Welcome to the Loose Bloggers Consortium, where Akanksha, Anu, Ashok, Conrad, Delirious, gaelikaa, Grannymar, Ordinary Joe, Magpie11, Maria the Silver Fox, Nema, Noor, Padmum, Paul, Ramana Sir, Will knot, and I write on the same topic. Please visit the other blogs to get seventeen different flavours of the same topic. Today’s topic has been chosen by gaelika.
First of all apologies for not being able to write for the past two weeks. Things were quite busy over the working week and weekends spent enjoying the natural beauty of Wales and Cornwall.
So let me begin this post by my first ever experience of culture shock. I had been in England for a few months, it was only my second month at school here and for some reason the classmates wouldn't believe I had come from abroad. One fine day the "class clown" came in all excited and pleased. The reason was that his mum was getting married. She had been on holiday with her friends in Tuscany where she met the man of her dreams at the age of 45, called her "civil partner" to announce the end of their companionship and her decision to settle with this new man in Italy. For reasons I still don't understand, her (then) partner was overjoyed, decided to go ahead to help with the wedding preparations and their two sons (one 16 and the other 13) would follow a little later before the wedding day. Bearing in mind I had never seen a divorced couple until then, this came as a huge culture shock. I didn't know whether to congratulate him or express condolences. Perhaps this is quite uncommon by the usual standards here, but nonetheless, more of a shock for me than it was for the others.
Having moved around so much though, I'd rather be on the receiving end of culture shock and continue with this almost nomadic lifestyle than be stuck in one place all my life. Even imagining living in the same house, forget the same town, is a nightmare for me. Now this would be one culture shock I wouldn't want to experience!
6 comments:
Dear Rohit,
Please forgive me! You've visited my blog and left wonderful comments and I'm only just realizing that I've not yet visited your blog. I'm so sorry. Or maybe I have but it slipped my mind. I was inactive in the LBC for about a month.
I'll be back later to read and comment on your post.
Maria
You know, I have to agree with you that culture shock isn't such a bad thing. You do eventually get over it, and then you have a new wonderful culture to enjoy!
Yes, that divorce/partnership situation could have been a shock for someone from Maharashtra landing up in the UK to see and hear it being discussed so casually. Many other topics that we tend to hide under wraps are openly discussed in other societies and when I was a new traveler, such discussions used to shock/amaze me too.
As you know, divorce here in the states seems to be a way of life. While still a teacher, I was amused as many of students sorted out their holidays with different sets of parents and grandparents. They actually were scheduled in and many travelled by plane to more than two or three places over the long summer break.
@Gaelika/Maria: No problem, you can take your time :) I shall look forward to your comments.
@Delirious: Absolutely and I for one have got addicted to culture shocks..and its the same feeling that adrenaline junkies get I suppose if I had to stretch it completely!
@Sir Ramana: It sure was, but more than divorce it was the casual way in which everyone was reacting that struck me the most. That was more shocking than anything else.
@Maria: Sadly this problem is spreading across the world like a virus, even in cultures where it is still quite an alien concept. Can anybody stop this though, that's my question..
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