Back in September last year I recall being promised that we WILL experience culture shock - not only going overseas, but coming home again. Now, as of yet I wouldn't say I have had that much culture shock coming back to the UK. However I have noticed certain things as if they were slightly more amplified than usual. This post will discuss the culture bump I have had.
Temptation
The one that is eating away at my bank balance is the variety and temptation. I have gone a little trigger happy with my debit card thanks to how much there is in the shops and how easy it is to purchase it. Given the following statements,
[1] Anytime, any day there is a shop open with in walking distance.
[2] Usually I don't know what I want but I know if there is somewhere open there will be something I want in it.
we can conclude there is always something I want readily available. I bought spicy, crispy seaweed the other day. Usually the culprits are crisps, fizzy drinks, pasties, chocolate, meal deals, or anything with £1 written on it's price tag.
Buying things should be made more difficult. This is how people get poor. Maybe a moat around the sandwich fridge with Tesco employees pouring boiling oil from above would deter me - it would also discourage obesity. The bigger targets would be easier to hit.
Computers
When being away from electricity people often say "Wow, life is much better without [insert social network here] - I'll never use it again..." Wrong! You will use it again. The internet is such an incredible tool. It makes communicating, researching and all sorts a lot easier and my days at work are orientated around computers. In Namibia we'd have to walk in the sweltering heat for several miles to ask someone if we can borrow their hammer.
My spare time is much different - I have started using the internet to learn the odd skill...even more so than before I left. I learnt braille the other night (I can now see how different the buttons on ticket machines are to the blind); another evening I researched many different paradoxes; my understanding of the words 'lie' and 'lay' is very deep; and I never realised how many approaches to solve a sudoku there were.
All of this thanks to computers! Yes, I can live without them, but when they are there I will use them - A LOT.
Manners
Finally, I will mention manners. Of course etiquette is a massive thing in cultures. A way to sum up the difference between Namibia and UK is in Namibia you are polite to strangers and rude to your friends. Here you are rude to strangers and polite to your friends. The reason I say this is because the more you get to know someone in Namibia, the more 'comfortable' you are with eachother - which means taking stuff or demanding one another to move is more acceptable, apparently. Here we don't give time to every stranger that walks by to greet them but we will to our friends.
There are exceptions to this rule. I noticed our community welcome in Namibia people sat and waited for the speaking. Here everyone 'mingled'. Us Brits seem to love small talk but just only once we have stopped moving. In the streets or on the train you rarely speak to a stranger. Hell, I even pretend I haven't see my friends sometimes so I don't slow down getting to my destination. But once we are in one place anything but silence is what we like.
Finally, finally, saying sorry. Straight away I found myself apologising too much. I said sorry for handing back some equipment I had borrowed. If someone walks into me - I'll apologise.
Crisis Members' Newsletter - 21/02/12
Here is a page from the Members' Newsletter from Crisis. It is a piece I wrote for it about our time in Namibia. Also bottom left is a poem done by one of the members who attends creative writing sessions. I have removed their name for confidentiality reasons.
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