Reverse culture shock is alive and kicking. Kicking me, that is.
I don't know how I stood it before. Everyone is so mean to each other here. I mean people you don't know. The tone is nasty and no 'please' or 'thank you'. I know, just roll me over into the nursing home before I start cursing about 'kids these days'.(I've been bugging everyone around me with endless sentences that start out with "In Australia..." so I'm going to share the love here, as well.)
In Australia, you just don't talk down to people (shop clerks, waiters, your valet) you don't know. (To people you do know: Listen, bucko! Get me my sammich! Now! ...oh wait, no. No one does that either.) At first I was annoyed by the extent to which you practically apologise for asking any service person to do anything for you at any time. But I like that shift of tone now. It doesn't seem so extreme. American 'mateship': dead.
It makes the transition easier that my family (in addition to being nice to service people) enjoys taking the piss out of people.* In fact, when, well anyone, really, will have a chat to you while you're waiting for your short black (coffee) or whatever, you generally end up joking around. Quite a bit. I had one bartender say to me that a lot of Americans he gets in there didn't know what to make of it, and one guy thought he was just being an ass. And while that may have been true also, good on me for going along with it.
Well, thanks, mate, but I've been practicing my whole life for that. My dad likes to play with people, too. Usually (eventually) they play back. A few, though, just never get that he's kidding and we have to step in and end the "fun". So, good on me, indeed.
And to be honest, no, I don't say "mate" now. It comes naturally enough in sentences in my head and on paper, but it still sounds idiotic when I say it aloud. No, I don't have an Aussie accent now. If I hear it, I can parrot it back pretty well. One of the favourite unofficial games of Team TV was mocking the commercials and dialogue we were watching. And with some of the crap we watched, it was easy. I had a love/hate relationship with the Lube Mobile commercial, in particular. It had this obnoxious kid at the end who was trying to seem cute, but looked like he went around stealing all the other kids' lunch money. "Lube Mobile will come to you! That's Firteen! Firty! Firty-two!" That is on a list of Oz things I will not miss.
In other news, driving my grandmother to an appointment yesterday, i had to keep repeating in my head "stay on the right, stay on the right". A few days ago, with my dad driving, a had a brief moment of panic when he turned left at a light into the wrong lane. Oh wait, no. He turned into the right lane. But for a moment, in my head, we were about to go into oncoming traffic. That is, if we were in Australia. Luckily, there was no rift in the time-space continuum at that intersection and we remained in Chicago. Where the right side is the right side.
posted by Halley @ 2:03 PM
2 Comments:
Hi, I don't know you, but I put in a search for "reverse culture shock" and your post came up. Reverse culture shock is kicking me as well (probably obvious by the fact that I am searching for someone else who understands!) However, my problem is that I have my two cultures here in the same town. I go back and forth between them almost daily, so 'interesting moments' (those kicks that you mention) abound. Thanks for your writing. It's nice to know I am not the only American who thinks Americans can be way too rude sometimes.
Hey there darling... long time no speak, just though I should give a shout out.
Your post is as usual an amusing odyssey, particularly as I've always considered Australians to be near-Neanderthals. But glad they turn out to be polite compared to some people.
Now all we have to do get rid of our Prime Minister and we'll become the most gentle, cultivated people in the world.
Anyway, speak soon I hope.
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