Job Discussion Forums

[Lhenderson]

I'm orginaly from an economically depressed region which I'm proud of and am proud of my working class roots.

Still, its tough going back. Real cultural shock.

I can buy some stuff for my mum and try to help out my family. But it really brings me down and I don't stay for long.

EFL gave me a third chance at life and I have to stay positive and think of the future, not things before.

[steki47]

Great topic and one that I am pondering a bunch myself. I stayed in Japan for 5 years straight without returning "home" at all. First 3 years were such a blast, I didn't think about the US much. 4 year, I booked hotels and flights, but my job (Nova) went bankrupt, so I scratched that. Finally, after 5 years, I closed up shop in Japan and came back to the US. Ugly break-up, family health problems, etc.
After a month of seeing friends and family, I broke down over how much I missed Japan. Sucky job market here didn't encourage me much, either. So now I am emailing resumes and want to go back to Japan.
My advice to those going through reverse culture shock is to savor people and things at home. Visit friends and family. Go through baby pictures. I have asked my parents about all sorts of silly things from my childhood, re-read the James Herriott books (a favorite of my parents when I was 8a child), gone shopping with my 83-year old grandfather, etc.
I realize that talking about Japan all the time is obnoxious for Americans around me who really don't know or care about Japan. I have tried to restrict my Japan discussions to my parents and a few people who directly ask me about Japan. In the meantime, I am posting on expat forums.
My other pice of advice is, if you go back overseas, stay in touch with people and things from home. My last year in Japan, I had almost no contact with other Westerners. Even as a Japanophile geek, I found it lonely and frustrating. Like a Cassandra complex, nobody around cound understand me completely. This time around I will of course continue to study Japanese and do martial arts, but I will also make sure to read the New York Times and have a beer with Aussie friends a couple times a month. And, more importantly, try to make it home every other Christmas or so.
This topic has really grabbed me on a personal and intellectual level. To be in between two cultures by choice can be a strange feeling indeed. An interracial child is "mixed" at birth, whereas we choose to go back and forth and become "cultural mulattoes".
In conclusion, thanks for posting this thread. Great topic and it has given me much food for thought. For those suffering any depression from this, I know the feeling very well and hope you can find some balance or "inner peace", if you will.

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

[steki47]

...whereas we choose to go back and forth and become "cultural mulattoes".

Ahem, I believe that the current PC term is "cultural people of color"...jes' take it from this, obviously, transparant white boy!
[/quote]

NCTBA[/quote]

I chose the word mulatto because of the book, "The Mulatto Experience", which describes the struggles of those who could move in both black and white societies of the 19th century but were never totally accepted in either. Blacks thought they were "too white"; whites thought they were "too black."
I caught some of that myself. Some gaijin called me an Uncle Tom and said I was "too Japanese." Japanese, on the other hand, would shake their heads mutter, "Well, he is an American..." when I would commit some gaijin faux pas.
But, yes, I am very much a white guy. Who loves Japan. I typically sing country on karaoke night!

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

And, I, sir, was referring to the runaway PC-ism that has taken over my country! When has "White" (actually, I'm more pink than "white"...my T-shirt is "white")...NOT been a colo(u)r. I started getting sick of being called down for calling *lack folk "*lack" back in the early 90's...I gave up tryin' to keep up with the trends!

NCTBA...or a very old person who DOESN'T have a color!

[JZer]

[SueH]

An interesting thread. I don't recall anybody making the distinction of how far you go from home, although perhaps this is implicit in the experience of those who don't go home for a number of years.

Moving as I have within Europe doesn't really have much on impact. It's a lot easier to visit home and keep in contact with family and friends. Having the same script is also a tremendous help as even in languages you don't know you can usually work out what a sign is saying. Just not being able to read any of the signs when you arrive in a place with a different script can be unnerving.

[gaijinalways]

Sueh posted

[SueH]

[gaijinalways]

Very true, I'm not disagreeing with what you say, I'm just saying I don't pay much attention to signs all the time even when I can read them. But it is nice to have the option, hence why I should study more.

[steki47]