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Boo hoo, I'm back from exchange/abroad and nobody appreciates me

post #1 of 53
8/27/10 at 9:30am
Thread Starter 
Dealing with reverse culture shock

I've been talking to a few insufferably annoying people who came back from abroad lately. Most talk about how much better it is over there, etc. Well, of course Nigeria's fucking great when you're only there temporarily and are living like a king.
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post #2 of 53
8/27/10 at 10:05am
It is real.
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post #3 of 53
8/27/10 at 10:07am
This only happens to stupid americans who previously had no culture whatsoever.
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post #4 of 53
8/27/10 at 11:20am
After living in Japan for a year I had to redress my habit of bowing all the time instead of saying 'hello'.
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post #5 of 53
8/27/10 at 12:01pm
Gimme a break I had like zero culture shock when I came back from abroad both times (5 months and 3 months abroad). Yeah, obviously living abroad was way better and I missed it but to say there was 'reverse culture shock' would be a little over the top.
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post #6 of 53
8/27/10 at 12:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroStyles View Post
Gimme a break I had like zero culture shock when I came back from abroad both times (5 months and 3 months abroad). Yeah, obviously living abroad was way better and I missed it but to say there was 'reverse culture shock' would be a little over the top.

Did you spend 2 years in sub-Saharan Africa? No. So shut up.
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post #7 of 53
8/27/10 at 12:25pm
Oh I'm sorry. I didn't realize I had to have spent 2 years in Subsaharan Africa to opine on reverse culture shock. If you can't get over it in a week you are being a pretentious twat.
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post #8 of 53
8/27/10 at 12:29pm
5 months is nothing. Plus you weren't speaking a language other than English every day.
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post #9 of 53
8/27/10 at 12:36pm
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Originally Posted by holymadness View Post
5 months is nothing. Plus you weren't speaking a language other than English every day.

O rly? Interesting, because I thought I was. Maybe I got confused though.
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post #10 of 53
8/27/10 at 12:36pm
I have been in Japan for 14 years with very few visits home. I expect the reverse culture shock to very noticeable but I doubt it will really be difficult.

That being said, I know a lot of long-term gaijin that decide to pack up and go home and then return within two years because "there's something about Japan". It usually means they couldn't find a decent job and a decent lay.
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post #11 of 53
8/27/10 at 12:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroStyles View Post
O rly? Interesting, because I thought I was. Maybe I got confused though.

Sister spent a year in Korea, spoke Korean every day except when she was tutoring kids. She also spent 3 months in Thailand, 2 travelling China/Nepal. Came back home and had no problems. She's really down to earth and didn't have any kind of "reverse culture shock" bullshit (then again, I guess Korea is a little different from a poverty stricken African nation). She loved her time there but came home and was happy to be with family and friends again. Some people just suck.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alter View Post
I have been in Japan for 14 years with very few visits home. I expect the reverse culture shock to very noticeable but I doubt it will really be difficult.

That being said, I know a lot of long-term gaijin that decide to pack up and go home and then return within two years because "there's something about Japan". It usually means they couldn't find a decent job and a decent lay.

lol, nice.
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post #12 of 53
8/27/10 at 12:51pm
sounds like a great trip
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post #13 of 53
8/27/10 at 1:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroStyles View Post
O rly? Interesting, because I thought I was. Maybe I got confused though.
I never took you for the bilingual type. Are you fluent? If you were using a second language to order lunch or take taxis, that's not what I'm talking about.
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post #14 of 53
8/27/10 at 1:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by holymadness View Post
I never took you for the bilingual type. Are you fluent? If you were using a second language to order lunch or take taxis, that's not what I'm talking about.

I was fluent in Italian when I was there. I have since unfortunately not practiced one bit and have lost most of it.

I am actually really good at foreign languages but have completely neglected the skill. I'm left with the shell of a few languages but nothing approaching fluency anymore except English. Kind of sad. I blame my job.
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post #15 of 53
8/27/10 at 1:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroStyles View Post
I was fluent in Italian when I was there. I have since unfortunately not practiced one bit and have lost most of it.

I am actually really good at foreign languages but have completely neglected the skill. I'm left with the shell of a few languages but nothing approaching fluency anymore except English. Kind of sad. I blame my job.
It's pretty hard to lose a language when you actually were fluent. I am sure that, given a few days in Italy, you would be right back to where you were.
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