Shock!

So it turns out I’m in England. I’ve completed my year-long contract teaching in Korea and am back in the country for all of two weeks, before heading back to Korea for another full year. I’ve signed a new contract, had a full health check (in which I appear to have gained 7kg, shrunk very slightly and gone marginally blinder in one eye) and have been promoted two pay levels. Unfortunately I’m not sure the pay rise will cover my eye. But then, their eye check was silly anyway…

What you are reading is intended to represent very vague and slightly profound observations about the last year, some answers to the questions I asked myself before my arrival in Korea, and some finer details about my holiday to the UK, as I hope to get this written on one of my many train journeys around the country. I may even be writing this on my way to see you…

Disclaimer: That doesn’t neccessarily mean they wil all be posted within the next two weeks, and uploads are subject to availability.

One of the biggest things I worried about on my way to Korea was culture shock. Having had many international friends spending a year with me at university I observed first hand the sheer volume of tears, ups, and downs that being away from everything you’ve known for so long can bring. The way this was presented to me was thus: Go abroad. Marvel at the difference. Find it interesting. Then very interesting. Then love it, condemning your own country. Then start missing your country. Then hate where you are and wish you were home. Then find a happy middle ground. This can take between three and nine months, so I gathered.

However I lay down the auspicious claim that I don’t think I experienced culture shock at all, at least, not in any major way. I won’t deny that there have been ups and downs in my year, and I’ve certainly made slight adjustments to my intake of Korean langauge and culture according to how comfortable I felt being in Korea, however my love for the country has only increased. Perhaps having a Korean girlfriend negated many of the problems I might have faced. Or am I just suited for international living? I fear the next couple of weeks hold this answer to this.

Feeling that I have escaped the flames of cross-cultural unhappiness I feel that my time has come, and I’m due a large dose of unhappiness. I felt that this may pop up as soon as I set foot off of the plane at Heathrow, however was surprised to find that everything I’d known about England had stayed almost exactly the same, and the only shock was that I didn’t need a jumper.

So then the next thought is that if I don’t experience any problems here, they will probably pile up for my return to Korea. After all, the two countries I’ve resided in are two very different worlds (though I earnestly claimed not to notice many differences at first) and one can’t help but compare. But this is where I think the problem of culture shock may arise.

If you’re heading abroad or coming back home I think the biggest danger that you will face is what you were taught to do throughout your childhood: Compare and Contrast. Explain with reference to x. Differentiate n with respect to y. Or if school seems like a long time ago, perhaps “Write me a detailed report on this by 5pm tonight”. The key to failing in cross cultural life is comparison. In fact, not just comparison, but judgement.

Of course, it is healthy to think about culture, and the differences, similarities and problems that can occur. There is much value in this and I’ve learnt a lot about myself by doing so. However, as soon as you begin to see something in one culture as slightly better than the other, you risk resentment towards that which you consider worse. Don’t look back at where you’ve come from or where your going, but accept where you are. I’ve heard it said many times, but it’s not wrong, it’s just different.

I hope I can apply that to the next month of my life.

Advertisement

~ by tomsavery on July 21, 2010.