I'm back in Germany, gearing up for semester 2 of teaching at BFAS! It seems like much longer than 3 weeks that I have been away from the classroom... hopefully the students and I will adjust well when we start classes on Tuesday!
Surprisingly, the "culture shock" I experienced the most this break was not re-entering Germany, but adjusting back into American culture. Although I have lived in the United States all my life, something about being out of my home country for 5 months changed my perspectives, routines, and expectations. Here are three of my biggest (and humorous!) "culture shock" moments from my three weeks in the USA:
1. Walmart. The very first place my friend took me from the Pittsburgh airport was Walmart. I wasn't desperate to visit Walmart -- I promise! :) I thought I had lost my liquids bag, so I needed to replace those items. Walking into Walmart was a bit overwhelming. Everything seemed so inexpensive, and I was able to purchase apples, clothes, makeup, a wallet, and shampoo all at the same store! That is pretty rare here in the small town of Kandern.
2. Einstein's. I met a high school friend at Einstein's bagel shop for breakfast one morning. Kelly and I have kept in touch over the past 5 years as we have experienced college in two different states and now have entered the "working world." I got my drink and was walking over to the table to join Kelly when I passed by another person and said "Entschuldigung!" My voice trailed off as I realized I had just said "excuse me" in German, not English. I don't know if the other customer realized what I had done, but Kelly and I enjoyed laughing about it for a minute or two before beginning our breakfast!
3. How do I get out of the house? On New Year's Eve, I planned to meet my parents at our friends' house for dinner and a game night. I had walked the dog and was ready to leave, when I realized I didn't know how to close the doors to the house. There was no garage door remote in the car I was driving, so I decided to close the garage doors from the inside and go out the front door. However, I couldn't find the hide-a-key to lock the front door! I called my mom and she gently reminded me of the garage door number pad to close the door from the outside... oh yeah, I totally forgot we had one of those! Oops!
I am also preparing for the "shock" of getting back into the school routine next week. I move all of my stuff into a different classroom tomorrow afternoon, so I'll be redecorating the walls and rethinking routines this weekend. I'm preparing my heart and mind for teaching only fourth grade and would greatly appreciate your prayers as I embrace the challenges of transition into the spring semester.
Target was the similar culture shock for me. I didn't like it! Too big! Stuff had been moved around, and I was annoyed that it was harder to find something in an American store--in English--than in a German one. Good to be back in the land of fewer options.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean by reverse culture shock. I was not in North America for 4 years because that was the length of our first term. I couldn't believe the two worlds actually existed, they seemed so different. However, I realized how rich I was to have experiences both cultures. Have a blessed semester, Heather.
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