Culture shock
Astonishing as it may sound, some people seriously have no idea what is going on in the world around them. They think that whatever they see around them and hear from their family and friends is the only logical answer to the world we are a part of.
I was sitting down today, and I over heard two girls talking about traveling and wishes. I couldn’t help but eavesdrop and follow the conversation to the exact word. I can’t believe that I remember it all, but I was shocked from the ignorance of some people, or just their lack of cultural exposure and understanding.
Girl One: “Where do you wish to travel to? Where’s your favorite destination?”
Girl Two: “I SO want to go to Costa Rica. It’s my dream!”
Girl One: “Me too! But why do you wish to go there in particular?”
Girl Two: “Because if I go there, I will experience a great culture shock. I think going there will give me the biggest culture shock in my life.”
I heard that, and I stared at them and wondered what planet are they from. Costa Rica? Of all places? What’s the culture shock? Is it the great scenes, amazing beaches, lovely people, or the beautiful language?
Dear God, she needs to read my blog and maybe I can send her to the middle east. She wants to experience culture shock, I will send her to a place where even if you are an Arab living abroad most of your life, and know the culture very well, you will still experience a MAJOR culture shock the moment you get off the plane.
Costa Rica? Come on!
I love Costa Rica! More paradise than culture shock. Though San Jose reminded me of Manila. My wife has never left the states before so that was a bit of a ‘culture shock’. But yeah… there are other places in the world to experience that shock. Costa Rica doesn’t have a military! They’re very peaceful.
i like that sunset.it was s beautifull to look
I have no country that would be a real culture shock to me, I would love to go backpacking and exploring the world, and spending night with bloggers who feel the same way.
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It is still a dream, but it will come true some day
The view of sunrise and sunset gives ma a peace of mind. Sort of relaxation technique for me. The view is beautiful.
my plan is to live in saudi arabia because i want to feel totally alienated! call me crazy but when i lived in singapore i felt more at home being around people who didn’t speak my language or know my customs. the biggest culture shock I’ve experienced is when i visited Bali and came back to florida to go to college. everything in bali is spiritual and coming back to a spiritually dead society was a huge shock for me.
Spiritually dead society?! What is that?
well….in bali everyday is a day for god. there are offerings everywhere for the spirits on the island. in fact it is nicknamed the island of the gods. when you go to greet somebody some raise their hands in prayer to greet you. bali is a society of farmers and artists. everyday is spent toiling away on the earth or with paints made from the earth. we were meant to live out of the hands of god instead of living out of the hands of man. most everyone there grows their own food or has somebody in the family do it for them. everything is built close together to give a sort of communal feel. most balinesians are hindi. the hindu philosophy begets a loss of desire and worldly possessions.
to make the self more pretty. movies ascertain a certain look in order to capture the interest of the individual. when we go out to eat do you even know who cooks for you? is there something wrong with this? cars are the most important material due to the fact that we need them in order to get to work and survive. more often than not we are stuck with ourselves in the car.
now in the west
we sit in front of our boob tubes and computers and we go to the mall to celebrate what?….ourselves…not god….but the self. magazines proclaim the newest way to lose 10 pounds of belly fat
so the major difference between a spiritual society and a spiritually dead society is this all important ‘we’, which is so different from the ‘me’.
i know that sounds sophic but basically learn to praise god in everything that you do and the law of attraction will open up many doorways for you. basically in bali “all beings have joy, by joy they live, and unto joy they return.” (qtd from Upanishads) in bali joy is something you are born with, not something you have to buy.
In the UK it is sort of cool to be stupid. Most of the people my age and younger (Much younger now as im old) do not follow the news and the only things they are up-2-date on and care about is what the celebs are doing. As soon as you mention anything that really effects them you just see their face drops and see their eyes wonder what the strange words coming out of your mouth are.
God forbid I mention how a UK Solder died or how politics effect their lives.
But if Britney had another baby or had a new haircut.. Man they are interested!!
Honestly speaking, I don’t feel the ‘cultural chock’ when I traveled abroad because I do think that every country/society has its own characteristics and I do respect them yet I know mine too as Muslim, Arabic, Egyptian and Human too!