Culture Shock is such a loaded term. I know it’s a reality, but i think it’s often overused and often misused as a way to excuse our complaining. Reverse Culture Shock is also another term that is interesting to me. Reverse Culture Shock is what happens when you return to your home culture after being in another culture for a long period of time. My thoughts about Reverse Culture Shock are the same as my thoughts about Culture Shock. But, regardless of how much i think they are misused i can’t deny the emotions i feel in certain situations while being back home. In some ways, i’m sure those emotions fall into the category of Reverse Culture Shock.

Here’s an example or two:

• I was in Walgreens yesterday getting some passport photos for my visa ($43!!! ((stupid!)))… anyway, while waiting for said photos, i was meandering around the store. I happened upon the cereal aisle and my jaw dropped. Cheerios, Fruity Pebbles, Honey Bunches of Oats, Pops, Smacks, and the rest of the greatest cereals known to man. I didn’t buy anything, but i was ecstatic at my discovery.
• Today i went to Kroger to buy a thing or two and i found myself on the chips aisle. WOW! So many delicious chips to choose from!! I now see how much we take this luxury for granted. I found Snyder’s Buffalo flavored pretzel things and i couldn’t contain myself. I giggled out loud on the chips aisle at Kroger and i’m pretty sure other people heard me. In China, when we find a gold mine of delicious food we know that we must buy it all because next time there’s no guarantee that it will still be there. So, in typical Chinese fashion, i bought out Kroger’s supply of Snyder’s Buffalo pretzels. Oops.