Tuesday, 26 November 2013

On culture shock, sooner than I expected.

I am in stage two culture shock. Everything annoys me. The heat, the dirt, the traffic, the food, and my inability to understand or communicate with people. I’m past the glorious ‘Hey, look at that! Hey, look at THAT!’ stage, and have fully regressed into anger and frustration.
We talked about culture shock during training, and how different people adjust at different times, and can have any variety of culture shock symptoms at any given time.
So while I say I’m fully into stage two, I’m also in stage three, the ‘I am just fine, thank you. I’m still alive, even though everything is strange’ stage.
Things that have become (almost) second nature.
-squatters. Really, not a big issue. But I’m very excited when I see a porcelain throne.
-on the subject of bathrooms, carrying tissue, throwing used tp in the trash not toilet, and the fact that you can frequently spray the toilet with the shower without ever trying.
-trying certain new brands. I’m still not willing to give up all my home-brands, but for the most part I’m pretty okay with (hopefully) picking a great one.
-the amount of tea. I am REALLY okay with how much tea gets drunk here. I also may or may not be addicted to Nǎichá (milk tea).
-the garbage truck jingle. Dave and I always to look for it when we hear it!
-chopsticks. Probably the smoothest transition of them all.
-most of the food. Turns out I love dumpling-type foods. And egg pancake. And the amount of garlic that is sometimes used. Oh, and shaved mango. Seriously, best.treat.ever. Oh, and the oranges are green!!

We have been in Tainan almost a week now.

Things I’m getting used to.
-the significant lack of potatoes (hey, I’m a farm kid- potatoes are a STAPLE!)
-the foliage. They’re not everygrees, but they are always green!
-the smell. It’s a mixture of dirt and food and I’m not really sure what.
-the fireworks from the temple. Not an exaggeration to say they happen all the time. Sporadically, but really at any point during the day you can hear some loud ‘BANG’s from across the street
-communication. Dave pulls up google translate on his phone when we’re really stuck. It’s a quick fix, but we are trying to learn more Chinese! Considering I entered the country with maybe two words (hello and thank you) and have upped it to a dozen without any real classes (although the impromptu ones from my new friends certainly helped!) I’d say I’m on the right track.

Things I may never get used to.
-the heat. And yes, I realize I moved to a sub-tropical climate! Doesn’t mean I like it, nor am I prepared for swimming in my own sweat during the summer!

So what’s next?


I’m in branch training right now, and start teaching my first class on Thursday. Our apartment is really nice, has huge windows and a bathroom (no really, we have a toilet room and a bath/shower room!), but is probably an hour’s walk from my branch. We are planning on getting a scooter, but buying and driving one without an ARC is technically illegal (yet so many people do it, but that's another post in and of itself!), so I either have to break the law, get used to walking, buy or borrow a bike or take a cab. By the time the summer’s heat comes driving a scooter shouldn’t be an issue (thank goodness, I do NOT want to be biking in that!), but it is a little annoying for the time being. Especially when it comes time to buy groceries (or anything else, for that matter!)

No comments:

Post a Comment