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I wasn't sure whether or not to place this thread in the travel or World section, but decided that it may get more responses in this subforum where there tends to be a higher international diversity of visitors and many of the posters are well-traveled.
We're all familiar with the concept of culture shock when going to another country, where certain differences between your home country and the country you're in, immediately jump out at you. However, what I'm interested in hearing about is sort of a flip on that old story. For those of you who have lived abroad, or spent some time abroad on vacation, when you returned to your home country, did you experience any culture shock? Oftentimes, we come back to our home country seeing things through different lenses. Certain qualities in people or certain cultural habits that may have never of struck us as odd just by nature of growing up with them, now were glaringly so after having experienced a different way of life for awhile.
As an example, one of my best friends in college was from Cyprus (small European island off the coast of Lebanon and Turkey, and divided into Greek and Turkish sections for those who don't know), and one of the things that he had difficulty re-adjusting to whenever he returned home over summers was the fact that people there get dressed up for everything. He had gotten used to the American idea of dressing for comfort (which initially was a culture shock of sorts for him), of wearing jeans and a sweatshirt to a restaurant or bar, of going to class in track pants and a t-shirt. Back in Cyprus however, he found it newly-irritating to have to always get dressed up just to meet friends for a cup of coffee down the street.
For me, two things stick out. After returning from a summer in Europe, my first issue of culture shock came in watching the local news, where I was horrified by just how violent this country was. Now, I live outside a dangerous city (D.C.), but I was just in shock, after having been in Europe where it was not uncommon for lone women to walk the streets at night (and not just "working girls") and where my biggest fears were of pickpocketing and encountering drunken hooligans; to coming back home and hearing about six murders the night before, all separate, all brutal, all given maybe ten seconds of news coverage each. It was just rather jarring.
Secondly, after my recent three week trip to Israel and Jordan, I found myself coming back struck rather quickly with a not-so-surprising revelation about Americans. We're fat. Israel is a super-fit country, partially due to the mandatory military service of it's citizens so the contrast in seeing that, and then the scene at Dulles Airport, was pretty surprising. Usually I go about my day here in the U.S. not really noticing the size of people, but after spending all that time over there, suddenly it was very noticeable and I found myself just sort of awestruck by the fact that the average American seemed about 50% bigger than the average Israeli.
Anyone have similar stories, either positive or negative?
Reverse culture shock - what's changed, the place or the person?
Well, this could make for an interesting thread. Contrary to your screen name, dullnboring, your observations here are not. I came to the U.S. with my parents as a teenager from a small town in northern Europe, north of the Arctic Circle. At times even now, 30+ years later, I still sometimes find myself asking, "what am I doing here, on North America's west coast?" Every time I travel back "home," the feeling is one of stepping into an old comfortable pair of shoes. Everything is familiar, the sights, sounds, smells. It even feels as though the grass on the ground knows my name. My native language skills are good, and for all practical purposes, I blend in socially as though I'd never left. I'm pegged more by my local language dialect than anything in my behavior that screams "American."
But despite "blending in," living in the U.S. has changed me. And, of course, things "back home" are in constant change in my absence. I do understand your question about reverse culture shock, but I'm never quite sure what weighs heavier on that shock. What's at its core, the way back home has changed in my absence, or the ways I've changed in comparison to back home by living in the U.S.?
Not sure if this makes sense, and there is a lot more that can be written on the subject. To be continued.
I wasn't sure whether or not to place this thread in the travel or World section, but decided that it may get more responses in this subforum where there tends to be a higher international diversity of visitors and many of the posters are well-traveled.
We're all familiar with the concept of culture shock when going to another country, where certain differences between your home country and the country you're in, immediately jump out at you. However, what I'm interested in hearing about is sort of a flip on that old story. For those of you who have lived abroad, or spent some time abroad on vacation, when you returned to your home country, did you experience any culture shock? Oftentimes, we come back to our home country seeing things through different lenses. Certain qualities in people or certain cultural habits that may have never of struck us as odd just by nature of growing up with them, now were glaringly so after having experienced a different way of life for awhile.
As an example, one of my best friends in college was from Cyprus (small European island off the coast of Lebanon and Turkey, and divided into Greek and Turkish sections for those who don't know), and one of the things that he had difficulty re-adjusting to whenever he returned home over summers was the fact that people there get dressed up for everything. He had gotten used to the American idea of dressing for comfort (which initially was a culture shock of sorts for him), of wearing jeans and a sweatshirt to a restaurant or bar, of going to class in track pants and a t-shirt. Back in Cyprus however, he found it newly-irritating to have to always get dressed up just to meet friends for a cup of coffee down the street.
