Awkward Moments We Plan to Avoid This Time

This won't be the most spiritual entry but is a blog Phil wrote up to share a month ago about his initial trip through D.C. and Ethiopia to Congo, that never made it to last month's blog somehow. Gabe told his version of these accounts on his blog, and Phil is posting his rendition now as awkward moments they plan to avoid the second time as we’re travelling the same route and talking with people about our trip.

Awkward Moment #1. As the Laytons and Wilmarths were checking out of our hotel in D.C. on 8/28 to head to the airport, Gabe and I were shuttling 11 or 12 bags on a hotel rolling cart into the elevator, and a nice lady joins us in the elevator. “Wow, those are a lot of bags,” she says in a British accent. “Yes,” I explain, “most of this isn’t ours – we’re bringing gifts to an orphanage in Africa.” She smiles and makes a nice comment in small talk, and then Gabe adds smiling “yeah, we’re adopting twins.” She looks at me and I smile too instinctively, and she looks at both of us and doesn’t seem as excited for Gabe as I thought she would (I think she said something like “ohhh, ok”). Only after she exited the elevator did I later think why she seemed so … awkward.

Awkward Moment #2. In Ethiopia while we’re waiting in line at the airport the next day, we strike up a conversation with 2 African men from 2 different African countries about their different languages and cultures, and we tell them this is our first time in Africa. One of the men comments that he can tell some ladies who passed by were Kenyan, and then Josie naturally and innocently asks, “Oh, maybe you can tell me, why is it Ethiopian women have thin and smooth hair and black women from other African countries have … well thicker hair, that’s not as smooth … but it’s also beautiful,” she quickly added. Both of the somewhat gruff-looking men stared expressionless at her, and neither said a word to interrupt the awkward silence, but I think the one who was a policeman in his country was thinking something like “did that tall white girl really just ask me that?” … awkward.   

Reminds me of a time when Jaime asked a black lady about how to do the hair of little black boys, explaining our adoption and that we didn’t know how to do “different” hair. The lady looked at her and then looked at her friend, and said with her head to the side, “different … did you hear her, she just said ‘different’” … the black lady was laughing but still … awkward.

The white guy writing this blog had an awkward moment our first day in Congo when he said inadvertently “Buenos Dias” to Peter who speaks French but no English (or Spanish!). Actually he had a lot of awkward moments attempting French, which he hopes not to repeat, with his wife to help keep him from speaking Spanish, and with a means of grace in a French phrase book I have now and an app on my phone that helps me with French. Awkwardness and embarrassment is actually a good remedy to pride and the illusion of adequacy we have at times.

I look forward to seeing how God will grow us and humble us outside our comfort zone again, as we depend on Christ, knowing we are never adequate in ourselves, only Christ is (2 Cor. 3:4-5).