Do you get culture shock coming back to America?

[Johnny]

Do any of u get culture shock coming back to america from the country u vist or live in and I noticed how rude and miserable everone in america is in then that of the country you just came from were everbody happy and nice to you. For me am Hispanic and evertime I vist family and friends in Latin America everone happy having fun and the women always respect the husband and they are very family oriented something in which you dont see in the states. i been to couple different latin country and when u get out of the airport u noticed all the beautiful women around you all dress nicely like European fashion model but with latin flavor and all the men are dress nice and groom even the poor look nice and when you driving into the city from the airport you see all the night life and bar open all night long everday with merengue salsa reaggton and cumbia blasting in ever street corner you see sexy women riding there horse on the main street with there cowboy hat and boot and there 100s of street food sellers in ever corner of the street selling good ass food and you can smell the food from far while driving also seeing the old men in the busy highway trying to sell you water fruits or flowers and all the stray dogs running around and everweek there always a festival at the plaza were ever town people gather around and party and have culture costumes and floats and seeing all the nice 17th century style spanish architect around you and you dont have to travel far just walk to store to store since everthing is in the plaza and close to each other it prove how america is boring compare to other country.

typical life in america working all day to give your paycheck to your wife and for the weekends is going shoping at walmart or some boring mall which you only see is suck up rich white girls soccer moms with min van suvs and ghetto hoodrats wearing there pajamas in public and the architect suck all the same boring stright row suburbia homes with fastfood built in ever corner and strip malls with a gas station in the middle and a walmart.


explain your story about how u feel coming back to the america from the country u love and vist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwEC3N8J ... sults_main
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prxGiEHvFPY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG2qnNACRxM crazy things with the ride

This is what i see and am talking about

[abcdavid01]

http://therightstuff.biz/2012/12/23/autophagy/

Drive through most any town in the United States, and you will notice a recurrent theme, our societal leitmotif: at least one street (usually several) blighted by, sacrificed to, consumptive postmodernism.

Large and gaudy signs, unimaginative architecture, mass-produced imagery, welfare disguised as diversionary hourly make-work (Now hiring 4th assistant manager!). All of this designed for the singular, mechanical, amoral purpose of pandering already obsolescent shit to an ever lower common denominator.

...

Technology has indeed been a boon for the degenerates who have come to rule the roost; the printing presses and iPads have done much to prevent what has historically happened to every nation that reached this existential crisis point before. Unfortunately, the West has also reached a unique condition in human history: no civilization has ever before been so materialistically wealthy and spiritually destitute. The most savage and isolated Amazonian aborigine has a deeper connection with his superego than your typical American Ph.D.

[abcdavid01]

Junkanoo 2008 in the Bahamas. I saw this when I was there. What the f**k do we have? Macy's Day Parade? Commercial orgy.

[buddy77]

Johnny:

In a different thread i a a short list of how robotic and boring it is in America. Which i truly dredd.

The things you described is a polar opposite and looks really awesome! Can you tell us in which Latin country you experienced all this excitement?

[Robert77]

I get depressed, as soon as the plane hits ground my mind goes like.... (f**k here we go again, all these f***ing self righteous assholes.... for the next weeks it's gonna be no public transportation or walking anywhere because it's all suburbias, no one on the street, fake bitches and brain dead people consuming because that's all they know!)

I have to prepare myself mentally and I take it one day at a time until it's time to go..... and then I leave without remorse

the only things I miss about america it's my parents who are in their 70's and mexican food.

[xiongmao]

When I go back to the UK in July after being in Asia since mid-February my brain is gonna fall out.

Yeah, and people will wonder why I'm wearing my Winter clothes in July. Lol.

Two weeks in, I am not homesick at all. The body and mind adapt quite quickly to the new norm.

[***JP***]

I experienced my culture shock the minute I was at the gate in the airport. the badly dressed women. The guys who think they are so much better than anyone and of course my welcome home mat, being sent to secondary inspection in customs just because I was away for too long. The worst part is that right now I feel like a complete foreigner here in America and I honestly don't see myself having anything in common with anyone anymore. Worst part is that even though I've been back home for 3 weeks I'm not adjusting at all.

[MrJowee]

In the context of the appearance and behavior of the people, I found it strange that I wasn't as shocked going to another country (Vietnam) as I was coming back to the US. "Why is everyone so fat? Why doesn't anyone even put forth an effort into their appearance? Why does everyone seem so unhappy? Why are the stewardesses so old? Does everyone in that parking lot really need a vehicle that large?"

