Assignment #2 - A Whole New World

The second assignment is a relatively easy one to help you get your feet under you before we start digging more deeply. Since you have arrived in your host country, what do you see? What has caught your eye? What made you think "wow, I am for sure in a different country now"? What surprised you in that it is similar to home?

One of my first big international trips was to Costa Rica for a year with the volunteer sending organization Canadian Crossroads International. I remember driving into San Jose and that feeling of having no context for what I was experiencing. So my young and naive mind worked very hard to find connections between my newly expanded world and what I knew from Canada. Things like they had an IKEA or that we had Shell gasoline stations too! Obviously, I was desperate.

One of the things that surprised me was how feminine the women were. They never looked slutty but I felt like a lumpy man standing next to them. The tight jeans, little tank tops, high heel shoes (called chankletas in Spanish, love that word), the full on 80's make up, the teased hair. There I was in my rain slicker with my hiking shorts and boots (it was a look), flat hair, no make up feeling and looking like the foreigner that I was.

I suppose what I was experiencing was a very immediate form of culture shock. I believe that culture shock is inevitable and cannot be avoided. It is all how you deal with it that will determine how much it affects you. Now when I rock up to a new country/culture, I look forward to the thrill of entering the unknown and trying to figure it all out. It keeps you on your toes and confirms that you are indeed alive AND living. It fits well with one of my personal mottoes - step out of, or take a flying leap out of, your comfort zone.

Assignment #2 - Due Monday May 26th