Reverse Culture Shock

Before I returned from Japan, I had been vaguely aware of the notion of 'reverse culture shock', but hadn't given much thought to what that was or what form it would take.

In my case, I never had any real culture shock when I went to Japan. I'd say I stayed firmly in the 'honeymoon phase' for the full two years I was there. I loved my job, my co-workers, my everyday life, the area I lived in, the new experiences I was having, the independence, the sights, the trips... Even when I decided to leave, I felt like I hadn't had my fill of Japanese life. Given that, I was probably a prime candidate for reverse culture shock.

I'm sure reverse culture shock has many reasons and manifestations, but in my case, there were three key factors:

When you're a foreigner living in Japan, your life is naturally consumed with Japanese things and Japanese everyday life. You hear about the latest pop star scandal, some new and bizarre exhibition in Roppongi, when the cherry blossoms are predicted to bloom, the new restaurant by the harbour. When you're making new discoveries all the time, you may well find yourself frequently talking to your friends about interesting aspects of the culture or language you've picked up, learning new tidbits of information.

Then you return to your own country, and have to realise that you are the only one of your friends who is interested in Japanese things. Sure, your friends might like to hear some of your stories, have a quick look at some photos, etc, but the key word is 'some'. I had to watch myself, that I didn't begin too many sentences with the words 'In Japan...'

I think a lot of returning expats, after extensive travel and mingling with other travellers, also have a feeling that their own society is a bit parochial, not interested in the world outside. Really, I think that's true of every country - everyone is most preoccupied with themselves - but it is more striking after going away and coming back. You feel that your worldview has changed, so it's more noticeable when others' haven't.

There is something liberating about going to a foreign country and making a new life for yourself. You can develop your own routines and live as you want to, without having to follow the social obligations of home. Everyone you meet only knows you as you are now; there aren't the years of history, and nobody has the same ingrained assumptions about you.

Now, I highly value the deeper friendships I have here in Australia - where I know I could go away, and come back, and go away, and come back, and they would still be my friends. But I also found that being away from everything familiar made me act in different ways and experience different things than I otherwise would have.

Indeed, I almost felt like a different person altogether in Japan. I think Japan suited my personality, because I felt very relaxed and confident there. I rarely experienced insecurity, doubt, ennui, gloominess. A few moments of loneliness in the early months, before I made friends, but in general I felt great, like I had changed.

But when I came back to Australia, I felt like I reverted to the person I was before I left. I'd become more nervous about things, less inclined to be active, more worried about my future. Naturally, this made me wish, all the more, that I were still in Japan.

Although I loved living in Japan, I never seriously considered settling there permanently. Everything was fun because it wasn't forever. The lack of nature, the baffling office politics, the feeling of pressure, of having to conform, the gender roles - they were things I didn't necessarily like, but they weren't my problems.

I was aware that there were things that, while not a problem for me as a temporary resident, could be tough about life in Japan if I were to settle there. And so I never exactly thought of Japan as 'home'.

But when I came back to Australia, I didn't feel like Australia was 'home' either. Rather, I felt that I was yearning to get away again, experience the freedom and novelty again. I will soon do this, but now I have a new concern - where will it end? Will I keep going to new country after new country, looking for novelty, never settling, never considering anywhere my 'home'? And if I do go gallivanting forever, is this a problem?

I feel like I've opened a bit of a Pandora's Box from the time I first left my homeland. Before I left, I was perfectly contented here, but now...?

Anyway, these have been the basics of my own personal culture shock. Just thought I'd share this more personal post lest others have the same experience.

I found this good blog post: How to Survive Reverse Culture Shock. I enjoyed reading some of the readers' comments - it seems to be a fairly common phenomenon.

Work hard, play hard (part 2)

How about 'play hard'?

Well, when Japanese people do relax, they often throw themselves into that as well. Going out to a dinner and ordering loads of stuff, having 'all you can drink' deals, or just freely ordering drink after drink without thought of cost, staying out late regardless of work the next morning, even shy people singing karaoke with gusto, etc etc.

Perhaps it was just the groups I associated with, but it struck me that it is easy to do this kind of free 'let's go out!' thing in Japan, because the areas where people work are also packed full of restaurants and nightlife. This makes it very easy to just leave work and go to an izakaya or something. Most people don't drive home, so most people can drink as much as they like.

Naturally, it depends on the person and their responsibilities. I'm just generalising.

On a slightly different tack, I think Japanese also 'play hard' in the sense that some Japanese people will often have a hobby they follow quite seriously. (Bar the numerous young girls I talked to who, when asked what their hobby was, said 'sleeping' or 'eating'. Hahaha...)

So for example, there's a category of hobbyists called 'train geeks' who really love trains - if they take a trip, they might go somewhere that has an unusual, historic or famous type of train they can ride. They might also betake themselves to particular points - eg, a place where you can photograph the shinkansen passing, or one of the few points where the underground metro comes above ground, or the train station that nobody can leave (Umi-Shibaura if you are interested ^_^).

They might also collect train memorabilia, note differences in train 'doors closing' songs, build model trains, etc. It really depends on the interest of the individual, but I've heard of all these things being done.

Or lets say you're a photography enthusiast. I've seen people with professional quality cameras, for example, in gardens and cat cafes, taking shot after shot after shot. In the case of gardens, the same person may visit the same park on different days so they can take photos under different weather conditions, in different seasons, and so on.

Of course, not everybody puts this level of dedication into their hobbies, but it does seem like an especially Japanese thing, that a hobby is also something you can work hard at like this. ^_^