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.
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.
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