Culture Shock
This past Saturday, part of our technical training involved finding out where we are on the accepted Culture Shock scale. This is a scale that goes from "the Honeymoon" to "Final Adjustment" and consists of about 5 or 6 stages. I forget. I was too busy looking at the first three trying to figure out where I was.
Upon reflection, the honeymoon is definitely over. Things are no longer 'quaint' or 'charming' like they were in the beginning. I was able to eat anything (despite my tummy being upset afterwards, I'd still try anything), do anything, stay up long hours and study my Russian like it was my job (well, actually... I guess it is...) but then things started to settle in. Cows on the side of the road (not fenced in) ceased being "quaint" and just are odd. As is eating spaghetti with ketchup. In the beginning I would have been able to eat that stuff up and asked for more. Now, it's just like, "oh, that sucked."
But you know, the second stage is where the frustrations come, where things "stop being polite and start getting real," to use the Real World's phrase. And these things are good. We start to settle in more, feel more comfortable in our environment, and see certain things as how they really are. The stage after is the first readjustment phase, where we are able to recognize and adapt to the changes.
Upon reflection, I see elements of all three stages in my current disposition. Some things still rock, some things less so, and some things just are. It's the same anywhere, really? And honestly, it took me much longer to adapt to living in Ohio, because well, Ohio is America, afterall, right? So why were things so different?
The important lesson from that session didn't actually come from finding where I was on some academic scale though, it came from a question my TCF asked, "during what stage is it okay to complain?" Some folks said the second stage. I was also thinking that. But then I thought a second longer and responded, "never."
"Exactly," she said. "You didn't come to Ukraine to complain."
Well said.
Upon reflection, the honeymoon is definitely over. Things are no longer 'quaint' or 'charming' like they were in the beginning. I was able to eat anything (despite my tummy being upset afterwards, I'd still try anything), do anything, stay up long hours and study my Russian like it was my job (well, actually... I guess it is...) but then things started to settle in. Cows on the side of the road (not fenced in) ceased being "quaint" and just are odd. As is eating spaghetti with ketchup. In the beginning I would have been able to eat that stuff up and asked for more. Now, it's just like, "oh, that sucked."
But you know, the second stage is where the frustrations come, where things "stop being polite and start getting real," to use the Real World's phrase. And these things are good. We start to settle in more, feel more comfortable in our environment, and see certain things as how they really are. The stage after is the first readjustment phase, where we are able to recognize and adapt to the changes.
Upon reflection, I see elements of all three stages in my current disposition. Some things still rock, some things less so, and some things just are. It's the same anywhere, really? And honestly, it took me much longer to adapt to living in Ohio, because well, Ohio is America, afterall, right? So why were things so different?
The important lesson from that session didn't actually come from finding where I was on some academic scale though, it came from a question my TCF asked, "during what stage is it okay to complain?" Some folks said the second stage. I was also thinking that. But then I thought a second longer and responded, "never."
"Exactly," she said. "You didn't come to Ukraine to complain."
Well said.
posted by Molly | 12:45 PM
3 Comments:
I'm confused. Does that mean you can't winge about how stupid things are in the Ukraine, or that you can't complain that it's frustrating when an unpenned cow blocks the road and you're in a hurry? What I mean to say is can you talk about your frustrations, as long as they aren't framed in an insulting way? Or do you have to keep that to yourself?
Well, I think that it means that in joining the Peace Corps you came to do a job and do it well and to the best of your ability. That job is not to complain that meat jelly is gross or that I didn't really like eating the pig lung or other part I was offered last night. It was just not tasty. This doesn't mean that I do this all the time, but again, bitching is not what I came to do: marry a high Ukrainian political figure is really the ultimate goal here. I must stay on task.
I hear that at least two Serbian princes are on the market. They dont really have a throne or anything, due to the bizzarre history of that part of the world, but really, are any princes really princes? I mean, come on, republics for everyone (starting with the UK).
-eoin
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