[have2fly]

So I recently got back to the U.S. after spending months in ex-USSR again. I just feel every month I spend in ex-USSR countries has an immense value for my life. American life just CANNOT replace that amazing life experience!

Things I noticed stepping off the plane:

1. LOUD UGLY WOMEN. My God! There was a huge line at the customs and guess how many young good looking women did I see? One! She was a black American girl, more or less well dressed. Yeah, there was about 200 high school kids in the line around 16-17 years old, lots of young girls. How many of this girls were good looking? ZERO! And try going to Ukrainian high school, how many good looking girls will you see? Around 80%!

Why the f**k all American girls wear messy clothes, have their ugly greasy ponytails and sloppy faces with acne and absolutely no make-up? Just looking at them makes me wanna puke. They act like they own the world, their faces ARE SO DAMN stupid though!

2. LONELY PEOPLE. You can just see in people's faces that they are alone in the crowd. I NEVER FELT that in Russia/Ukraine/CIS countries at all! Even when you are in the city, you know strangers are available for a contact, almost ALL of them are virtually available.

3. NO ONE MAKES EYE CONTACT. Girls in Russia/Ukraine make eye contact ALL THE TIME. They also look at you as a value material, meaning they evaluate you as a possible boyfriend - you CAN READ it in their eyes! AND I LOVED IT! I felt like a pretty girl in America! That's probably how good looking women feel in America, wanted by everyone all the time, I have to say I love it and want to have it in my life all the time.

4. TERRIBLE FOOD. And I mean absolutely HORRIBLE! Driving around suburbs all I see is McDonald's, Burger King and if you get lucky, some Asian buffet which also makes their food from processed frozen cheap crap. Ukraine has just a few chain restaurants, other cafes and restaurants are locally owned and cook from scratch and cost is very cheap! I just loved it there.

5. f***ed UP PERSONALITIES. EVERY AMERICAN IS f***ed UP ON THE OUTSIDE! Every person I look at in the U.S. cannot be described as "normal". WTF is going on? Guys wear skinny jeans, act "hipster-gay-cool" wanna be and that's considered "cultured"???!!! What's up with wearing brown jackets and purple pants? I mean, who the f**k does this anywhere in the world??? So f***ed up!!! Girls wear baggy pants, sweatshirts and ugly plain flip flops or slippers! Where is the dress shoes??? HELLO! When I was flying out of Ukraine most girls were fixing their hair and putting on make-up before leaving the plane, so they look good for the crowd. EVERY single one of them was wearing dress shoes, most on high heels. NOW THAT'S what I am talking about!

6. TEXTING, iPods, E-Books. EVERYONE HAS ONE! These people have no life, I swear! Everyone is reading, clicking their iPod or texting on their smartphone. NEVER SEEING THIS in Russia/Ukraine/CIS! Even I look weird when I text for a long time while I am in the bar/club/restaurant abroad, people take it offensive and blame me for not caring for them. Isn't that true? So I was not texting much when I was in the U.S. and almost never browsed the internet on my phone, but now since I did not do it for so long coming back to the U.S. seeing that is just SHOCKING. People have no life besides their bubble on the internet.

7. WHY WHY WHY DID I COME BACK??? I was living in the dream, now I am in the nightmare once again... But it is all good, I am going back soon. I am not staying here, NO WAY!

[***JP***]

So I recently got back to the U.S. after spending months in ex-USSR again. I just feel every month I spend in ex-USSR countries has an immense value for my life. American life just CANNOT replace that amazing life experience!

Things I noticed stepping off the plane:

1. LOUD UGLY WOMEN. My God! There was a huge line at the customs and guess how many young good looking women did I see? One! She was a black American girl, more or less well dressed. Yeah, there was about 200 high school kids in the line around 16-17 years old, lots of young girls. How many of this girls were good looking? ZERO! And try going to Ukrainian high school, how many good looking girls will you see? Around 80%!

Why the f**k all American girls wear messy clothes, have their ugly greasy ponytails and sloppy faces with acne and absolutely no make-up? Just looking at them makes me wanna puke. They act like they own the world, their faces ARE SO DAMN stupid though!

2. LONELY PEOPLE. You can just see in people's faces that they are alone in the crowd. I NEVER FELT that in Russia/Ukraine/CIS countries at all! Even when you are in the city, you know strangers are available for a contact, almost ALL of them are virtually available.

