The title says it all — I suffered culture shock. So let’s back-track a bit. I’m a Summer Intern in Tokyo this summer. It’s not my first time interning abroad, but it is my first time in Asia. I interned in London last summer, so I didn’t have to worry about culture shock (to the same degree as here, anyway). England and the US are fairly similar in culture, to the point where I’d have to look closely at times to find differences in the culture. Tokyo has definitely proven to be a different experience.
It took me a few days to realize it, but those were a hard few days. It’s not the most glamorous subject and I’m probably about to write multiple posts about this, but I want to be clear, and thorough about this. I feel like some people talk about the concept of culture shock, but, at least for me, no one really impressed how it can emotionally drain you. Culture shock slowly sneaks up on you…and then it hits you right in the face. It wasn’t until I almost (almost, but not fully) regretted my decision to come to Tokyo that I really accepted that I was experiencing culture shock. If you’re reading this and are scared about culture shock, don’t be. It’s normal and it just takes a few days to really acclimate yourself–a couple days or weeks to really start loving where you are.
This is especially true for people interning. You’re going to spend 140 hours surrounded by people from a culture that’s different to yours, and it’s hard. But you know what? That’s good. You’re really experiencing culture. You’re not visiting, you’re living. That’s why you’re here. That’s what will make your experience that much more valuable to you when you return home (I may have repeated this to myself a few times until I finally came to believe it).
So, once you get here, be ready for it. Don’t just ask people what’s awesome about Tokyo (because trust me, there is a lot). Ask about the hardships, and ask how to get through them. If you don’t really know anyone who went abroad yet, and you’re interested in the perspectives of this random blogger who you’ve stumbled upon, then here we go. Since this is going to be a somewhat long story, I’m going to split this post in 2 parts: 1) “So What” and 2) “Getting through It.” This is obviously part 1:
I’m in Tokyo, I’m a student and an intern, and here is my culture shock story (cue the Law and Order *dun dun*).
So What?
Coming to Japan, I thought I was somehow immune to culture shock. Well, really, I hoped. I thought not experiencing culture shock somehow meant a person was a good “World Traveler”. News flash: it doesn’t. Culture Shock can come from the smallest things. For me, it was how quiet it seems to be here. The commute, the streets, my workplace. Everything just seemed so quiet. For others, it might be the language barrier (I’m getting remarkably good at pointing and interpreting body language), or maybe its the commute to work (I spent 6 minutes this morning not being able to move my arms on the train, but that’s a subject for another blog post).
So I went through a few days in denial, just thinking I was a little homesick and it would go away. If you find yourself almost resenting a certain thing in your new host country, or you find yourself constantly comparing it to another country you’ve been to or back home, stop yourself. Really take a step back and ask yourself, truthfully and repeatedly: “is this culture shock?” Once you find the answer (and really, if you’re asking, the answer is probably “yes”), it suddenly becomes a lot easier to move on. And once you move on, you’ll really start realizing how freaking cool it is to be here. Because trust me, it is!
