One symptom of culture shock is the tendency to compare the best of your home culture to the worst of what you find in your new home. As an antidote against that, I thought I’d try an exercise of taking a more realistic view – or even one more weighted on the other side. So, here it goes…
- The kitchen sink: Here there is a ledge that prevents you from standing at the sink – you more have to bend over to it, or put your foot up on the ledge, which is better for your back. VS: In LA, we had a handicapped equipped apartment, so our sink was really low and I chose to do squats at the sink to save my lower back and feel like I was getting something out of it (muscle workout!) besides bitterness.
- Here, the faucet is too low to rinse large bowls pots. VS: In LA the faucet was too high for the sink and splashed excessive amounts of water around the kitchen.
- The washing machine leaks across the bathroom floor, and it prevents the bathroom door from closing. VS: We had no washer in LA, so no complaints here!
- Here the internet is in and out on a constant basis. Though we have Ethernet cables at home and wireless at school, it is often as slow as or slower than dialup. VS: We only had dialup at home in LA, and it was always very slow.
- We have some cockroaches sometimes in our kitchen (though in the past few hot days I’ve seen four big-mama roaches!). VS: In LA we had an infestation that was near maddening.
- When the reflective windows are shut the light is quite low inside. VS: We had minimal natural light in LA, and used electric lights almost throughout the day.
- When sandstorms come we get dustpan full loads of sand in our apartment. VS: Our apartment in LA had a lot of dust. But here, we have a Ghanaian woman who comes once a week to help us clean!
- The limey-pea green paint with orange curtains and light fixture in our bedroom are 'not peaceful.' VS: In LA our bedroom was in our dining room, living room and study (we lived in a studio!) – and we had no overhead light fixture, and no colors.
- It's surprisingly hard to stay warm in the winter with tile floors and high ceilings. VS: LA where we were known to wear hats, scarfs and gloves inside our apartment - while roasting in the summers with no AC. Here we have heat - PLUS Air Conditioning. We do try to conserve, but when the temps get into the 120F....! Now that it's hot, the high celings and tile floors are paying off.
Of course, we can’t really do the “Pollyanna” response to everything that’s difficult. We did fix the worst problems: Within my first 2 weeks the gas leak was solved, after 1 1/2 months our toilet flushes again, and even the screeching window hinges have cardboard jammed into them so they've been rendered silent. However, there are some less dramatic issues that are still somewhat bothersome to me (this is my list, not necessarily Jared's):
- The kitchen sink faucet “travels”…as in, it won’t stay poised over the sink to rinse dishes or fill pots. I know I’ve mentioned the sink a lot here – I think maybe I should just replace the faucet and move on!
- As a good friend commented recently, sometimes I feel like an over-embroidered potato sack. I’m getting tired of the types of fashions I’m socially obliged to wear here. First, I need to be sensitive in making sure I’m not showing skin. I think that will get more difficult the hotter the weather gets. But secondly, the clothing culture for women is quite high here. To walk out in Rainbows (flipflops), jeans and a shirt (California style), would be frumpy and shameful. As a very young women, both these issues are heightened for me. I get some relief at home, but windows and balconies mean that I’m also on display here. Sometimes I close all the shutters or curtains and wear what I want!
- Really, the affective aspectives of the apartment aren't anywhere within reach of our cultural definitions of what's pleasant to look at/be in. In short, it doesn't feel very calming and peaceful with oranges, pea-greens, pinks and bright blues. It's the visual equivalent of scraping your fingernails down a chalk board.
So, I'm going to look at these three issues and see what adjustments might be possible. I'll let you know...
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