Roger's head 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 I mean this in a light-hearted way, but I noticed this summer I feel like a foreigner even back in my home country. My English has become worse than it was and I have inevitably picked up some Japanese-like behaviour which doesn't quite fit in. I suppose 6 months back there would see me change again to fit back into things, but I couldn't help feeling a bit of a foreigner this summer. Anyone else feel like that? Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Definitely. I reckon that after about two years away things start to seem foreign. It's now coming up to 17 years since I left home Link to post Share on other sites
me jane 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Me too. Last time I was home shop staff looked at me like I was a complete idiot when I don't know what to do with the new credit card swipe machines. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 I have trouble with the money. An Oz 20c coin is the same as 10p. Or is that the other way around? Both, of course are worth 2 shillings. Plus there are lots of coins I don't recognise. sincerely Confused from Tunbridge Wells Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Blimey. It has been a long time. The Queen looked a lot younger when a gallon of two-stroke cost 7/3d, and a pint of bitter was yours for 2 bob. Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Back in Oz a few weeks ago I asked for a 500 ml coke at a shop. The girl looked at me like I was a freak and said "What?!?" I looked closer at the fridge behind her and realised that they only sell 600 ml cokes in Oz as opposed to the 500 ml PET bottles here. I felt rather stupid. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 ooo, I bet you did. You cultural ignoramus you. Of all the mistakes... I don't know if I could live at home anymore. I have only been gone 4 years but have lived in 4 countries and explored all number of small corners. Home has too much suburbia and so many rules and restrictions and isolated social norms, not the easy going laid back land at all. Italians, French... now those people know how to live a carefree life. Sometimes it seems almost anything goes, at least on the surface. On the weekend I took my dog on a 5 hour train trip from Germany to Paris where my girlfriend lives. No one even blinked. Arrived in Paris and jumped in a taxi with him. Some Australian tourists were in disbelief that I was allowed to take the dog on a train, let alone catch a taxi. This type of easygoing living is quite common across most of Europe, even in London. In Switzerland and France small hotel owners have been known to take my dog for a walk. Dog privilages aside, with all the other things I take for granted these days, I would certainly feel uncomfortable and out of place if I went back to Oz. Foreign would be a good way to put it. Link to post Share on other sites
boardbaka 3 Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 pleased to hear - I'm not the only one -reverse culture shock takes a long time to get used to- Its weird being back after nearly four years- everything is SO slow- Hard to settle back into Kiwi life again to be honest- The area where I'm lucky enough to live albeit with my folks really is for only the rich and famous these days-alls well that ends well Link to post Share on other sites
cal 6 Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 I feel the same. People say I talk really strange when I go back. Happily I usually improve as time goes by and getting back to something like normal just before I come back to Japan! Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 I always find it hard to get used to the way people working in shops are so talkative and familiar. It's good but requires a bit of effort compared to here, where grunting 'unh' 'keko desu' and 'domo' does the trick. And it is so smalltown in lots of ways in NZ. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Davo: I always find it hard to get used to the way people working in shops are so talkative and familiar. Yeah Davo, But which is better, the J way there's always that bit of tension that they don't want to cummunicate with you besides the irrasyai etc etc's, I really like going into a shop in oz when paying for something and having a chat to the person serving me. Link to post Share on other sites
frannyo 2 Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 A lot of pressure back home compared to here. At least here they often run away from the gaijin. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 I don't think it would take long to fit back in. Once you have lived overseas for a while though you have pretty much changed forever I think and so you will obviously have a changed outlook on things. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 >> I don't think it would take long to fit back in. Good point. The more you live o/s, the more adaptable you become, making fitting back in at home no more difficult than fitting in in a new country. (I hate double in sentences) Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 I'll pretend thats what I was thinking when I posted that. Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Yeah Indo, it is nice talking to people in shops. Just takes a bit of getting used to and then I miss it when I leave. Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 I just got back from vacation in Canada. I found the biggest culture shock was as soon as I stepped on the airplane in Kansai. Aside from being an overall crappy airline, the flight attendants on 'North West' are SOOO casual compared to what I'm used to (and not remotely as attractive as on any Asian airline). After that, it wasn't so hard to adjust. Link to post Share on other sites
frannyo 2 Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 The flight attendants on British Airways are generally ugly and not friendly and moody. Perhaps because they are ugly. Seriously, 2/10 for service. Who'd want to be a flight attendant though? Sounds like a Job From Hell to me. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by le spud: The more you live o/s, the more adaptable you become, making fitting back in at home no more difficult than fitting in in a new country. This is very true. But for those of us who felt like a foreigner in their own country before they ever left, it is especially so. As a young man in the UK, I often felt I was living amongst strange, hostile creatures from an altogether different planet. I've learned to be a bit more fond of them when I go back. Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Out of interest, what makes you more fond of them now Ocean? Agree on BA, I often find them to be quite bad mannered almost. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by big-will: Out of interest, what makes you more fond of them now Ocean? Non-attachment probably - knowing that I don't really belong at all now. But I met some really nice people last time. Neighbours of my parents and sister. People who are like old friends when you first meet them. Simple pleasures like backyard footie with some little lads, and getting a hot smacking kiss from their mum afterwards. You know the sort of thing. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 I'm sure there's lots more kissing goes on in UK culture now than there used to be. Or is it just me where it hardly exists here at all, not even between kids and parents. Link to post Share on other sites
jgraves 0 Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 I always feel a bit strange going back and hanging out with my oldest, closest friends. In my mind none of them change while I'm away, but then when I actually meet up with them again, they have grown fatter, older, greyer, balder than I remember, and have new interests, hobbies, skills, etc,. It shouldn't surprise me, especially after so many extended absences, but it always does. Link to post Share on other sites
fukdane 2 Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 Same here Tohoku bum. I have really grown apart from my old friends. Some of them seem to almost ignore the fact I am in Japan - the subject either doesn't get brought up or quickly closed down. Link to post Share on other sites
joshnii 2 Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 I look at some of my friends from school and think about how they are just doing exactly the same thing they were doing so long ago. A gang of my friends used to meet at the local bar on Wednesday nights - sure enough, they still do that and were there over summer. I found conversation quite strained at times. Made me quite sad actual, but realised I had moved on. Link to post Share on other sites
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