It is normally assumed that you will experience culture shock when you go to another country. This is normally true as many foreigners to South Korea can testify to. However, very few seem to be aware of much less ready for the culture shock that occurs when returning to one's home country. As is happening for me.
There is the normal jetlag that tires me later in the day. However beyond that I am finding that simply interacting with people is different. Among my close friends and family it hasn't been a problem. I know they care about me so I don't worry too much if I don't understand all the facial expressions or body language that I normally could in South Korea. However going into a store or restaurant is another experience altogether. The first feelings among so many non-Koreans I had were of my soul being barred before strangers. Like I couldn't hide my inner most thoughts from them. Why? Who knows where such a feeling came from.
In the end, I realized that the very way Americans walk with their legs and how they shift from foot to foot is different. The way they swing their arms and gesture with their hands as they talk. And yes, Americans use their hands a lot more than I realized. No wonder my students mimic me in the classroom. The facial expressions and the way someone composes their body while sitting at a table by themselves are all different. While being in the same room, I can hear and understand people two tables away. The diversity among Americans: haircuts, make-up, hair color, eye structure and color, skin tone, clothing fashions... it is a lot of new data that my senses try to take in but fail at after a few wide-eyed moments.
That is just the people. Interacting with them in the sense of space is also different. Americans have huge space bubbles around them. Going through a store with a shopping cart, they skirt around each other and apologize if they come within a foot or foot and a half of you. Driving down the street, they wait until all cars are far away before turning and keep a lot of space between their car and the car in front of them. Thankfully, giving hugs isn't the same. I try to reciprocate the type of hugs people give me such as those who prefer side hugs. Still, a few don't mind the full hug that I missed so desperately in South Korea.
Beyond this is the blessed topic of food. The one thing I had the hardest time adjusting to while in South Korea. Yes, all my beloved foods are here and I love not having rice products in every meal I eat. But I never realized how incredibly greasy the food is here. My beloved pizza hut among many others. My view has changed there and I don't know what to do with myself for it.
Politics has also changed for me. I have lived in a country with no guns and wonderful healthcare. Yet I return to a country with lots of guns and rather primitive healthcare. I wish I could take the healthcare of South Korea and transplant it here where our gun rights still exist. There are mixed blessings of living in both countries and every blessing comes with it's own curse.
Oh, did I mention how loud Americans are? I thought Koreans could not be topped for loudness. They scream in the classroom, in the hallways, outside, at meals, at parties, at concerts, and so forth. They live hard. Then I come to America where there is no screaming only to find that Americans talk louder, laugh louder, and somehow ever are quiet in a louder way. It is so hard to explain. Everything about an American stands out in comparison to a Korean, even if the Korean is wearing a lot of yellow and pink.
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