I think I have experienced culture shock at least ten times in the past six years. Luckily, the change was happening quickly, so I would not have a lot of time to think about it, but simply to try and adapt myself as quickly as possible.
For this assignment I decided to go through my journal from India and found the following entry:
"After three weeks in India, I feel I did I am finishing the physical part of adjustment on the new environment in Jaipur. Food was the biggest problem for me since I am not used to eating spicy and hot food. Traffic jams, and crowds on the streets are everyday reality here, and I am still learning how to manage basic daily routines -shopping and jogging for instance without getting too much attention from the locals for being a foreigner." Now I am not only able to eat spicy food and enjoy it, but also travel alone through India, shop and bargain on my own and be free to interact with local people.
Coming from a developing country, I was sure my cultural shock will not be as great as when I went to the US to study. However, I was wrong. My home country might be considered a developing country, but it is definitely better off in terms of poverty than India. Yes, it was the huge amount of poverty present everywhere which was the first shocking thing after my arrival, and I still think I am not (willing to) adjust to it. Just seeing poor people living on the streets, having nothing to wear, eat with children playing around and begging for money was the hardest thing to deal with. Living in a luxury hotel for a week in Jaipur, and having a poor family living outside my window made me wonder and think about the chance in life I have compared to them.
I tried to stay open mind and understand rather than criticize which enabled me to be aware of my cultural shock and find my place within Indian society. It is interesting to notice how hard it is for some, yet easy for other people to live in another culture. At this point I feel that no matter where I find myself in the world I will be able to manage and easily learn how to adapt to a different environment.
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