Well, I should be returning to the States very soon. I have been here in Ecuador for four months and am now at ease within the culture and everything seems...normal.

But does anyone know anything about reverse culture shock and how to deal with it?

Thanks.

12/20/2006 2:14:35 AM

Sure, just go back to Ecuador.

[Edited on December 20, 2006 at 2:23 AM. Reason : Problem solved.]

12/20/2006 2:22:58 AM

I was in the Dominican Republic for two years. I didn't come home to visit during that time, so yes, I can tell you all about reverse culture shock.

Quote :

"how to deal with it?"

It isn't a life halting event. It's something you'll notice and it does take some time for readjustment, but it's not like it will significantly change the way you live your life. It falls more into the category of an unexpected oddity than something that has to be dealt with before moving on with life... especially after only 4 months.

I'm sure it is different for everyone though. I wasn't looking for or expecting a reverse culture culture shock when I got home though. It was a surprise for me.

12/20/2006 7:25:26 AM

pussies

12/20/2006 7:33:52 AM

You have grown up in the US, have spent your whole life here (assumptions), and have been out for just 4 MONTHS at a mature age, and you think you will get a culture shock when you return?

This is the height of stupidity and childishness.

12/20/2006 7:40:44 AM

i think that would still be considered normal culture shock.

12/20/2006 7:45:22 AM

dont you mean

I WENT TO ECUADOR FOR FOUR MONTHS I AM SO COOL!

12/20/2006 8:05:18 AM

Quote :

"This is the height of stupidity and childishness."

Explain please.

12/20/2006 8:06:20 AM

it's not REVERSE.. its still just a culture shock

kinda like how people think discrimination is whites discriminating blacks and "reverse discrimination" is blacks discriminating whites.... its all the same thing!

12/20/2006 8:15:08 AM

I don't know about how you deal with it, but I went through a major funk for several months after both the Appalachain Trail and Mississippi River Trips. That sucked big-time.

http://www.sourcetosea.net

12/20/2006 8:24:34 AM

maybe i just don't get it, because how can you go through "culture shock" after a damn river trip?????

maybe y'all have a different neo-modern pop culture definition of "culture shock".

12/20/2006 8:28:16 AM

Quote :

"You have grown up in the US, have spent your whole life here (assumptions), and have been out for just 4 MONTHS at a mature age, and you think you will get a culture shock when you return? "

^ This That is the height of stupidity and childishness. Dude, seriously, is there anything you can not be pissed off at?

First off, I'm jealous. I spent a summer (1 1/2 mos) in Cuenca back in '99 and loved it. I knew the place was laid back when everyone started walking around and drinking after they turned off the "Fasten Seatbelt" sign on the flight from Quito to Cuenca.

Second, you'll probably fly in through Miami, and except for the American restaurants enough people will be speaking Spanish that you won't notice the difference. Like jbtilley said, it'll take a few days, maybe weeks, but there won't be much dealing with it. On a crappy day you’ll wish you were still back there, but you’ll go to a Bojangles and get over it. Or you’ll be like two of the guys I went with who went back, opened a bar, and haven’t been back since.

^^ I've heard that about the AT, you detach yourself so much from society that your values change, and when you get back you've got trouble resynching with modern society.

[Edited on December 20, 2006 at 8:33 AM. Reason : (is resynching a word?)]

12/20/2006 8:30:38 AM

You kind of drop out of the normal routine for a few months into a routine where everything revolves around just a single goal. You're exposed to some risk everything hour you're on the water as well. For me, it's probably as much as coming back to where life doesn't seem as rich or something. I feel like every minute out on an extended trip of a few months that I feel ALIVE, instead of just wandering through life, going to work, and just getting by doing the normal stuff.

The post-hike funk is pretty common from the data I gathered for my master's thesis. I guess it boils down to "Damn, that shit was awesome! Now what the hell am I supposed to do?"

12/20/2006 8:36:59 AM

^ , ^^ so i see what this is about.

Quote :

"On a crappy day you’ll wish you were still back there, but you’ll go to a Bojangles and get over it."

Quote :

"Damn, that shit was awesome! Now what the hell am I supposed to do?""

you guys are confusing missing a place you have been to, with culture shock.

culture shock is when an american goes to the middle east and sees women covered, men with long beards, and shops closing for prayers. or when an arab comes to the US and sees women nearly nakes on the streets, PDA, nude women in ads, etc.

wow, talk about being like a child and misusing serious terminology for something trivial. by your definition, a guy from NC who goes to miami for a few months, will experience culture shock upon returning to NC, just because he misses miami and got used to the exciting life there

[Edited on December 20, 2006 at 8:40 AM. Reason : ]

12/20/2006 8:38:14 AM

Quote :

"dont you mean I WENT TO THE MIDDLE EAST I AM SO COOL!"

