One thing I have had many, many people ask me about is culture shock. For anyone curious, culture shock is:
Funnily enough, I didn't really experience jolting, horrible culture shock. I think most people that I know who traveled to Korea also didn't experience a huge bout of culture shock. Why? Thanks to how connected we all are in this wonderful day and age of the internet, it's fairly easy to find out exactly what to expect when traveling to a new country. There are many different blogs and websites that tell you what others experienced, the differences in culture, in what is expected and okay, etc. And it's that knowledge that helps keep most people from experiencing frustrating, or even debilitating, culture shock.
Of course, I had the added little incentive that many girls, and even some guys, who visit Korea have: the love of Kpop and Kdramas. Yup, if you know me, you know just how guilty I am of loving most things that come from the Korean Entertainment industry. Korean songs, Korean TV programs, Korean dramas... Mind you, I also love American TV shows, British TV shows, American songs, Japanese Songs, a few French pop songs, etc. But the fact that I was extremely excited about traveling to Korea to work also made the experience that much easier for me.
Now that is not to say that I didn't experience some culture shock, because I did. I distinctly remember one evening, I got into a taxi to go home from downtown. It was after I had been in Daegu around 9 months, so I knew enough Korean at that point to tell him how to get to my place, but he didn't understand me. When he finally did, he muttered in Korean the entire drive and was very discourteous. Within that next week, I had another taxi driver do almost the exact same thing, except that this one actually took me to the wrong station. I said Banwoldang, but he heard Beomeodang. Well, actually, he asked me 4 times where I was going. I said "beonwoldong" the first time by accident, then I said it the correct way 3 times after that. He then repeated it to me, but he had a very thick accent and it was difficult to understand him. I tried showing him my phone, but he waved it away and repeated again. It sounded like "beomwolddong" and I finally just said yes. Well, we arrived at the wrong place and he got pissed at me and turned off the meter before driving me to the correct place and charging me about double what it should have cost. Needless to say, by the end of that ride, all I could think was how much I wished I was back in the US with people I could communicate with easily. But within 24 hours, I was back to loving where I was living and the culture shock was over and done with. So I guess the main culture shock I had: lack of ability to communicate.
Fast forward to May of 2015. After 2 years in Korea, I came back to the US for the summer and the thing that hit me hardest? Reverse Culture Shock. "But Nicole!" you say. "There's no such thing! How could you have culture shock by coming home to your native country?!" Eee! Wrong. Reverse culture shock is a real thing, especially for people who live outside of their home country for an extended period of time. And after 2 years away, I had managed to unremember all of the bad things about the US and had gotten so used to the way things were in Korea that it was a genuine shock, and sometimes extremely frustrating, to find it was different in the US. I've encountered a handful of things actually, but there are 3 main ones that have stuck out like sore thumbs to me.
- Rudeness/ Selfishness- I don't mean everyone is extremely rude and selfish. In fact, it was something I was kind of expecting. In Korea, everyone is extremely respectful of others, even if they hate your guts. If someone in customer service isn't polite and helpful, that is instant grounds for dismissal from their job. In schools, students generally aren't disrespectful to their teachers. Yes, it happens, but on a far smaller scale than schools in the US. Now, the thing that finally pushed me to frustration was Universal Studios. Being around all of those people who were pushing and shoving and not being away of who or what was around them... It finally got to me.
- Catcalling- Do I really need to explain this one? Walked around downtown Atlanta for a total of 5 minutes and got catcalled. Walked around downtown Daegu and downtown Seoul numerous times, sometimes past 1am, without a single catcall. I know catcalling isn't something that is high on other people's list, but I absolutely hate it. The End.
- Portion sizes- This one is strange, I know. I was raised on the phrase "Clean your plate". If you didn't, you had to sit there at the dinner table until bedtime. It's a good rule for picky eaters, but a bad rule when you just honestly aren't hungry (but people think you're a picky eater). So I've always had a problem consciously leaving food on my plate. Then I went to Korea and... it was amazing. The portion sizes are usually SO much smaller than in the States! Plus they serve side dishes before every meal. Yummy, usually pretty good for you, side dishes that help fill you up. Side dishes + smaller portion sizes? Easier to diet/ lose weight = good deal for me! No pre-meal side dishes + larger portion sizes? Harder to diet = gain back weight I had lost in Korean.
Wow, so I just realized how long this is, and I am SO sorry. But if you've made it all the way to the end here then... congrats!!
In conclusion-
Yes, I suffered from a tiny bit of culture shock, mainly from the inability to communicate, but mostly I suffered reverse culture shock when I got home. The way people treat others, the way some people can be extremely rude, selfish, and pushy, the catcalling, feeling unsafe walking outside by yourself, and, surprisingly enough, the larger portion sizes all made it very difficult to adjust to being back in the states. So if you ever have someone coming back to the US after living overseas for more than a year, be prepared for them to talk about how different it is from when they left, talk about how different it is from the country they just came from, and have a hard time in certain situations that would have been normal before they left.
Yes, I suffered from a tiny bit of culture shock, mainly from the inability to communicate, but mostly I suffered reverse culture shock when I got home. The way people treat others, the way some people can be extremely rude, selfish, and pushy, the catcalling, feeling unsafe walking outside by yourself, and, surprisingly enough, the larger portion sizes all made it very difficult to adjust to being back in the states. So if you ever have someone coming back to the US after living overseas for more than a year, be prepared for them to talk about how different it is from when they left, talk about how different it is from the country they just came from, and have a hard time in certain situations that would have been normal before they left.
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