Reverse Culture Shock

I've been back in Canada for a bit over three weeks now, and I continually get asked if I had any culture shock when I went to Asia. My answer is always that I had more coming home! This is a phenomenon called Reverse Culture Stress, when someone has been in a culture other than their regular one for a long enough period that they feel unfamiliar, out-of-place or uncomfortable with their own culture. 

Riding in the truck during "Songkran"

Not everyone goes through Reverse Culture Stress when they've been away for seven weeks, but for me certain things stood out about Canadian culture that I hadn't really noticed much before. Things like:

Busyness

Our pace of life is so hectic. We rush to and fro, are booked every evening and things are expected to happen "right now". I was asked so many questions when I got home by people who wanted to know my schedule right away, and when we were doing this and that and I just wanted to shut down and take things one hour at a time! Not to say that people aren't busy where we were (the students in Hong Kong run to buy lunch every day because they are worried about missing class), but I had been out of "scheduling" mode for so long, I would only focus on one day at a time for seven weeks!

The busy Hong Kong streets

Individuality

It bugged me when I got back how individually-minded our culture is. Everyone needs their own car, and their own food, and their own house and their own stuff. In Asia I became so used to sharing meals with other people, sometimes without even using plates and cutlery! We would just use our hands, put the food on the table (not individual portions either!) and just eat together. Sharing is normal for their cultures. I had a group of friends in Beihei and I know there were three scooters, four friends and me. I had no idea which scooters belonged to who because they would always drive each other's scooters! In Thailand it was normal to lean against someone's pickup truck if you needed something to lean against, or to borrow someone's hose if you needed some water for your water gun during the water festival.

A river restaurant in Thailand

Fear

This one has bothered me many times before and I noticed it all anew when I got home. Canadians are so afraid of everything! Health, crime, strangers, all of it. It's becoming normal for people to not let their children play outside because they might get dirty or get kidnapped, or don't talk to strangers because they might snap at them. Overseas it felt so freeing to see a culture that was comfortable with each other. Strangers talked to each other, people ate wierd things (and didn't get sick from them), and there is a general level of trust between people that we are generally missing here. It always amazes me what we miss out when we let fear control our lives! But I've already written my thoughts on fear before, which you can read here.

Climbing Sticky Falls

There are many things that I appreciate about Canada (poutine, my family, clean air, the mountains), but I am seeing people, myself, my lifestyle and the culture as a whole through a new lens. I think it's good for everyone to re-evalute their perspective on things every once in a while to make sure they are living their life the way God intends. He even says "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good pleasing and perfect will" (Rom 12:2). This trip was a great way for me to do exactly what this verse is talking about, to take a step back from my Canadian world and come home with a renewed mind to seek God's will.