12/20/2006 8:41:26 AM

Wow. When I got back I just thought everyone here in the states were rich, rude, and jerks compared to the culture I had adjusted to. I couldn't identify with "my people" there for a bit. Then I eventually readjusted to being a (comparatively) rich, rude, jerk. I hadn't even realized how I had changed to integrate into the foreign culture until I got back.

So in that sense the shock of suddenly finding myself in a foreign culture was less than the shock I got when I returned. Probably only because I was expecting the former.

[Edited on December 20, 2006 at 8:43 AM. Reason : -]

12/20/2006 8:42:45 AM

I've dealt with this before. Get ready to be very moody for a while. I don't know what this has to do with it, but when I experienced this I was very moody and emotional. It might have been because I saw for the first time how selfish and elite people here act, when they have no idea what other people around the world are going through. For me, it eased after about a week though.

12/20/2006 8:57:13 AM

Quote :

"culture shock is when an american goes to the middle east and sees women covered, men with long beards, and shops closing for prayers. or when an arab comes to the US and sees women nearly nakes on the streets, PDA, nude women in ads, etc."

<--- 2x tours in Iraq. Hmm, no I'd have nothing to compare it to. I'll buy your argument that there is a significant difference between going to somewhere like the Middle East and South America, but your argument is based on semantics and isn't a justification for being an asshole. Sorry.

12/20/2006 9:02:39 AM

Quote :

"REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK Just as you will have had to brace yourself for a period of psychological disorientation when you leave the USA, you should know that after your time abroad, you may also have to prepare yourself for a parallel period of readjustment when you return 'home "

http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/overseas/faq/culture_shock/culture_shock.html

Do you people do any research on anything before you spout off like an expert?

12/20/2006 9:09:33 AM

Quote :

"but your argument is based on semantics"

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/culture%20shock

a state of bewilderment and distress experienced by an individual who is suddenly exposed to a new, strange, or foreign social and cultural environment.

A condition of confusion and anxiety affecting a person suddenly exposed to an alien culture or milieu.

a condition of disorientation affecting someone who is suddenly exposed to an unfamiliar culture or way of life or set of attitudes.

i hate it when serious terms are hijacked by pop-culture idiots and used for anything and everything, no matter how trivial or small.

12/20/2006 9:16:43 AM

rest of quote:

Quote :

"isn't a justification for being an asshole. Sorry."

12/20/2006 9:19:55 AM

Quote :

"i think that would still be considered normal culture shock. "

12/20/2006 9:23:26 AM

^^^ stop bitching about semantics.


I was at Prague for 8 weeks and when I got back it felt really weird. I realize it was only two months so the culture shock back wasn't too much, but it was still there.

1. I didn't wake up and see a castle everyday.
2. Beer was no longer a dollar and they card you every time you walk in a bar.
3. It took me a few minutes to remember how to drive a car.

12/20/2006 9:40:55 AM

I appreciate all serious answers to my question.

Four months is not two years, I´ll admit. Yet it´s not a vacation. I did live here for a time, had girlfriends, improved my Spanish fluency 95% (to the point where I speak like someone from Quito) and truly made some good friends. I also saw some of the bad sides of Ecuador...racism, the poverty of south Quito and indigenuous communities in the jungle. I also saw Correa win...which might turn out to be a big deal for Ecuador and Latin American politics for many years to come.

In brief, I feel that I have acquired some Ecuadorian customs and attitudes towards certain things in life...especially the idea of looking at time in a polychromatic way (for instance, harmony is more important that efficiency, life is aimed more to live than to work and time is a relative value). I know this will be dramatically different when I come back to the United States and the only cure may be to return to some Latin American country.

Thanks again.

