I've lived in Perth for over a year now. I love it - it's a great place to be.
Over the last few weeks though I've become aware of some things that have shocked me about Perth. On reflection about what I know about culture shock and transitions, I shouldn't be surprised. I'm in the zone where I think I know the place and the culture and then all of a sudden something jumps out and surprises me, disorientates me and makes me aware of not being as understanding of the culture of the place I'm in as I thought. Typical of transitions, yet disorientating at the same time.
2 comments:
"I'm in the zone where I think I know the place and the culture and then all of a sudden something jumps out and surprises me, disorientates me and makes me aware of not being as understanding of the culture of the place I'm in as I thought."
There's nothing wrong with that though. Personally, I love places that will surprise you, no matter how well you think you know them. Of course, I'm coming at that from a tourist point of view, and being an expatriate is a different thing altogether. I have a friend who emigrated, and it took her a good few years to become comfortable. She really struggled at first. And it wasn't just worrying about permits, passports, overseas medical insurance and the like, she was worried about her identity. Whether she was going to have to become a completely different person in order to fit in. Whether she'd be able to make friends. Whether she'd lose the ones she already had. These weren't the kind of transitions that could be made in a day or a month or even a year.
She's been there six or seven years now and I do still get the occasional phonecall along the lines of "You'll never guess what happened today!" or "You'll never guess what I found out!". But I think she's reached the point where she enjoys those moments, rather than being knocked back by them. I'm not sure exactly when she got to that stage but it definitely took her much longer than a year.
Absolutely nothing wrong with it :) And part of transition is being thrown ... but it's part of the fun of the ride of the journey of life.
Thanks for your comment.
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