Reverse Culture Shock

[E1am]

As some of you know I stopped in Dallas for a few days on my way back from Brazil. It was my first time in Texas, BTW. I definitely felt some reverse culture shock there. Walking into Best Buy after two and a half years of no megastores was sensory overload. I actually did feel very uncomfortable. But the worst thing of all were the obscene portions of food at the restaurants. I litterally felt disgusted when brought a plate about 2 feet across piled high with fattening food. I can't eat like that anymore and was suprised that anyone actually could. I can't wait to see how things hit me when I come home this summer.

[SweepEm]

E,
talking about culture shock,
how long did it take you to feel comfortable in Japan, being the Gai-jin; the foreigner?

Have you ever encounted any type of bigotry or prejudice?

Just curious.

[hounddog]

I know what you're saying, but if all the fattys here were all of a sudden served smaller portions they would just eat 2 plates of food instead of the one plate. Remember your other post about your drunken night of gluttony?
I don't think any other country that I have been to other than Canada piles on the food like they do here in the US. Look at Stuss for god's sake. He could use a stint abroad.
-hounddog

[E1am]

Sweep,

I've never really felt uncomfortable in Japan. I've encounter some bigotry but the Japanese tend to be more racist against other asians than white or black people. Iranians have an especially bad reputation here. I got a lot more sh!t from blacks and Puerto Ricans when I lived in NY than I get in Japan. Occasionally I've had drunks yell "You're in Japan, speak Japanese." One time In Osaka a guy wouldn't let me check into a hotel room with an Asian American girl. He claimed there were no rooms even though the sign out front said there were. The really annoying part was we weren't even a couple. Why the hell else would I have asked for a room with two beds. At that time my Japanese wasn't good enough to argue with him though.

hounddog,

I should have mentioned that much of that crap I ate was shared with a 6'8" 300 lbs English guy.

[hounddog]

so i guess you just ate crumbs and sipped beer

[aseepish]

North American portions are insanely huge! I think I've lost close to 40 pounds/25 kg over the past year I've lived in Singapore. This is good because it was weight I needed to lose.

Singapore is great because there is a mix of Chinese, Malays, Indians, Europeans, and others. There isn't much overt descrimination.

-Tony

[Survivor]

Yeah, I know what you guys mean about the huge food portions in the States. When I moved to Europe I was really pissed for awhile about the "pansy" portions they have in most of the restaurants. Then I just started eating less, especially when the training schedule was out of whack for a few days. I swear if you stop eating before you feel stuffed you'll get used to it; most of us don't train all day like Frank Shamrock and *have* to eat like horses anyway.


The thing about living away from home is that you look at it through the eyes of the people you're living with. The Europeans were telling me about various cultural statistics in the US, including the one about Americans being so fat. I acknowledged that there were definitely some criminally huge porkers, but swore up and down that they were the ones single-handedly dragging the nations's average up.

I really got freaked out was when I went back for Christmas after being away for a year and a half. My first thought in the airport was "Geeez!! Where did all of these fat porkers come from? ***THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!***" Same thing in the mall, in church, at the neighbors.... I thanked my lucky stars that it was winter and they were all bundled up.... I guess when I was still living in the States I was hanging around hardcore atheletes or people who weren't hard-core but definitely determined to stay thin, and just blinded myself to the HERDS because they weren't in my life.

I really think the easiest way to learn about home sometimes is to leave it for awhile...

[hounddog]

yes, i agree. the best way to gain some perspective is to get the hell out of your environment. traveling opens your eyes to many a thing and gives you new perspective of "home."

[ArAi]

aseepish...
do you train bjj there in Singapore. I've got someone there who trains if you want to train.

email me azrai@grapplers.com

[Dio]

I think America is getting fatter every year. I can remember when i was a kid there were rarely fat kids. Nowdays everyother kid is fat. The kids don't run around and play tag and capture the flag and ride bikes like they used to. They are all sitting on their asses playing strategy card games and video games. And of course they must be eating too many potato chips too.

People are becoming fat at younger ages. Also i've noticed that all the girls are fat. I estimate that 90% of the girls are fat gorillas.

[SweepEm]

I grew up here in Southen California so this is my long time turf.
But I hadn't traveled much until I got married.
I had to go and visit the in-laws in the Midwest.

Now this is culture shock.............
I was sitting on a bench in the local mall watching people go by in this small town Midwest mall.
It hit me like a punch between the eyes, every third person was not just heavy, but obese.......
Looking at the weather in the Midwest, it's very cold in the Winter, heavy coat weather.
Not like sunny Southern California where at any time of the year, the sun should be out and many times, it's warm enough to go to the beach and hang.
The menus on most restaurants are meat and potatoes, lots of heavy foods.
No tofu or veggie burgers here.
No babes rollerblading downthe street, no joggers trying to kee the cardio up, not many gyms to speak of.
Everyone hides indoors when the weather is not good.
They bundle up when they go out, so no need to keep the body shape.

But you look at the warm weather cities, the people look much better and keep in shape much more.
Life is good scenary here in Southern California..........

[E1am]

I've dropped about 20 kg since moving to Japan myself. I was hungry for my first few months here. But I got used to it and I'm glad I can't eat like I did before. The Japanese diet is changing and it's getting less and less healthy. I see a lot of little kids that are real porkers. I guess the bright side of that is they'll have a larger pool of potention sumo wrestlers to choose from . But the amount of obese people in the US is shocking if you've been away for awhile.

[Americana]

I was hungry all the time in Japan. I'd go out for a meal with clients and be like WTF afterwards. I'd go back to the hotel and get room service and eat again. Very interesting place. I traveled all over the world but never felt like such a foreigner.

[Lithp]

I experienced the same thing SweepEm did. I've travelled to many different places, but my first time in Green Bay shocked me. Exactly as described above.

[Nthman]

I had the same experience..even though I am from Minnesota heh went on a 2 week road/camping trip out west ending up in cali 2 years ago on the way back we stopped in Iowa for some food it was pretty nuts how different the people were, pale out of shape and sucking down the grease like there was no tomorrow..I need to move.....you guys have power yet? heh