12/20/2006 9:45:21 AM

Quote :

"stop bitching about semantics."

if we do that Tdub will implode

12/20/2006 9:49:30 AM

Quote :

"III. Becoming ordinary As international students, many returnees got used to being automatically considered interesting, asked for their opinion as the American, or invited to interesting events, simply because of their status as a foreigner. Students also typically spent their free time doing exciting things (taking weekend trips to other countries, going to festivals and other cultural events, etc.) Coming back to the U.S. and returning to ordinary life and no longer being considered unusual can contribute to feelings of isolation and depression."

http://studyabroad.ncsu.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Abroad.ViewLink&Link_ID=0C08AC75-110A-9DE8-736849B211C71B05

12/20/2006 9:51:38 AM

Quote :

"you think that's good salsa?"

12/20/2006 10:52:43 AM

Quote :

"dont you mean I WENT TO ECUADOR FOR FOUR MONTHS I AM SO COOL!"

WIN!

12/20/2006 7:59:27 PM

4 months? thats it? you shouldn't have any shock at all. maybe after years. I mean if you've lived in the US all your life and you just leave for 4 months then its nothing

12/20/2006 8:11:47 PM

^ exactly. lokk at all my posts in this thread, man.

these people are confusing "missing the place you are returning from" and "being depressed" with "culture shock", which is highly insulting to people who DO go through culture shock whrn they go to a NEW place.

the BASIC ingredients of culture shock are:

being in a new place
not knowing what to expect
seeing/experiencing things that you are not used to or didn't imagine

Quote :

"1. I didn't wake up and see a castle everyday. 2. Beer was no longer a dollar and they card you every time you walk in a bar. 3. It took me a few minutes to remember how to drive a car."

that's culture shock??

jesus, look at the term itself: culture SHOCK. were you shocked to not see a castle everyday? were you shocked beer is not a dollar? were you shocked when you were carded in a bar? were you shocked at the prospect of driving a car?

you already KNEW there are no castles in the US, beer is not a dollar, you get carded in a bar, etc.
YOU GREW UP HERE, so how the hell is that a shock???

Quote :

"^^^ stop bitching about semantics."

not, it is not about semantics, but about maturity.

so if i called an apple an orange, and you objected, should i say "stop bitching about semantics"???

NOT A SINGLE INCIDENT OF CULTURE SHOCK HAS BEEN DESCRIBED IN THIS THREAD. what IS culture shock is when y'all WENT to these countries (still depends on the person), not when you returned.

so from now on, everytime i am tired, or a bit sad, or a bit lonely, or a bit stressed, i will start saying:

i am having a nervous breakdown!!!

and if anybody objected, it won't be about semantics, but about maturity, exactly as i said it earlier:

Quote :

"i hate it when serious terms are hijacked by pop-culture idiots and used for anything and everything, no matter how trivial or small."

GOOD BYE, AND HOPE YOU DON'T GET TOO MUCH CULTURE SHOCK FROM RETURNING AFTER 4 MONTHS OVERSEAS TO A COUNTRY YOU GREW UP IN YOUR WHOLE LIFE!!!

12/21/2006 6:31:08 AM

^He's right.

What you people are describing and culture shock are two entirely different concepts. He's broken down into plain English, and you people still don't understand it.

12/21/2006 6:46:27 AM

^ and ^^, agreed.
just get over it. you traveled, you're back home, big deal.

12/21/2006 8:28:35 AM

12/21/2006 8:32:27 AM

I concur with the man or woman above. Don´t get angry, please or in such a fuss. I just know things are going to be different and I am sure most of those experienced in this field would agree someone, with only 4 months, would experience some form of reverse culture shock.

12/21/2006 8:46:03 AM

hey, you know what, i think that ^^ post was meant for you ^. so, don't create such a fuss because you spent 4 months out of the country you have lived your whole life in, just chill, and don't act like a 10 yo girl. take a chill pill, everything will be ok. there will be no SHOCK from a CULTURE you have know for 20+ years, as recently as 4 months ago.

12/21/2006 8:53:41 AM

^ a little ^^^ wouldn't hurt. Take 50 and post in the morning.

12/21/2006 9:00:31 AM

that pill is 250,000 mg, or 250 g.

50 of them would be 12.5 kg.

sorry, physically impossible.

[Edited on December 21, 2006 at 9:13 AM. Reason : i am done with this thread. unless of course, someone posts something ridiculous again ]

12/21/2006 9:08:53 AM

i came back from living in sweden after 4 months and the most shocking thing is how much more daylight there is.

12/21/2006 9:26:50 AM

I came back after living in England for a solid year and had a harder time adjusting to the culture than I would have anticipated.

Specifically, when out in public or interacting with friends I had become to the very "british" way of doing things... retail wasn't all "let me help you!" and it felt threatening to have that return, food service wasn't all "let me get up in your face and attend to your every need" and having it return to that way was odd and put me off quite a bit.

