Reverse Culture Shock

On March 17th, after a two-hour flight, five-hour layover and a second nine-hour flight, I arrived in Washington, DC. No worries, I have not decided to suddenly leave Bulgaria :); I am here for two weeks to attend a friend's civil marriage and see friends and wander around the rest of the time. I was looking forward to visiting. Although I can't say that I have really missed the US, a feeling of nostalgia had begun building up over the past few months. However, almost as soon as I landed and overheard a few conversations in which "like" and "you know" were the most frequently used expressions, the nostalgia began to evaporate. Don't get me wrong. There are many things I love about the States--from the diversity of people to the abundance of all sorts of international cuisine, to the amazing landscape in some areas and the easy-goingness of most Americans when it comes to meeting new people. But, as chance would have it, even after only 6 months in Bulgaria, I was suffering from culture shock.

Everything seemed extremely BIG first of all--cars, buildings, roads, even the people, unfortunately. I also noticed some permanent level of stress.... at least in DC, even as I am on vacation here. Life seems more hectic and stressful to some extent. Case in point: I had sent an email out to friends and acquaintances here to get us all together at a bar on Tuesday night starting at 9 pm. Most of my non-Bulgarian friends told me they couldn't make it at 9 pm on a work day... that it was too late in the night for them (?!?!?!?) I was slightly confused. Needless to say, in Bulgaria people have no problem with going out any day of the week at almost any time of the evening. Just a difference that became apparent right away. People are too busy here... mostly with their jobs, and I can't get used to this after I started appreciating the fact that at home people really care about protecting their personal life and time.

A few other things that seemed odd to me were: 1) the large throngs of tourists wearing their tourist uniforms (khakis and white sneakers) getting on and off the metro in DC, 2) the overwhelming variety of products to choose from (whether food items at the supermarket or shampoo at the pharmacy), 3) the over-friendliness or zealousness of waiters and waitresses (normal when tips are your primary source of income). There are probably things I am forgetting right now, but I will post them later if they come to me. For now, just wanted to put down my first impressions, before they too get lost as I adjust back to US reality.

Yesterday I arrived in New York City. I am not NYC's #1 fan, but I still feel a sense of awe and amazement every time I see the NYC skyline at night... it always takes my breath away, and last night was no exception.