so it could be true. If I remember in a year's time, I'll let you know. :)

Despite my discomfort with the experience of culture shock, it's all good and it is definitely revealing to me some of what is truly in my heart and testing the strength of my conviction in many truths about God's character.

For example, it is one thing to say, in times of abundance, that Jesus is your all in all, but what about when He truly has to be your all in all, because there is absolutely nothing and no one else that you can hang onto to sustain you and get you through the hard times?

I've also realized that it is one thing to seek after intimacy with God and love the scripture where David says “one thing I have desired from the Lord, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to pray in His temple.” But it is completely another thing to somehow come to the full realization that you have moved yourself across the country for the sake of other people and that your intimacy with God is now of utmost importance, needs to deepen significantly, and really must be that one thing that you desire.

I'm sure that I've learned a lot of other things in the last two weeks, but I'll leave it at that for now. Until next time, mes amis... :)