Culture shock!
Or is it just post-holiday doldrums? Or maybe the back-to-school blues? Whatever it is, the mood around here is rather depressed. Siu Wan seems to be having the worst of it, but we all seem a bit down and cranky.Now back home, I might not have even taken notice of this, but living overseas, every emotional change is cause for contemplation. In training we were warned about the dreaded culture shock. Or culture fatigue, as some prefer to call it. It's that point in one's foreign relocation where the excitement of a the new experience has worn off and the daily effort of trying to function in an alien milieu becomes too much. They said it should hit around the six month mark--February 14th for us--but of course, that's only just a guideline. So you just sort of live your life, peeking into every shadow to look for the boogie man. It would be a lot easier if it was like jury duty or something: You'd get your notice that it was your turn for culture shock, you'd have your emotional breakdown, you'd get your official culture shock certificate and then you could get back to work. Oh, well. If wishes were fishes, we would all cast nets. Best thing to do is to try and be up and helpful and make it through the day.
posted by John @ 7:32 PM
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