Reverse Culture Shock • Hacker News Board

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#161

Post by Markoff » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 4:36 PM UTC

Markoff wrote: post #160

lived better half of decade in China, returning back to EU was pretty much smooth: - sky here is always blue - drivers in EU are kinda annoying stopping and letting me pass when just standing next to crossing even when I dont really intend to cross yet - streets are completely empty - sidewalks are empty, not full of trash and people occupying them with their illegal stuff - cashiers are kinda lazy, you have to take…

Oh yeah and i forgot - I FUCKING HATE eurocoins, always need to be aware of that crap and trying to get rid off it, since you cant use card everywhere. These eurocoins seem like some third world country which cant afford plastic banknotes. Good old eastern Asia where I could live just with banknotes and online payments.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#162

Post by e40 » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 4:36 PM UTC

ianai wrote: post #106

e40 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi. I feel the same way. When I was a kid, once a week my family would drive to the other side of town (the 99.99% black side) to visit my grandparents and uncle (they were the .01% white folk). I would spend all day Sunday hanging out in this area of town full of dirt poor people (just like my family there). I've never felt at ease and at home as I felt there. The people were friendlier than I could imagine. There w…

Were you ever 'eyed down'? I got that recently at my childhood home.

I'm unfamiliar with that phrase, but I'll say:

I went back in the 80's to see my uncle, after my grandparents died. The house was falling down around him, but the rest of the neighborhood was in a similar state (still poor, still all black). When I knocked, a girl on a stoop across the street told me "the white man that rides the bicycle" wouldn't be back for a while. So I hung around. Because I was there during the week, instead of the weekend, it felt different. But, I was a lot older, too. I still felt at home, though.

A few years later the church across the screen bought my uncle's house and made it a parking lot. It was a good deal for them, since the house had been condemned by then. I haven't been back to my home city, but I did look at the street on google street view. Made me sad.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#163

Post by bane » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 4:53 PM UTC

donw wrote: post #114

bane wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Fruit in Tokyo is both ludicrously overpriced and, in general, mediocre. Japanese people prefer soft fruit, so crunchy apples are very hard to come by. Many common ingredients in Western cooking don't exist -- I would kill for a supply of fresh jalapeños, or potatoes suitable for baking (you only find two varieties of potato in Japanese supermarkets). I can't legally have a barbecue, either, so it's really hard to es…

Out of curiosity, have you ever tried slow cooking meat in your rice cooker? I have a dead simple Zojirushi cooker (it has "cook" and "warm" as the only settings), and every once in a while I'll toss some pork ribs and other ingredients and seasonings in there (beer, garlic, salt, pepper, whatever), hit "cook" and a few hours later out will come incredible fall off the bone pork ribs (or whatever meat I put in).

Not the same as BBQ, but pretty freaking good if you get the rest of the flavor mix right and not fried at all.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#164

Post by bane » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 5:09 PM UTC

KJP191 wrote: post #129

jessaustin wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That explains too much... why aren't high-margin products in other developed nations' grocery stores treated the same way? Or, if they are, why isn't breakfast cereal one of them? Perhaps because Americans really love breakfast cereal ?

My theory is milk. Breakfast cereal is designed to be covered in milk, but compared to North America and Western Europe, milk and milk products are far less popular in most of the world. I think I remember reading that there's even a biological reason, ethnic Europeans have some enzyme for digesting milk (and cheese etc) that others lack. This would imply that other milk-drinking Western countries would also eat a lo…

American here, I grew up on breakfast cereal (for better or worse). Cereal seems to be one of those things that exploded in variety and marketability in the U.S. I've never seen anything like an American cereal aisle in any of the other countries I've been to anywhere in the world.

What I find really interesting though is how that's slowly starting to change as other countries start to adopt more of the quick-eat consumerist culture similar to the U.S. What's more fun is that the local solutions to snacks and cereals are usually very interesting and designed for local tastes.

The first time I went to Europe, 20 some odd years ago there really was a slim selection, mostly variants of Muesli mixes. When I was in Russia in the 90s, I really wanted some breakfast cereal and there was a big effort to get milk and some corn flakes. In Germany I had more selection, but not hugely.

The first time I went to Korea about 15 years ago it was the same.

More recently I notice the amount and selection of breakfast cereals is exploding on those countries. Most of my experience has been in Korea, and there are now full-on cereal aisles with an entire list of different products. Not as many as the U.S. but definitely getting there.

