Culture shock!?!? Everyone keeps asking us and wondering about
the level of culture shock we are having. Two years of being in some
very foreign countries the expectation is that we would be having
issues about being back. Lots of people seem to like using our
return as an excuse to rag on the US reminding us of the things we
dislike – the commercialism, consumerism, materialism, shallowness
of TV and news programming, racism, etc (lots of -isms). While at
some level these things are a part of the American culture but
despite that our culture shock has been surprisingly small.
We have been living in some rough conditions for so long that at
this point we are mostly just enjoying the ease of being back and
living in the United States. We have nice houses that we are staying
at (visiting family) with comfortable beds. The electricity is
always on and our plugs work without needing an adapter or series of
adapters. When we take a shower we don't have to first check that
there is hot water (or that the water is running at all).
We like that we don't have to think about food or water. Ice
water at a restaurant or out of the tap can be guzzled without fear.
Grocery stores are like giant playgrounds. In Malawi we would have
to go to three different stores and the local farmers vegetable
market to get all of our food supplies for the week. In SE Asia
there were mostly only 7-11 type mini-marts and most people would go
out to eat since it was so cheap. Even in Europe the grocery stores
tended to be smaller with not as much of a selection. We are finding
going into an American supermarket is a dangerous proposition.
Things we had forgotten about or haven't had access to are rapidly
piled into the cart. The quantity and variety of foods are amazing
after you haven't seen it for a couple of years. It does seem
ridiculous at times – does there really need to be 3 or 4 different
varieties of Fruit Loops? At the same time we are not complaining
about all the new flavor of chocolate that exist now that we have
never seen. On top of the incredible selection we are also blown
away by the prices. Everything is so cheap compared to where we have
been with the exception of alcohol. Africa was surprisingly
expensive which is why in Malawi most people only eat Nsima (corn
porridge) and local vegetables that they can grow. Even with the
favorable exchange rate Europe was still pricey. Only in SE Asia was
food cheaper.
When we go to restaurants we are still getting used to the size
of the portions here again. In Thailand we would order 3 entrees
each (for a total of $3 to $6) in order to get enough to eat. Here
one serving could last for 3 meals. In restaurants, like the grocery
store, the variety and selection is at times overwhelming. In most
of the world you get what you get. In Vietnam there were some times
when we had no idea of what we were ordering and just hoped that
there would not be a beak or foot involved when it showed up on the
table. Here they ask you if you want corn, flour, or gluten free
tortillas. You can have chicken, beef, pork, sirloin, barbacoa, or
tofu. Do you want Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, or Cherry Coke? It's
crazy at times!
Another big difference about being back is traffic. In the US
for the most part everyone drives in an orderly manner and tends to
follow the rules. In Germany you didn't go in the left lane of the
Autobahn if there was a car within ½ mile of you because they were
going well over 100mph and would be on top of you within seconds. In
other parts of the world traffic lights are more like recommendations
and a two lane road easily becomes 3 or 4 lanes if people want to
pass. We are still getting used to driving on the right side of the
road. Most of the countries we drove in (except Germany) drive on
the left side. We still find ourselves trying to get into the wrong
side of the car. A pleasant bonus of being back is that gas is dirt
cheap. The price of gas in the USA is 50% to 75% cheaper then the
other places we were. Most of the world pays between $6 and $10 a
gallon. As pedestrians we have noticed that you can walk out into a
crosswalk and expect the cars to stop. No guarantees but that is the
expectation. Anywhere else in the world and you would be run down.
Many people ride bikes around the world. In many countries that is
the only transportation they can afford but even in Europe everyone
rides their bike around town. In the US almost everyone wears a
helmet. In Europe almost nobody wears one.
A few nights ago at dinner we were talking about schools. In
Malawi when we visited a classroom there would be 150 kids in the
room with no electricity or desks. They sit on the floor crammed
side to side. When we would enter the class they would all stand up
and in unison say “Hello Viz-E-Tor! Welcome Viz-E-Tor! How are
you Viz-E-Tor?” My brother Tom laughed at this and said that in
the US we teach our kids in school STRANGER DANGER!!!! In the US we
definitely don't see 5 year old girls taking care of the newborn baby
with no adults in sight like we would in Africa, Nepal, and SE Asia.
Being back in America the biggest difference we are seeing boils
down to convenience. Life here is easier then the other parts of the
world we have seen. Things are available, abundant, and cheap. It
is a reminder of how lucky we scored on the birth lottery ticket to
have been born where we were which has given us the life
opportunities we have had. At this point I would say that I am
having less of a culture shock and more of a Give Thanks reminder.
We have a lot to be Thankful for. By going away it has really given
me a better perspective on how good a life we have here.
