For the past month I have been in the process of going to America. Now that I am here, the verb switch to coming to America. In Chinglish it would just be "Back to America," as in, "Teacher, when will you back to America?"
Some things I have noticed:
1) I haven't cried yet and I'm not heartbroken to not be in China.
2) No culture shock yet. Flushing toilet paper, drinking tap water, and being able to read and understand what people are saying haven't make a a dent so far.
3) little things like, "hey, a dishwasher...hey, you open a door to get into a restaurant..." have been unfamiliar but still not shocking.
I'd like to know about the experience of my fellow returners. To summarize what I feel right now, it's like I flipped a switch and am completely comfortable with $5 meals, public drinking fountains and people who don't look Chinese. Before I switched it, I was as comfortable as outsiders get with pickled breakfast, throwing trash on the ground and public baby butts. I think I switched on that setting when I arrived in China, because I didn't feel any culture shock there, either. I might have to check in my journal if that's a true statement.
So I look forward to seeing how the rest of you are feeling, even those of you who spent this year--one of the craziest years America has seen in my lifetime--in America.
Peace,
Rachael
P.S. Jonathan hasn't reported any culture shock either, other than how expensive everything is.
1 comment:
i like how my brother is on ur blog. hahaha.. miss u already rachael- please send us update emails!! love u!
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