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The Cambridge Dictionary says that culture shock (noun) is a feeling of confusion felt by someone visiting a country or place that they do not know.
I don’t know about you, but the biggest culture shock I’ve ever experienced is when I return home from a foreign place, not when I first arrive somewhere new!
When I was a student, I did some volunteering in Uganda (Africa). It was a wonderful experience for me, and I saw people living in an entirely different way to how I lived at home. Some people lived in houses made of mud. There were some people who were very poor, and even some who struggled to buy food for their families every week. But this didn’t shock me. When I came back to the UK, and visited a supermarket with row upon row stocked with different types of food, with dozens of varieties of cereal, that’s when I experienced culture shock. I was overwhelmed by the choice and variety on offer.
I spent several years living in China and Japan. I would always experience culture shock when returning home to visit. I remember getting off the plane (dazed, jet-lagged) and speaking to the shop assistant in Chinese (he was Indian, and spoke English, so he was very confused!) When you live abroad, you get used to a new way of life. Things that seemed strange at first will quickly become normality. When you return home, you expect everything to be normal, but if you’ve learnt a new way to exist, things will seem upside down even when you’re back home! So for me, that’s why culture shock is more poignant on returning home than when you’re away. What about you? When have you experienced culture shock? If you like speaking about different cultures, how about a lesson on British culture?
(Picture - teaching in Uganda, 2010!)
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