I didn't expect to feel culture shock. Not coming back to a country that was home for two years, and that I've visited a couple of times since. But things work differently here. Walking down the street, people stare at you as a single foreign woman. I'm in a different position, too. I'm not the missionary on a visit to the capitol, staying with Sri Lankan friends. I'm a tourist, in a hotel, coming back after a long time away, to a country that has spent the last 5-6 years living into it's tentative, new found peace after decades of civil war. There's a fancy new expressway from the airport into town. There are new crosswalks with crossing signals that people actually use to cross the busy main road, instead of playing a real-life game of frogger. Mainly, the sights are still familiar. But now I feel out of place.

What made me feel more at home was connecting with people again. And food. I felt better after I went to visit my two Aunties I used to stay with when I was in town. We caught up on the gossip, and ate hoppers (yum!). The next morning, I went to church and saw more familiar faces, and sang familiar hymns (well, tried my best to sing along in Tamil), and ate my favorite thosai and sambal at fellowship time after worship. This afternoon, I had lunch with one of my favorite families, who beautifully blend Sri Lankan and Western (Polish\Canadian) culture and practice generous hospitality. It is people who make a place feel like home, and sharing food together that really draws people together. Eat. Pray. Love. Off to a good start. Oh, and I did run a bit in the hotel fitness center this morning, too. It had a great view, but no air conditioning.

As I think about how we welcome people to our country back in the U.S., it reminds me how important relationships are. It takes more than a job and housing and health insurance to start life in a new place. It takes connection to people who make you feel at home.