Reverse Culture Shock

Last weekend I met a friend for coffee and breakfast at Whole Foods. I had been back from the Western Slope one week but hadn't been to Whole Foods yet. I got there a little early and wandered around, looking at every little thing. These tiny bouquets of beautiful, fresh flowers...these little bean snacks made of dried pinto beans and spices...the wall of Tom's shoes...a fresh breakfast bar filled with eggs, potatoes and sausages...all the cheeses...the snacks, the produce, the personal care items, the clothing and jewelry...the list is endless. When we sat down after indulging in that breakfast bar and an Earl Grey tea Latte for me and a pastry and coffee for her, I mentioned how overwhelming everything was to me because there was so much choice. She said, "Hmmm...I think you are experiencing reverse culture shock."

I looked up Reverse Culture Shock online and here is what StudyAbroad.com says about the matter:

"In this section you will learn how to learn with reverse culture shock you may experience upon your return to the United States. One of the biggest challenges for students who participate in study abroad programs can be the difficulty in re-adapting to the realities of the United States (otherwise known as re-entry). Many students who studied abroad in the country of their choice went through many changes, re-examining their priorities, their values, and what they think of themselves and the United States"

Okay, so I wasn't returning from living overseas or in another country. But I was returning from living in another culture. Life on the Western Slope is completely different than life in the Denver metro area. Choices of goods and services are few, traffic is almost non-existent, and things close down by 9pm. Your neighbors are not only the people who live in the houses but also their cows, sheep, dogs, horses, goats...it isn't at all like living in an urban environment no matter how "farm to table" or "locally sourced" we try to be in Urbana.

Her statement really resounded because it may have explained how I floated through my first week home, managing all the cars on the road, all the people who seem to be everywhere, and why I also found 3 movies to hunker into that first week or so where the dark of the movie theater and some solitude while watching a movie seemed comforting. Lucky for me, my reverse culture shock was nothing like the culture shock I experienced when Mike and I traveled alone through Prague. I just remember after a day of all the people, all the different foods and goods, and all the signs that didn't make sense whatsoever, a deep feeling of anxiety set in for a little while. That feeling of, "I have no idea where I am, I can't speak the language, and the walls of all these people from all over the world are closing in on me."

Lucky for me, my culture shock was reversed because I was readjusting to what is familiar, what I have known all my life, and to what I just left only a little over a year ago. What is enjoyable about reverse culture shock is that I get to rediscover all my favorite places, and go to all the new places that have cropped up since I moved. The other day, Mom and I went into Trader Joe's. I hadn't been to the ones built in the Denver area yet, and it was pure delight. Likewise, another "lucky for me" is that, while living in my country house in Montrose, I spent a lot of time alone, cultivating present-ness and doing some meditation. This has given me a sense of inner peace, that when in the past I may have been overwhelmed by chaos, I can now sit in the chaos and feel at peace in it.  Reverse culture shock, and my cultivation of inner peacefulness, is allowing me to see all the things that may seem a part of the daily grind in a new light and is allowing me to be present in the moment of experiencing whatever it is I am doing, seeing, touching, or tasting. I know that soon, after I get a job and into a routine, things will become a part of my daily grind once again, but I hope to experience that present-ness even with things I do a million times or with things that seem mundane. I found this quote recently and it perfectly encapsulates how I have been feeling about life these days:

"I still find each day too short for 

all the thoughts I want to think, 

all the walks I want to take, 

all the books I want to read, 

and all the friends I want to see".

John Burroughs