So what's fun it that not only do I get to eat all the American varieties, but as other countries add other cereals to their cultural inventories, I get to try and enjoy those as well.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#165

Post by mfringel » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 5:16 PM UTC

dcw303 wrote: post #87

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…

As someone who is not an Australian (i.e. born/raised in the USA), I will agree with you that Australian Rules Football is one of the greatest sports in the world. :)

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#166

Post by ido » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 5:19 PM UTC

amyjess wrote: post #158

literallycancer wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect this is because most European cities are extremely old by American standards, pretty much any street is going to have 100 years old buildings, some have the cultural heritage status, so if you want to make any changes, you need to get a permit, and sometimes making the building wheelchair accessible would cost more than to tear it down and build it again.

That's one thing about old cities that people often forget about. A lot of people treat the age of their city's buildings as a point of pride. Old architecture is pretty, and there's so much heritage and historical significance. But the downside is that they're not nearly as livable as new construction. Disability access is one. Nobody's going to install a wheelchair ramp in a 500-year-old building. Here's another: a…

Even brand new (residential) construction doesn't have AC in Germany and Austria, although even 100+ year old apartment buildings will usually have central heating.

It's just not hot for a long enough part of the year to be worth the expense.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#167

Post by verisimilidude » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 5:46 PM UTC

greggman wrote: post #39

verisimilidude wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can sympathize. Whenever I come back to the US from Japan, I find myself bowing at the supermarket and persisting lots of little Japanese mannerisms. Sometimes for days. Japanese culture seems to demand more...commitment...than some of the other places I've visited and lived. Perhaps Japan is a stronger source of reverse culture shock.

Bowing st the supermarket ? I've been in Toyko for over 10 years I've never seen customer bow at a supermarket. Is that a thing in some other part of Japan? What I notice going back to the USA is how it often feels like the 3rd world countries my dad would tell me about as a kid indirectly trying to tell me how great the USA is. Now I just see crime, corrupt police, etc. Came back for 6 months got my car broken into…

"Bow" might be the wrong word. More like the subtle forward nod/thrust that you make with your head when you thank or acknowledge someone. Most Americans might not even notice it, to be honest.

I lived in Gunma for several years, for what it's worth. That was about a decade ago.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#168

Post by astrodust » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 5:51 PM UTC

herbst wrote: post #121

briandear wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More jobless in America? [citation needed]

Sort by %: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_unemploym... given there are several developed countries with worse conditions

One day you'll wake up and realize that employment in America is always unusually high. During the depths of the last recession it barely crested 10%.

What makes it seem worse than it is has been the way these unemployed people are highly clustered today. There's counties with 50-60% unemployment, but they're low-population so they don't skew the national rate all that much. It certainly sucks to be in one of those affected areas, and I know people who are stuck there, but the big picture is a different thing.

America is far from a homogeneous thing, but it's also full of opportunity if you're able, willing and prepared to move to them.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#169

Post by astrodust » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 5:57 PM UTC

point78 wrote: post #101

astrodust wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 is way behind a lot of countries in every point you mentioned

America isn't solidly ahead in any given department, but despite the prevailing political climate in some states, they're still doing a better job on the whole than many if not most countries.

It's like America gets a B/B+ at least in most categories where some countries are more like A/A/D.

Re: Reverse Culture Shock

#170

Post by erikb » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 6:02 PM UTC

emchamp wrote: post #119

Long time lurker here, first time poster. I am an American living in Japan and enjoying all the trials and struggles of living somewhere utterly different from where you grew up. In Japan I'm American, however back home I am Asian-American. Among Asian Americans I'm further subdivided into another category. I have very few close friends of my own ethnicity and those that I have I would consider as just Americans anyw…

I also had this feeling of only learning about my own national/cultural identity by being the foreigner in another country. Suddenly you even realize there are things you're proud of, although you've never thought of yourself as being proud about your country before.

And I'm jealous that you know about the reverse culture shock. Gives you some time to prep for it. I'd be really curious if it helps. For me and probably many others the reverse shock was actually much worse. Took me about a year to get any kind of life back. And it was really disappointing that all the new things you've learned you couldn't just not really share with old friends and family, they don't really care. Otherwise they would've taken the trip with you, right? So for them you are not the smart, cool guy who managed to do something extraordinary, you're the idiot who did lots of crazy things and now pesters them with all of the experience they could have told him before would be troublesome and weird.

What helped a little was having contact with expats in the other direction who I could communicate with after returning face to face, and keeping all my friends from the foreign country at least digitally close by.

Good luck with returning! Hope it works better for you.