Reverse Culture Shock

Reverse culture shock refers to the difficulty missionaries have returning to their home culture after living and serving in a foreign land. Many say that reverse culture shock is worse than the original shock of moving to the mission field. I thought I'd share a few manifestations of reverse culture shock that we have seen or experienced.

You know you're in reverse culture shock when

1. You begin every other sentence with "In Africa we did it this way" even though you notice people's eyes glazing over.

2. You feel like the Beverly Hillbillies when you walk into the Apple Store and see all the newest computer technology. It's all you can do to keep from saying, "GOLLY, look at that!"

3. You get in on the wrong side of the car--often. And you just hope you will remember which side of the road to drive on.

4. You watch TV shows, amazed that people can actually say and do those things on TV now.

5. You can't get enough hamburgers or good Mexican food.

6. You feel guilty when you take a shower because you're using more than a bucket of water.

7. You wonder what your Zambian friends are doing--all the time.

8. You can't understand ANY of the Lost finale.

9. You try not to say, "But there are starving children in Africa" when you see people wasting money (in your opinion anyway).

10. You can't get over how fast your internet works.