Culture Shock in My Own City

Yo,

I find it really odd to say, but I think I am currently experiencing the beginning of culture shock.

A couple days ago I moved into a new condo and it's really different from everywhere else I've ever lived. Just yesterday I was walking to the bus to go to work and in the span of like 15 minutes I was approached five times for spare change. There are people everywhere ranging from homeless to businessmen suited up and ready to conquer the world. Small businesses. Historic locations. Rainbow flags. Rainbow crosswalk. Starbucks down the street. LCBO downstairs. Walking home at night, drunk people and open bars. People at night.

I don't think I'm really that close to downtown, but I am faced with the reality that I do live downtown and everything is different now.

I need to figure out how to build relationships here. I need to figure out how to show people love on the streets whether I have change or not and use those brief conversations to share eternal truth and hope. I need to figure out how to feel comfortable in a place that is so foreign to me and, in many ways, believes a worldview that is different, if not opposed to how I see the world and myself.

Moving to Asia or Africa was less of a shock.

I understood that I'd be paying a much higher rent than I had previously. I understood that my life would be different. I understood my condo was beautifully clean and modern. I understood the transit. I understood. But I was not prepared for this.

I pray that God would help me to really grow in my faith while in this place. That I can meaningfully impact the lives of my housemate, neighbours, community, and those I interact with regularly. I pray that I would be building solid foundations of spiritual habits.

D.Fa