Culture Shock- No Joke
Let’s get really real for a second here: Culture shock is no joke. And you’re thinking, “But Jess, you went to London, the Brits are JUST like us!” And you would be mostly right, but not completely. The British are very polite, a bit more reserved than Americans, and they go about conflict differently than we tend to.
When I first got to London I wanted to see everything. I wanted to learn as much about the culture as I could. I was so impressed with the history and architecture of the city. Unfortunately, that excitement soon shifted into cultural exhaustion. I felt kind of like there was so much to see and do that there was no point in even trying. I felt like I didn’t know where to start and I wanted to just hang around the housing instead. Around the third week I started to adjust again, and found again the excitement I had at the beginning of my trip. I began to have an understanding of British culture, to observe more little differences from US culture and to appreciate its uniqueness. One of the most pronounced differences is the handling of conflicts. In general, the British skirt around conflicts and address them indirectly. For example, when Obama recently visited the Queen she “requested” that he bring only two helicopters instead of the usual three. What that really meant was that there was no way he was messing up more of her grounds than he absolutely had to and that meant strictly two helicopters. On the one hand this tends to resolve conflicts more politely than we are used to, but part of me felt frustrated when I was experiencing it. I wished that people would just say outright what the issue was instead of tiptoeing around it. I felt that it wasted time, though that too is a very American ideal. The idea that time should always be utilized efficiently is not shared as strictly across the pond. There is a lot less stress over deadlines and at work. It’s not about doing all that you can do, it’s about getting done the necessities and taking your time while you do it so that you can do the best possible job.
By the end of my time in London I had really grown to love the city and felt very comfortable there. When I continued my travels in France I felt a whole new wave of culture shock and found myself comparing Paris not to New York or San Francisco, but London. That for me now felt like a place I was comfortable and confident, whereas Paris was foreign and different. When I went to Ireland I was excited to see the same grocery stores as the ones I shopped at in London. I noticed the same fire safety stickers on the doors in businesses and even that little tiny piece of familiarity gave me comfort. It’s pretty unbelievable how quickly I was able to adjust to London, but I have to say that being home feels really good. One thing I never got used to was the cars driving on the left and it feels so normal to have them on the right again. It seems silly to find so much comfort in the weirdest things but they really do make such a difference. I think that it was probably good that the first culture I’ve been immersed in for any length of time was very similar to American but now I can’t wait to travel and experience more. Now that I know that I can adjust, I feel more comfortable pushing further from my comfort zone.