3. NO ONE MAKES EYE CONTACT. Girls in Russia/Ukraine make eye contact ALL THE TIME. They also look at you as a value material, meaning they evaluate you as a possible boyfriend - you CAN READ it in their eyes! AND I LOVED IT! I felt like a pretty girl in America! That's probably how good looking women feel in America, wanted by everyone all the time, I have to say I love it and want to have it in my life all the time.

4. TERRIBLE FOOD. And I mean absolutely HORRIBLE! Driving around suburbs all I see is McDonald's, Burger King and if you get lucky, some Asian buffet which also makes their food from processed frozen cheap crap. Ukraine has just a few chain restaurants, other cafes and restaurants are locally owned and cook from scratch and cost is very cheap! I just loved it there.

5. f***ed UP PERSONALITIES. EVERY AMERICAN IS f***ed UP ON THE OUTSIDE! Every person I look at in the U.S. cannot be described as "normal". WTF is going on? Guys wear skinny jeans, act "hipster-gay-cool" wanna be and that's considered "cultured"???!!! What's up with wearing brown jackets and purple pants? I mean, who the f**k does this anywhere in the world??? So f***ed up!!! Girls wear baggy pants, sweatshirts and ugly plain flip flops or slippers! Where is the dress shoes??? HELLO! When I was flying out of Ukraine most girls were fixing their hair and putting on make-up before leaving the plane, so they look good for the crowd. EVERY single one of them was wearing dress shoes, most on high heels. NOW THAT'S what I am talking about!

6. TEXTING, iPods, E-Books. EVERYONE HAS ONE! These people have no life, I swear! Everyone is reading, clicking their iPod or texting on their smartphone. NEVER SEEING THIS in Russia/Ukraine/CIS! Even I look weird when I text for a long time while I am in the bar/club/restaurant abroad, people take it offensive and blame me for not caring for them. Isn't that true? So I was not texting much when I was in the U.S. and almost never browsed the internet on my phone, but now since I did not do it for so long coming back to the U.S. seeing that is just SHOCKING. People have no life besides their bubble on the internet.

7. WHY WHY WHY DID I COME BACK??? I was living in the dream, now I am in the nightmare once again... But it is all good, I am going back soon. I am not staying here, NO WAY!

I ask myself the same question everyday on why oh why I'm back here? I honestly just can't stand it anymore. Even told my wife about how I feel here in america and she understands completely because she herself thinks america is a toxic society.

[ladislav]

Do keep in mind that the locals in the USA will not accept your reasoning if you make some social mistakes because of a culture shock. You can even get arrested if you start flirting with ladies and you can lose your job if you make a non PC comment about the protected groups. So, culture shock is a serious thing- be careful!

[gibraltar]

Yea it sucks so bad. The airport is the worst. When overseas, I am used to seeing mostly attractive women everywhere and men who know how to be men. They are easy to befriend and there is little hostile behavior.

The women are sexy and always looking for men, not like the "taken american whore."

Airports are the worst. Nothing tells more about a city or country than its airports.

When I take a flight back to my hometown, it is always 80% male!!!!!

What a sausagefest. Tons of manginas dressed in suits pretending to be important. They are miserable though and only have coffee and text messages to make them feel important.

The women are ugly, stuckup, and overweight. Nobody seems to care about nature and humanity. It's all about "getting yours" and "screwing over the next person."

Get out while you can!!!!!!!!!!!

[jamesbond]

Yea it sucks so bad. The airport is the worst. When overseas, I am used to seeing mostly attractive women everywhere and men who know how to be men. They are easy to befriend and there is little hostile behavior.

The women are sexy and always looking for men, not like the "taken american whore."

Airports are the worst. Nothing tells more about a city or country than its airports.

When I take a flight back to my hometown, it is always 80% male!!!!!

The women are ugly, stuckup, and overweight.

Get out while you can!!!!!!!!!!!

I like your phrase, the "taken American whore." Most women in America have boyfriends, including the whores. Hell, even a lot of the fat and ugly girls have boyfriends in the US.

Your right, the women in the US tend to be ugly, stuckup and overweight! What great traits for women to have, to be fat, ugly and overweight, not to mention unfeminine, angry and bitter!

