
So let's talk about reverse culture shock. Did I mention this yet? A woman with a baby on the plane from Atlanta to New York works at Emory University's Study Abroad Center. Apparently, students who go abroad witness culture shock only upon return. There are no problems abroad, adapting to the new culture, speaking a different language, changing habits and routines. The issues arise once back in the States. And, people, I think she's got something. The announcements on the subway are in different voices, "The doors are closing...please step away from the doors." Somehow I thought they'd be the same. And familiar. They're not. The smells of vendors are so weird. When I walked off the plane in Atlanta, I smelled breakfast sausage cooking and fresh coffee brewing, only it almost made me sick. It just smelled like excess. I guess I'd gotten used to fruit juice stands and churrascos.
And speaking in English is even troublesome. First off, your vocabulary disappears. Or you know the word in Spanish but can't remember the word in English anymore. And you start conversations, thank people, ask for things, say, in restaurants, in Spanish. And people can just tell that I'm a little off. They look at me differently now.
Oh, and my accent! Having been out of the habit of speaking English, once you start speaking it again, you revert back to the default value of how you learned the language. So, I'm speaking Southern again. Lynn, a fellow Georgia peach, and I were waiting for the bus, chatting. A Brasilian chimed in and asked us where we were from.
So tonight, we planned to hit the Staten Island ferry but got caught in a raging thunderstorm. A wonderful June shower, we got drenched. The day was so hot, it was hazy. The temperature 98 degrees, humidity 98%, the actual feel 104 degrees. That's just hot! And I just got back from winter. Another shock. The city and I both needed a good downpour. The waves at the beach today were strong, the water wild and rough. And it was cloudy, not like the clear, green Pacific on the South American coastlines.
1 comment:
Ummm Its called a FANNY PACK!!
Are you wearing a scrunchie too?
;)
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