The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Culture Shock.

So far, I've posted pretty positive things on this Blog. And, I have had some cool, fun experiences here. But, I just want to write a little bit about the difficulties of living here. It's not all glorious.

I'm 22 years old. I just graduated college almost 1 year ago. And here I am, little small-town Southern me, across the globe. What on earth did I get myself into? This is the question that I ask myself from time to time. It comes in waves and phases. As of late, I've had a heavy dose of culture shock!

MINDSET

Here, people like to laugh things off. If something bad happens, laugh about it. If you feel awkward or embarrassed, laugh. If you're angry, laugh. If you lose, laugh. SAVE FACE. Do whatever it takes to save face. Even if you have to lie. Save face for yourself and your family no matter what! This is pretty much opposite of USA culture. Yeah, I'm sure of it. In the USA, people teach you in school to speak your mind, be yourself, and take a stand for what you feel is right. Man, that'll earn you nothing but a friendless life here. But guess what? I'm not in Kansas anymore, guys. This is life for the next year and 8 months. And some days, the differences in mindset are not so noticeable. But some days, they do.

TOPICS

What do you usually talk about when you meet someone? A foreigner specifically. Maybe you talk about the weather first. What the weather is like at the moment. Then maybe you'll ask them what the weather is like where they are from. What's your name? Where are you from? Do you have any brothers and sisters? Where did you go to school? What did you major in? Etc. You know, small talk. I miss this. Haha! I never thought I'd say that. But, I miss small talk. It surely beats the pants off of being asked if you have a husband before anything else. Where do you work? Do you have a boyfriend then? How much money do you make? BAH! This is so so so different. If I come back and ask extremely personal questions the first day I meet you, then I apologize. But here, it's normal! A new normal.

MEAL TIME

Let's gather round the table, give thanks, and each have our own personal plate of food to devour. We can sit in chairs and have a grand ole time. This is America. He he he. You may be thinking... well how could it be so different where you are? It so is. First of all, everyone sits on the floor to eat. Either you sit on the floor or sit on a wicker/bamboo stool that's maybe 6 inches off of the ground. It's like being on the ground, but not. You may get your own spoon. Maybe. And you may get your own chopsticks. It just depends on the food offered. All of the food is sitting on the table. You just take bites of whatever you want. That's how it goes down brothas and sistas! And, there are no drinks... but there may be one glass. You down the drink in the glass and pass it to the next person. Same glass, 5-10 different folks. Don't worry. It's just building your immune system. That's all.

My sweet room-mate diagnosed me with culture shock tonight. He he. Yeah, she's right. It's when the differences just start to grate on your nerves, make you angry, sad, or whatever. Really, they make you feel like you're going insane. So, I wanted to let you in on a little sneak peak of my culture shock. This is real life: dealing with at least one of these differences on a daily basis. And this is just a small sampling of them. I'll spare you the gore and detail. Just know that after 4 months, it has hit me.

But, in the words of on of my best friends, Hope, "I'll be fine!"

The real issue lies in the fact that I copped a quarter of my thumb off today. Don't trim your bushes with a switchblade knife.

THUMBS UP SHAWTY!