I would have to say I was happy to be back. The one thing that I didn’t know that I was going to feel was the fact that some of the people I felt were rude. It was interesting. The people in China were never rude, they may have been physically pushy, but never rude. It took me a little while to get used to this attitude. At times I felt overwhelmed, I even stayed in my house for a few days. But life is starting to get back to normal now. Sometimes I even miss being in China, especially at the school. Now I can’t wait to start my next journey in life.
Yes, it’s interesting what we observe as we move back and forth between various cultures. China has so many people that they literally are bumping into one another, and I think they have to be somewhat physically pushy to get where they’re going. I’m glad that you noticed that pushiness wasn’t related to rudeness.
I can imagine feeling overwhelmed when first returning home from a country like China that is so different from the U.S. You were probably wise to be a hermit for a few days. Michele
I hadn’t realized what was different but I too have been noticing how rude people are. I was even listening to a PG Comedy channel at school the other day and had to change it because they were so derogatory towards other people. I suddenly become very aware that we often talk down about other people and that I really don’t like it. Everyone was very kind to us in China. Even though we may not have been able to communicate with them, they weren’t rude and often they were trying to help us. I definitely feel one thing that’s changed in my life since traveling to China is that I will be more kind to people around me, especially foreigners. Quil
The culture shock was, well for lack of a better word, such a shock to me. When I first arrived in Italy I thought people were rude because of the physical pushing that happens. But upon arrival home I was almost offended by how rude a lot of the Americans I ran into were. Italians truly wanted to know me as a human being even though I was a complete stranger, where Americans just didn’t seem to care. I am fully re-adjusted to the lifestyle here again though (2 months later) but I admit I do miss Italy at times.