[Reverse] Culture Shock

Culture shock is a very real thing, with stages that can even be plotted on charts and analyzed in a very scientific way.

So far, I think I have been handling culture shock very well. Because of the layout of our program I feel as though I have been eased into the culture both through Orientation but also through our classes and how they align with our internships. There are moments where I have reached a point of frustration, but as I reflect on those I realize it’s always been a pet peeve of mine.

It wasn’t until this past week when something hit me the hardest. I am not sure whether it is true culture shock or some form of reverse culture shock. After class on Tuesday, we returned to find the housekeepers cleaning our apartment so we needed to make ourselves busy for a couple of hours. I decided I would walk to the mall, and get some delicious Java House coffee and mkate wa ndizi (banana bread). The walk was great, a little warm, but I was happy to arrive. I went to Java House, placed my order, and grabbed a table. As soon as my coffee arrived I busted out my newspaper to read a bit before my friends arrived for our grocery-shopping extravaganza. As I started to look around I realized how uncomfortable I was. I am not sure what it was, it could have been the racial breakdown and how it was completely flipped from how we spend most of our time (from being the only white people, to being surrounded with white people in the Java House) or it could have just been the wealth disparity I was starting to notice (this is an issue I have always struggled with; I call it “jumping” between worlds something that never sets well with me).

I wasn’t the only one to have this experience, as a few of my friends had this happen to them when they went to a different mall with a lot of American brands. I am not sure that really is culture shock, as it is reverse culture shock. Suddenly I was transplanted from the environment that at first was uncomfortable but that I was settling into, into an environment I used to be comfortable but now was feeling uncomfortable. All I can say is that sitting in this Java House, I very well could have been doing the exact same thing in Washington, Champaign, or any other city.

This disparity is not something I can avoid, but it caught me completely off guard. I was predicting I would experience this when I returned home, but not in the middle of the week while I was here. Culture shock is very weird.