Other than that the normal sort of getting acclimated to things like how much or little daylight there is, the proper vocab to use, how friendly and outgoing americans are in general, the lack of certain customs you might have grown used to, normalizing to the standard patterns of behavior, ie: the same ol shit you get when you GO to a foreign place for the first time.

people just don't tend to think that it's a shock when they come back becuase they figure they're used to it.

12/21/2006 11:54:45 AM

It's not culture shock, but what would the term be?

I definitely experience this everytime I go out of the country for an extended amount of time. And so far I have identified with foreign cultures much moreso than the American way of life.

12/21/2006 3:12:42 PM

I think 0EPII1 is pissed off that nobody wants to visit his homeland...

12/21/2006 3:15:55 PM

I just picked up my friend from the airport who just spent some time in Bombay, and he was getting readjusted to being able to touch women in public. But other than that, he was just happy to be home and around people who understood English.

[Edited on December 21, 2006 at 3:21 PM. Reason : .]

12/21/2006 3:20:59 PM

I'm in Germany...I had culture shock when I got here...and now I'm used to it, and I'm sure it's gonna suck when I go back home. bleh.

12/22/2006 4:17:13 AM

4 months isnt shit

reverse culture shock my ass

12/22/2006 9:48:12 AM

I don´t appreciate the mocking posts on this thread concerning my situation.

As you´ll see when I first started the thread I was asking a serious question about how to deal with things being American again.

I was not expressing any kind of paralysis in moving back to America. Please read more carefully next time and please don´t make the same mistake in responding in other threads where people are asking for serious advice. Thank you.

12/22/2006 12:54:25 PM

I agree with what a lot of people have said in that 'reverse culture shock' is probably not the best phrase to describe what you are going to experience, but I understand what you mean. I've spent a ton of time overseas and have just returned from a few months in a new country (home for just 3 weeks though) and from time to time I have found myself needing to 'adjust' to being back home. It has never been anything major or life altering, it primarily revolves around the things that you don't notice when you are here but see when you have been without them for a while. Most people who Ive known to really experience this readjustment have fallen into one of two categories: 1. they havent done much travelling outside of the US and their first time was for decent amount of time. 2. They have spent their time in a culture that is vastly different to the US. You will likely unconciously apply ecuadoran customs to people here for the first few days home but it will quickly go back to normal. You will also notice that despite the seemingly short time that you have been gone, people and places have changed. Your friends may be hanging out with a new group of people or dating someone new. It's normal, dont sweat it.

12/22/2006 1:18:28 PM

you know what I like?


Titties.

12/22/2006 1:33:19 PM

Now here is some REAL culture SHOCK:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6197921.stm

Quote :

"'Paris Syndrome' strikes Japanese By Caroline Wyatt BBC News, Paris A dozen or so Japanese tourists a year have to be repatriated from the French capital, after falling prey to what's become known as "Paris syndrome". That is what some polite Japanese tourists suffer when they discover that Parisians can be rude or the city does not meet their expectations. The experience can apparently be too stressful for some and they suffer a psychiatric breakdown. Around a million Japanese travel to France every year. Shocking reality Many of the visitors come with a deeply romantic vision of Paris - the cobbled streets, as seen in the film Amelie, the beauty of French women or the high culture and art at the Louvre. The reality can come as a shock. An encounter with a rude taxi driver, or a Parisian waiter who shouts at customers who cannot speak fluent French, might be laughed off by those from other Western cultures. But for the Japanese - used to a more polite and helpful society in which voices are rarely raised in anger - the experience of their dream city turning into a nightmare can simply be too much. This year alone, the Japanese embassy in Paris has had to repatriate four people with a doctor or nurse on board the plane to help them get over the shock. They were suffering from "Paris syndrome". It was a Japanese psychiatrist working in France, Professor Hiroaki Ota, who first identified the syndrome some 20 years ago. On average, up to 12 Japanese tourists a year fall victim to it, mainly women in their 30s with high expectations of what may be their first trip abroad. The Japanese embassy has a 24-hour hotline for those suffering from severe culture shock, and can help find hospital treatment for anyone in need. However, the only permanent cure is to go back to Japan - never to return to Paris. "

12/22/2006 3:11:51 PM

lol

12/22/2006 7:50:37 PM

jbtilley are you mormon?

12/22/2006 7:52:56 PM