Reverse Culture Shock

I’ve never had reverse culture shock before but I think I can say I’ve finally experienced a bit of it on this trip we are on. In my first week I was in a state of cultural relief. I think it was mostly the joy of having all these conversations with people who could understand everything I was saying. Apart from some of our expat friends, most of the conversing I do in Singapore is with people who speak either English as a second language or they are are more used to speaking Singlish. I am constantly substituting words to keep within a common area of vocabulary. It sometimes makes conversations short and often a bit taxing as I search for the right way to communicate an idea. I like the multiculturalism and the fact that everyone around me is from somewhere else but there is a comfort when you get back to a place where you can make a play on words and people actually laugh.

On the shock side of things I noticed how dirty things are. Grubby side-walks, overflowing garbage cans. I have also found the drunken boisterous (and obnoxious) behavior around us more off-putting than usual. When people generalize and say “Americans are loud and obnoxious” I think I now know how that has come to be. When you hang out in cultures where even drunk people are somewhat reserved it’s a very big difference! Either that or I’m getting old.

Holy crap food portions! In Singapore the portions of some local foods are pretty generous but if you go for a French or Italian meal the portions are quite similar to what you’d get in Europe. I still can’t finish anything but you can at least tell I ate something. Here Joel and I are sharing a main every time we go out and we’re still leaving leftovers!

And on that vein… food here is glorious. I miss the spices of Singapore but damn it is good to have really fresh vegetables. It’s also wonderful to fill a shopping cart with food in a conventional grocery store and still be able to get everything without additives and preservatives or palm oil. Forget Disneyland, just leave me in the produce aisle!

I keep looking the wrong way when I cross the street and I keep walking on the left when I walk down sidewalks much to the annoyance of other pedestrians. Fingers crossed that I don't get hit by a car this week. 

So all these little differences are my culture shock. I’m not having a bad time at all, in fact I’m enjoying trying to catch myself being surprised by my surroundings. It's wonderful to be back in California. We aren't quite finished with our life overseas but returning will not be a hardship.