dream out loud

According to Wikipedia, Reverse Culture Shock (a.k.a. “Re-entry Shock”, or “own culture shock”) may take place — returning to one’s home culture after growing accustomed to a new one can produce the same effects as culture shock. This results from the psychosomatic and psychological consequences of the readjustment process to the primary culture. The affected person often finds this more surprising and difficult to deal with than the original culture shock.

I have only been home less than a week but I still feel like everything is in slow motion and all a big blur. Difficult to describe, but another web site lists:

• Restlessness, rootlessness
• Reverse homesickness-missing people and places from abroad
• Boredom, insecurity, uncertainty, confusion, frustration
• Need for excessive sleep
• Change in goals or priorities
• Feelings of alienation or withdrawal
• Negativity towards American behavior
• Feelings of resistance toward family and friends

And there I thought I was just jetlagged, but I’m feeling some or a combination of those things. Mainly I’ve noticed how I feel like I don’t belong anywhere, sort of homeless. One of the situations that is jarring these feelings further is that many of my friends have moved or are moving out of NYC. By the time I visit next summer, it will be completely different. A really funny thing that happened to me was that while shopping, I looked at a price tag in US dollars and mentally converted it into its RMB value!

Here is the plan, hope to see you!

In NY/NJ until about July 8 or 9
Arrive in Toronto
Fly to Newark on July 19.
Fly to Oakland on July 27
Fly to Guangzhou, China on July 31
Arrive in Guangzhou on August 2

Since I’ve lived in Guangzhou (only four months) there have been major transformations. All for the… Asian Games. We have become accustomed to explaining every mystery in the city with “must be because of the Asian Games.” Some are quite noticeable changes – the TV tower, demolished old architecture, extension of the subway to the airport, the list goes on.

Certainly the city looks better than when I arrived and when I visited in January or April. Sounds like it was quite different here a year ago. I found an old article on the how the San Francisco based architects designed many of the transformations. In it, Guangzhou is billed as the third largest city in China (it doesn’t say, but I assume after Beijing and Shanghai) and a sustainable and livable city.

In more “news I’m forgetting to update you all on,” all my summer flights have been booked.

Shanghai to San Francisco: June 26

San Francisco to Toronto: June 30

Toronto to New York: July 5

Newark to Guangzhou via Chicago and Seoul: July 24.

Hope to see you this summer!!