2008 Blogs

Adjustments and reverse culture shock

07/01/2009

I promised to write a final blog entry, and haven't forgotten.  But this isn't it!  Today I'm just letting you know that I still plan to do that. 

 

I knew that returning to Richmond would be an adjustment and that I'd go through reverse culture shock, but I couldn't anticipate how it would feel.   I thought perhaps I would be overwhelmingly grateful to be back in familiar spaces, with my close friends and family, eating my "normal" diet, etc.   I am grateful, but in a different way.   The appreciation I feel for my life here is seeping in, a little bit at a time.  It's not a great sense of relief, like "Thank goodness, I'm back, sleeping on a comfortable bed."  Instead, I'm more aware of the height of the bed and firmness of the mattress, I can feel the fibers in the sheets.  The little things are magnified.

Driving a car still feels strange after living in a culture of motorbikes and bicycles, and it seems really wasteful that I should drive this huge thing around town merely to transport myself.   That said, I find myself taking different routes everywhere I go so I can look at things through my new eyes. 

There are other adjustments.  I've been cold.  Yes, cold.  Even when people are complaining about the heat, I feel comfortable.   And I utterly freeze in air conditioned buildings.   I miss my rather basic diet, especially the fresh pineapple, and prefer rice and tofu to about anything else people offer me.   Most of my clothes are a little too big, and I like that!

Everyone here looks big to me.  For 5 months in Vietnam, I felt like a big person--tall and heavier.  Now I fiind myself looking up to people instead of directly into their eyes.  Of course this makes me keenly aware of the differences in American and Vietnamese diets, and how much healthier the latter is.

A friend of mine told me about a concept called flooding.  I can't remember the exact explanation, but I think flooding describes what I'm experiencing now.  After 6 months away, I am being flooded with things that need my attention, and that doesn't leave much time for the reflection I want to do in my final blog.  Please be patient because we do have a long weekend ahead.   For now, Happy Fourth!