Breaking in a Missionary

My sister Janine has been home from her mission for about three days now. It's exciting to have her back, and we're all adjusting to having her around the house again, just like she is adjusting to being home again. People are always talking about getting missionaries used to civilian life again. It's supposed to be a weird transition, especially if they've been in a foreign country. Here are just a few things I have learned from my sister about what to expect with a new RM.

1. Never leave them alone. Neen and I went to H & M on Tuesday, as she has no clothes. While we there, I wandered in a different direction then her, and two minutes later, Janine came looking for me cause she was so weirded out by being alone.

2. Prepare yourself for an endless drove of, "This one time in Finland"s. Neenie loved her mission and loves Finland, so I expected to hear a lot about Finland when she came home. What i wasn't prepared for, was the comparison between everything Canadian and everything Finland. "Alberta has a lot of hills, Finland is flat; North American cheese comes in squares, Finnish is in a circle; and Finland never has malls like this" are just a few of my favourites.

3. With missionaries who have learned a new language, be prepared to not understand half of the words that come out of their mouth. Neen is a huge fan of speaking half Finnish, half English. I'm slightly more concerned for this one as when my cousin Mikyla came home from her dad being a mission president in Russia, she spoke half Russian. Five years later, she still does (evil glare). Neen may be saying some words in Finnish forever!

4. The phrase, "This is so North American" becomes a common thing to hear. In the grocery store, at H & M (which is obviously superior in Europe), on the roads, anywhere and everywhere.

5. Having someone awake and moving around in the bathroom on the other side of the room where you are still sleeping at 6 am is a common occurance. Though I think I'm doing better then some in this department, at least Janine isn't up vacuuming at 6.

6. Bouts of homesickness are common. Being upset over how gross North American yoghurt is compared to Finnish is perfectly normal.

7. And my favourite moment of Janine getting used to life at home, a phrase we hear on a regular basis:

"Pants are so restrictive. I want to wear a skirt."

Think of all the 18th century women who said the same statement in reverse.