For me, two things stick out. After returning from a summer in Europe, my first issue of culture shock came in watching the local news, where I was horrified by just how violent this country was. Now, I live outside a dangerous city (D.C.), but I was just in shock, after having been in Europe where it was not uncommon for lone women to walk the streets at night (and not just "working girls") and where my biggest fears were of pickpocketing and encountering drunken hooligans; to coming back home and hearing about six murders the night before, all separate, all brutal, all given maybe ten seconds of news coverage each. It was just rather jarring.
Reverse culture shock can often times be worse than just culture shock because nobody expects it. It's a fact of life that people are adaptable, and like it or not any time spent in another country causes one to adopt behaviors and expectations based on their current location. And it doesn't take long for this to start happening.
But then you return home to a place you think is familiar...and suddenly it's not. That's a real shock!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dullnboring
Secondly, after my recent three week trip to Israel and Jordan, I found myself coming back struck rather quickly with a not-so-surprising revelation about Americans. We're fat. Israel is a super-fit country, partially due to the mandatory military service of it's citizens so the contrast in seeing that, and then the scene at Dulles Airport, was pretty surprising. Usually I go about my day here in the U.S. not really noticing the size of people, but after spending all that time over there, suddenly it was very noticeable and I found myself just sort of awestruck by the fact that the average American seemed about 50% bigger than the average Israeli.
I have a similar airport experience. I recently had a road show for work and flew from Edinburgh to Amsterdam then from Paris to Cincinnati.
1. Edinburgh: people are kinda fat.
2. Amsterdam: people are taller & leaner
3. Paris: not a fat person in sight
4. Cincinnati: HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!
After I came back from the Philippines, I immediately missed the convenience of streetside life. In the Philippines, if you're hungry, you can get a full meal right from the vendors on the side of the street. Everything from grilled meats and vegetables to fish and soups.
There is a very high density of commerce even in smaller cities - it's kind of tricky to explain, but the buildings themselves have a different design to them. A basement area might have an expanded staircase leading in from the street down to a gallery of shops, while the first floor has yet more shops, and the floors above are specialty offices (legal, dental, etc.) and residential units. And of course, directly outside will be the sidewalk vendors.
Even though I had a car while I was over there, I walked a lot more - despite the heat - because walking was always an interesting experience. I would go down to the vegetable markets, look for things I couldn't identify, then ask the sellers what those things were - then I'd try them out.
Aside from street vendors, there are a lot of small, local 'fast food' restaurants where the food is being prepared throughout the day and put on display. You just point to what you want, and you get to eat it immediately - no waiting time. I miss that.
Coming back to the US, everything felt much less dense. It was sort of depressing the first time I went back to shopping in a supermarket, and not a tropical vegetable market.
And also, Americans are definitely fat. And I don't mean 'stout' (which implies a certain type of muscular build with some fat on top) - no, I mean just plain obese.
So from the responses you've received thus far dullnboring, it looks like the biggest preoccupation is 'fatties in America', which was mentioned briefly in the last of five paragraphs on the subject. I would have thought more profound contrasts would be mentioned by others since this is a thread about culture shock and not necessarily the visual assault by obese individuals.
I have noticed the difference too, don't get me wrong - but I look beyond that and think it may be due to the fact that as a group Americans are far more self-indulgent and have a higher sense of entitlement than the rest of the world. But I can't say from my travels to loads of different airports, that I could really tell you where there were more or less portly people since I don't really care much what other people look like. Their behavior, on the other hand.....
Thanks cre8 for your insights on the subject - I enjoyed reading your experiences.
The occasion of reverse culture shock I recall after returning from my last trip abroad is how much litter is everywhere. If you have a small child who is in the developmental stage of picking up and tasing things to learn, then a trip to the local park can be a harrowing experience. Frustrating even, since the "litter bugs" were right there with their parents, and the parents were littering too. It wasn't always like this in our neighborhood, but I see this happening more and more. Same with dirty diapers tossed out in public parking lots, fast food wrappers and cups thrown from car windows as they drive by, you name it.
I don't understand why Southern California real estate is as expensive as it is, considering that much of the urban sprawl here is downright third world-like from the litter and disrepair.
Where to start? I spent 7 weeks in Taiwan once and when I came back it was actually weird going to the restroom on a regular toilet. Believe it or not, I actually got used to squat toilets!! I'm Asian so it was also weird "blending in" with other Asians in Taiwan and then suddenly coming back home to the States and "sticking out" with your black hair and yellow skin.
