I like to think that I am not negatively affected by things that might affect the rest of the human population. This slight superwoman complex could have developed from any or all of the following:
Being the only black person in my class from grade 3-7 – In my head, I was the star …
Moving 6 times in 1 year during my childhood – In my head, it was an adventure…
Always being the chubby girl amongst my group of friends – In my head, I am/was thick-boned!
So moving to S. Korea didn’t really surprise people who know me. Superwoman I can do anything, right? Of course, I had setbacks (see here) and some minor culture shock (one more time) but when I came home 6 weeks ago, I didn’t expect to experience it in the reverse.
My first stop after the ROK was good ole La – La land. LA can even provide culture shock to some Americans who don’t regularly see celebs, palm trees and dogs in baby-carriers trolling the streets.
At first, I was glad to be out of the wintry weather of Seoul and back into the warm breeze of LA. I went to one of my favorite macrobiotic cafes one afternoon and I felt like I was in the trenches of what some perceive Hollywood to be. A third of the patrons were on power lunches from the local studios.
I overheard deals being made between what I assumed to be producers. Everybody looked like they had walked off of some movie set and if they didn’t have anywhere important to be, they sure played the part with Blackberry’s/Ipod’s glued to their ear.
I felt like I was in OZ and simply out of place. I didn’t have a cellphone and I walked about a mile to get there. Remember, nobody walks in LA but I didn’t rent a car and decided to venture on the train/bus. Which I decided only crazy people take! There were some i.n.t.e.r.e.s.t.i.n.g looking folks on those trains.
One main difference was hearing all the English around me. At first, it was great but after a day, a bit overwhelming to be able to understand 100% of everything. There are some pieces of people’s lives that I have no interest in overhearing.
At the cafe, I ordered a macroburger aka veggie burger. Two years ago, I adored this sandwich but now it seemed the bread swallowed the taste of the veggie patty. Don’t get me wrong, the bread was yummy but too much to handle for my rice accustomed palate.
One woman in front of me was eating a spinach salad with balsamic vinegar which consisted of only spinach and vinegar. From her looks, she had to be an actress or a wannabe actress. This man next to me actually mouthed to his companion, “Don’t you just feel good putting healthy things into your body”.
I totally get wanting to eat healthy but it almost seemed as if he was treating it as the new “it” thing to do. I wanted to yell, “check” but of course I didn’t.
On my walk back to the bus stop, I realized this was reverse culture shock rearing it’s head big time. Lots of other things seemed strange in the city that I used to call home and I kept reminding myself how normal my own life had been there. Well, as normal as it could have been in the land of celebs, palms trees and dogs in baby-carriers…
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