Culture Shock

“Culture Shock, the big drama of the year.”

Inggita Kanyaka Pramayudyani - 12206060

Airplanes always cause some sort of fear to some people. Most are afraid of the mechanism of flying itself, knowing that if anything happens to the plane, your life would be in danger too. Some others, however, are afraid or anxious of what awaits them in the end of the flight. Airplanes are, in our current society, a prominent bridge between countries and cultures. In my own perception, airplanes to me are like a multi-dimensional transporter of some sort, a tube that takes you back and forth between two different places and also, two different lives. I have lived in 4 different countries so far, and each trip to and from home always feels the same way, there is always a feeling of numbness to it as if I am ripped abruptly from one life and am forced to jump into another different life filled with different people, activities, language, environment and cultural behaviors. For some reason, this never occurs on short trips or vacations where in it there is only euphoria and excitement. Airplanes are thus in my opinion, the one to blame for most culture shocks happening all over the world.

I had lived in two western oriented countries in my younger and teenage years, and it highly affected my way of thinking. I think one of the most interesting culture shock I’ve experienced happened when I was 7 years old, lost and confused in Indonesia, after spending 2.5 years in the United States. The school I moved into was a muslim oriented posh-elitist private school and I remember how cruel the kids were about materialistic things. The richest kids were the most popular and everyone would stay away from other kids who had a cheap backpack or an old car. They also had these clicks, in the 3rd year of elementary school and it was vicious. I was so confused at how 7-8year old girls could b*tch (pardon the language) so much about their own friends and then act like nothing happened in front of them. I was so upset at the social system at that school until I refused to go to school on some days and my parents got really worried. In the end my Dad got a job placement in another city so I moved out of that school and was much happier about the new school I went to. For some reason though I realized that I was never good at fitting in young Indonesian social systems. Perhaps its because I am too straightforward and honest about everything, unlike the norms in that country. Until I was in my first year of highschool in Jakarta a friend of mine said that I am too “western” to be fully understood by most of my schoolmates. However as soon as I moved to New Zealand for the rest of my highschool years I felt like I fit in easily and I met these amazing people who stay as my closest and true-est friends until now. I suppose children who move around different countries during their growth are affected by this sort of culture shock that lasted quite a long time.

The second story would be that of my friend Mila, who experiened culture shock in Japan. Mila has studied in Japan when she was very young and then moved back to Indonesia until she was in highschool. Missing her childhood memories in Japan she took the chance to do an exchange program with AFS and did special request to be placed at the city she lived in when she was young. They granted her wish and she was very happy and excited about meeting some old friends she kept contact with through all the years. As a way to express her happiness and excitement as soon as she met them again she ran and hugged them. However they became very uncomfortable and awkward at that sudden rush of action and slowly moved away, while giving her awkward looks. Mila was hurt and confused thinking that her friends don’t love her as much anymore and she felt