I spent 2+ weeks in Brasil back in '94 and when I got back home to the States, I missed how nice and genuine people were in Brasil. I also missed the food. If anybody's ever gone to Brasil, you know the food is damn good there!
I think generally speaking, international travel opens your eyes. It's amazing how many different cultures there are and I love meeting people from different places. You learn from them as they do from you. I haven't experienced any major "reverse culture shock" but rather when I come home to the States, I usually appreciate my life here and what my father gave up to immigrate his family to the States. I imagine how my life would be like if I was born in Taiwan/China or if we had stayed in Brasil but nothing beats life in Texas, IMO. I love traveling and I love learning and engrossing myself in other cultures but my "home" will always be the USofA.
So from the responses you've received thus far dullnboring, it looks like the biggest preoccupation is 'fatties in America', which was mentioned briefly in the last of five paragraphs on the subject. I would have thought more profound contrasts would be mentioned by others since this is a thread about culture shock and not necessarily the visual assault by obese individuals.
I have noticed the difference too, don't get me wrong - but I look beyond that and think it may be due to the fact that as a group Americans are far more self-indulgent and have a higher sense of entitlement than the rest of the world. But I can't say from my travels to loads of different airports, that I could really tell you where there were more or less portly people since I don't really care much what other people look like. Their behavior, on the other hand.....
There are certainly plenty of issues of culture shock, many having little to do with a person's appearance, but for me and many others, the reason that this one stands out is because it is amongst the first things you are hit with upon arrival in the U.S. Before you can even leave the airport, or interact with people and take notice of more substantial cultural differences, the appearance of the people surrounding you, in this case, Americans' weight, smacks you in the face the second you step off a plane.
There are massive differences between countries and American culture versus other cultures, and being someone who has an interest in travel and anthropology, I considered myself somewhat prepared for certain things so they weren't as jarring when I experienced them. I always knew that compared to other countries, American portion sizes are bigger, our cities are more sprawly, we have better handicap access, we use air conditioning and heat everywhere, our public transport pales in comparison to the Europeans, etc. I also knew, as per my two earlier examples, that the U.S. as a whole is a more violent country than most other Western nations, and that we also have one of the world's highest rates of obesity. The difference however is that unlike the other examples of differences that I gave, where while I may have noticed and lamented (some of) them a bit more upon my return, it was these two, that in spite of the fact that I knew they existed, still managed to surprise me even though I was "prepared" for it. More than any of the other differences I found, these were the two that I didn't just shrug my shoulders and get used to immediately, but that I took notice of and gave thought to for awhile afterwards.
I've generally found the most pronounced differences between countries to BE superficial. In terms of personal behavior, I've found little nuances and different cultural mores and traditions, but by and large found people everywhere to be the same, so I was never really overwhelmed with shock by them.
I lived in Japan for two years when I came back to the states. I was amazed at how much trouble I had driving on the american side of the road. When I went to make a turn especially I automatically would turn onto the left side of the road instead of driving on the right, I had to really watch myself those first few weeks back here as my senses adjusted to driving in the states again. I also had become so use to public transit I never got use to the USA lack of it. It is one of the reasons I live in Portland, because of the extent of it. Truthfully I have never really adjusted to living in the USA again ,since besides the 2 years in Japan, I also lived 3 1/2 in Germany. I also have to say I noticed the difference in the amout of overweight people in the states versus overseas. Its actually encouraged here, super size this that and everything in just about every restaurant you go to in the USA. Im glad I live in a place where I can walk all over, and I don't bother with supersize anything. Living outside of ones country, and then returning can take some getting use to, its a very odd feeling to have. We have allegience to our homeland, and feel guilty if it doesn't feel like it did before we left. I guess it is part of life though, at least we know we are able to adapt to our environments.
Spent some time in Europe and upon returning home I noticed how impatient we are. Standing in line at checkout people were rolling their eyes, sighing and generally impatient. Also..how much we "hurry, hurry, hurry" around. Another observation was the time we spent..or DID NOT spend on a meal when eating out with friends. The evening meal in Europe was a long enjoyable relaxing affair. Also walking and eating as done in Europe at lunch from the various kioshs in the plazas. Not done here and people look at you when you do that here.
Now...I missed the USA terribly, glad to be home and wouldn't live anywhere else but I didn't expect to feel this "culture shock" upon returning. I did expect a culture shock when arriving abroad.
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Reverse culture shock - what's changed, the place or the person?
I love traveling and I love learning and engrossing myself in other cultures but my "home" will always be the USofA.
Time out..of the country
Also walking and eating as done in Europe at lunch from the various kioshs in the plazas. Not done here and people look at you when you do that here.
