It would seem that despite having left this country 3 times to live in another and adapted rather well to living in southern China, I manage to struggle with adjusting to new living situation even if it is only 1000 miles away instead of 5000. Weird things seem to irk you at the most peculiar and unproductive moments and leave you feeling kind of like a grouch. It's not like I made this move involuntarily or unwillingly, but yet I find myself irritated and frustrated with circumstances and struggle to control my reactions.
Dr. Jay, the director of the China Studies Program, told our class one time that after returning back home (the U.S. or where ever) from living in another culture that it is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
I must admit that each time I leave and return to the States it seems truer. I guess what I never really imagined -
and seemingly forget each time - is that you can have cross cultural stresses within your own home culture. While writing this I am reminded of the last two times I have come back from China: The first time I came back I could barely drink milk for 2 weeks and found the decadence of Newport Beach, California disgusting; The second time I came home, I graduated and consequently returned to living in Vancouver, Washington where I was forced to face family troubles and other issues.
The problem is in that not preparing and/or expecting it each time you are
blindsided and have to struggle through it.
Obviously, life is full of challenges and struggles which are suppose to produce character and refine us, but sometimes -
when you have fallen into the same hole enough - you hope that you can just skip the side-effects (anger, frustration, sadness, etc), learn your lesson, and just move on. I don't think anyone enjoys the irrationality that culture shock can produce -
especially the one experiencing it - of getting frustrated by the most inane things and not being able to let go of them. Currently, the list of things that I can't seem to let go off include:
Mind you these are just my rantings and should be taken with a grain of salt. 1.
Bread - I have decided it is because that bread constitutes nearly 60% of my diet. (I eat 2 loaves almost every 10 days) Apparently I never realized that my hometown had a couple of local companies which make amazing bread and allow one to have a greater diversity of selection when choosing. On the other hand, California has decided to restrict its bread selection due to the inability of people to make healthy choices on their own, leaving ones' bread selection to companies like Sara Lee.
2.
Blinkers - Having moved to California I rather enjoy the overall faster speed of things while driving both on highways and side streets. That being said, I can't understand why almost no one uses blinkers...especially when they just start breaking or decide to turn at the last minute.
3.
Green - SoCal has definitely been blessed with the amount of sunlight it receives and its proximity to the beach; however, I am not the kind of person who gets depressed by rain or misses sunshine, let alone finds a beach a huge plus. Everyone I talk to down here seems to think that I must be glad to have escaped the rain and a state with a high suicide rate (
or so they tell me), but what makes them think that I would be so excited to leave the beautiful Northwest to live in a desert?
That being said, I enjoy being closer to my girlfriend Lily and like my coworkers, even if I don't really like my work. I do like coffee though : )
