Foreign Frustrations

An Iraqi worker rolls an electrical wire at the rail yard

My limit is about eight weeks. That's when the phenomenon of culture shock sets in and I notice changes in my personality. Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time in a foreign culture knows the feeling; you become short tempered, easily irritated by the "foreign-ness" around you, some may become vindictive or even lean toward outright racism. It's not a pleasant feeling but one of reality that many including myself often have to deal with.

I'm always amused by the tourists of the world who show up, take some pictures, have a ethnic meal or two, and begin to rave about how sweet and kind the local people are. "Why can't we all be so kind, loving, and helpful?" Yea? Spend eight weeks living among your kind and loving new friends and we'll see what you think then! I guarantee that you'll be restraining yourself daily from violence.

If forced to remain in the culture this "shock" eventually dissipates and is replaced by acceptance. That is if you're not in a local jail for running over a little old lady with an SUV.

About A Week

Sun setting behind the neighborhood skyline.

Q: What’s the difference between a tourist and a racist?

A: About a week.

Five weeks is about my “culture shock limit”. Prior to that I can take just about anything that foreign travel can dish out. At the five-week point, however, I feel myself becoming short with people, intolerant, and very sarcastic; all classic signs and symptoms of culture shock. That’s when I know that it’s time for a break; time to go home.

Culture shock is a very real phenomenon that causes stress in people that are exposed for very long periods of time to different cultural environments. It happens to everyone, regardless of how much they travel. I’ve seen the most enlightened, well-traveled, tolerant people turn vicious and hateful after a month of foreign cultural immersion.

Over time it passes, but it’s a stage that everyone will go through while living or traveling extensively overseas. For me, I recognize the signs and can rationalize what is happening to me based on having lived through it countless times before. Nonetheless, the rage, frustration, and stress are all very real, and without fail occur to me at the five-week point of my travels.

Heading home soon.

Stop Being So Damn Crabby

Why are tourists so rude? They always appear to be in a bad mood. I spent yesterday morning in the CNN Center, a major tourist mecca for Atlanta, and in the afternoon I flew up to Connecticut. The result was that I was surrounded by tourists for the entire day. They never seem to be having fun.

I watched parents yelling at their kids, air travelers becoming aggressive with gate agents, husbands being short with their partners. I thought traveling to new places was supposed to be fun and relaxing. It seems to me that it’s the exact opposite for many people. So why do they do it?

Tips for better travel:

• Just flow along with your surroundings, don’t try to manage everything. It causes stress.
  
• Expect nothing.
• Be patient and empathetic.
• Understand that, more often than not, the other person is really trying to please you.
• Manage your paranoia.
• The customer is not always right. I've been wrong more often than not.
  
• English may not be their first language. Try going to their country and ordering a double espresso with skim milk in Pashto.
• Don't take things personally.
• Speak softly, and smile at everyone.
  
• Be nice. You're talking to someone's mother, child, sister. How would you feel?
• Observe, listen, smell, feel. Be quiet.
• You are not the center of the universe.