Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Reverse Culture Shock

state.gov

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 187 posts

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#81

Post by jim-jim-jim »

bane wrote: post #57
donw wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have lived in Japan for about eight years now, with a year-and-a-half somewhere in the middle spent bouncing around Germany. Originally, it felt... very odd, every time I came back Stateside, especially when visiting the podunk suburb where my parents live (and incidentally, where I grew up). Going from a city of 13 million that has quite possibly the best civic infrastructure in the world, to an aging and slowly dyi…

My experiences in Asia come mostly from Korea. Over the last decade or so I've noticed the grocery stores and selection there have dramatically improved such that I can usually find a reasonable analog for just about anything I want (so long as I don't get too fancy or want good cheese). But I've never lived there long enough to probably need that one thing. I think also, I've been married into Korean life so long, m…

Not him, but dark green lettuce for making a proper salad. It exists in some places, but it's considerably expensive and nearly wilting. People seem to prefer flavorless cabbage/iceberg instead.

Maybe it's a fair exchange for all the fresh fish though.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#82

Post by ajmurmann »

colmvp wrote: post #69
SomeCallMeTim wrote: post #40

Heck, I grew up in the Bay Area, and I get reverse culture shock when return to visit for more than a few days. So. Much. Traffic. People packed into trains. Everyone so...not exactly rude, but not nearly as friendly as I've grown accustomed (I live near Boulder, Colorado). I feel like my blood pressure is higher the entire time I'm there. Of course the air pressure is higher, so that may have something to do with it…

I always hated driving in SF. I can deal with traffic. I can deal with the pedestrians and cyclists. I can deal with the slew of drivers who thought signaling was optional. I can deal with paying for parking. But holy shit the lack of paid off-street parking lots in numerous parts of the city bugged me, alongside the absurdly inexpensive on-street parking. I never understood why the city didn't raise the price of on-…

Oh man, I will never forget the time my wife and I drove to Northbeach, looked about 40 minutes for a parking spot and then drove back home.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#85

Post by mahyarm »

astrodust wrote: post #71
wtbob wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One of the hardest things for me to adapt to is how "liberal" America has become. It's not an objectively bad thing One wonders, if the rest of the world is more cautious about this sort of thing, if maybe it's America that's in the wrong. Maybe other cultures deal with these things more sensitively or more rationally or just better . My experience travelling abroad is that people seem more comfortable in their ski…

> My experience travelling abroad... Try doing that with a disability, being a visible minority, being a woman, etc. America is far from perfect, but it's at least accommodating . In other countries they don't hesitate to throw people to the curb. It's the little things: The wheelchair accessible stores and streets, the effort made to deal with vision impairments, institutions that are fighting for women's rights and…

America should not be comparing itself to developing nations, but other developed nations. In that they fall short in many things.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#86

Post by Larrikin »

bane wrote: post #57
donw wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have lived in Japan for about eight years now, with a year-and-a-half somewhere in the middle spent bouncing around Germany. Originally, it felt... very odd, every time I came back Stateside, especially when visiting the podunk suburb where my parents live (and incidentally, where I grew up). Going from a city of 13 million that has quite possibly the best civic infrastructure in the world, to an aging and slowly dyi…

My experiences in Asia come mostly from Korea. Over the last decade or so I've noticed the grocery stores and selection there have dramatically improved such that I can usually find a reasonable analog for just about anything I want (so long as I don't get too fancy or want good cheese). But I've never lived there long enough to probably need that one thing. I think also, I've been married into Korean life so long, m…

The most obvious differences for me were the eggs,I honestly thought I got a bad batch the first time I cooked after moving back because the yolk was so yellow, and the fruit. Fruit was always more expensive, but so long as it was in season, it was almost universally better than what I had eaten in the US.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#87

Post by dcw303 »

I'm six years in Japan. I think staying in touch with your home country makes a big difference. I'm yet to move back for good, but I find that two things have made my readjustment when visiting home much easier:

  1. Keeping up with family via Facebook
  2. Getting an AFL streaming subscription
If you're not Australian it's hard to understand, but once you've experienced the greatest sport in the world it's hard to give it up.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#88

Post by pm90 »

icefox wrote: post #54
bandrami wrote: post #3

Yup. I'm a "trailing spouse" for an American diplomat, and this is so true. One thing that always, always, always happens to Americans when we repatriate is the "grocery store freakout". At some point, you will go to a grocery store, and freeze. "Man..." you'll keep saying, "Americans really love breakfast cereal..."

A very unexpected reversal of that was upon returning I quickly realized that the various candy and snack food I had come to enjoy while living abroad in Norway just flat out don't exists in the U.S. While there I would pick up random stuff now and then and over time found favorites. While there is 100 feet of cereal it is only a few big companies and each individual choice is even given sometimes 3 feet of space. So…

If you look around enough, you may find many "international stores" that stock on foods sourced....Internationally. Of course, the Indian/Chinese stores are a class in themselves, but you can also find the odd store that stocks products imported from Turkey or Germany etc.

This is MUCH easier in a big city of course. Houston is surprisingly good in this regard: not only can you find all kinds of groceries, but the restaurants serving different cuisines are absolutely terrific.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#89

Post by closeparen »

bkjelden wrote: post #63
SomeCallMeTim wrote: post #40

Heck, I grew up in the Bay Area, and I get reverse culture shock when return to visit for more than a few days. So. Much. Traffic. People packed into trains. Everyone so...not exactly rude, but not nearly as friendly as I've grown accustomed (I live near Boulder, Colorado). I feel like my blood pressure is higher the entire time I'm there. Of course the air pressure is higher, so that may have something to do with it…

The bay area is unlike any other place I've ever visited or lived in America. Every aspect of life is more crowded.

Manhattan, though objectively denser, is less claustrophobic to me: though the crowd is thick, it walks fast, you can navigate the area quickly (via the subway), and big open space (Central Park) is never that far away.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#90

Post by pm90 »

bandrami wrote: post #20
wavefunction wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I enjoy visiting India (I'm an anglo American) but I always know I'm back in the US when I arrive into Houston and there's a fifteen-foot-tall banner advertising donut ice cream in the food court inside the airport.

I dunno... India is no slouch when it comes to absurdly sweet desserts. I used to get fresh custard apple covered in condensed milk as a "snack" in Mumbai.

Hehe, no question about that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_sweets_and_dess...
Post reply on HN