[Everdred]

I just returned to Bangkok from a temporary visit back home in Little Rock. I stayed in Little Rock an entire month. I hadn't been home in almost 2.5 years prior to the visit, so as you can imagine, I have lots of observations. I'll try to point out the pluses and the minuses, but unsurprisingly I have far more minuses to discuss. I should start by saying after my visit back home, I have absolutely no desire to permanently relocate back to the USA.

First off, I felt very lonely and isolated being back home. It was nice to see family and old friends of course, but other than that, not much else felt good. I noticed a lot has changed in myself since moving abroad almost 4 years ago. This time when I was back in the USA, I felt like I was so much different from those around me, and I found it nearly impossible to connect with my fellow countrymen. Even though I hadn't been back home in years, it seemed like no one (with the exception of a few family members) was interested in hearing about my experiences abroad. I had lived in China 2.5 years, and Thailand 1 year, yet no one seemed to find that very interesting. I pretty much remained quiet throughout my stay because I knew if I talked about anything I had done over the last 4 years or so, the person listening would just say nothing and act awkward. I don't know about other Americans, but Arkansans are strongly disconnected from the outside world. Talk about a far away place like Asia and you can expect blank stares as if you were talking about going to another planet.

As I mentioned before, I found it very hard to connect with others while back home. The things I once found funny were no longer funny. The things I once found entertaining were no longer entertaining. The food I once liked I now no longer like. I had zero interest in hearing about the latest office politics. After experiencing the outside world for so long, I found it hard to like all these things again. It seemed like all the American humor I saw revolves around trashiness. All entertainment revolves around intoxication. All food revolves around unhealthy and unnatural ingredients. All my friends had to talk about were their boring jobs. It seems like almost none of them had done anything in the last 2.5 years. They weren't interested in any of my overseas experiences, and I certainly wasn't interested in hearing about their work lives. Sadly, I can't imagine my friendships with these people will last too much longer.

With the exception of material goods, everything seemed so expensive in America. Almost every meal I had exceeded $10 (plus tip). Going practically anywhere meant you had to drive a car, which certainly isn't cheap and is very inconvenient for an expat temporarily returning home. When I asked about how much people were paying for rent, they were usually paying 3-4 times what I pay in central Bangkok. But like I said, if one thing was cheap in America, it was material goods. Prices for name-brand items can be shockingly low, and stores like TJ Maxx, Ross, and Burlington Coat Factory have prices that would be impossible to find in Asia. That said, you can rest assured I stocked up on clothes and electronics while back home.

Another thing I noticed that I hadn't noticed before was how dull and grey everything is in Little Rock. Coming from a city like Bangkok, where vibrant colors are all around you (just take a look at the taxis), I couldn't help but notice how colorless everything was. This is one thing I disliked about China, grey and dull colors, but now I realize the USA (or at least Little Rock) isn't too far behind in that regard. I rarely saw interesting buildings and architecture. All the buildings looked like they were from a franchise, meaning that they looked exactly like the thousands of others in that same franchise.

I also noticed how terribly dressed most Americans were. I constantly got criticized from those around me for how I was dressed. Even though the way I was dressed would be considered fashionable in Bangkok, I was considered way overdressed in the eyes of my fellow Arkansans. On the plus side, I would occasionally see attractive women glaring at me in a positive way, but the fun ended there. I also couldn't help but notice how many tattoos and piercings so many people had. So many people had very bizarre piercings, such as on their face, which really looked unattractive to me. I'm glad this is quite uncommon in Asia.

No back-to-America trip report could be complete without mentioning the unhealthy people surrounding you. Being overweight is considered normal in America. Being obese is considered overweight. It seemed like three quarters of the people I saw were either overweight or obese. When you take a quick look at how people live their lives and eat, it's not hard to find out why things are the way they are. Every time I went to a restaurant, I would look for minutes and minutes trying to find an at least remotely healthy dish that would be semi-appetizing. That was an uphill battle to say the least. Almost every time I ate a meal I felt like I was killing part of my body.

And finally I gotta talk about American women. While I was back home I wanted to conduct a few experiments. I wanted to reconfirm whether or not the American dating scene was really as bad as I had remembered it. I tried a few apps: Skout, WeChat, and Meet Me. All I can say is the results were pretty pitiful. Give me China or Thailand any day! Just getting a simple reply was rare, and when I did get a reply, it was usually quite hostile and unwelcoming, as if I were greatly disturbing her. So many of the women on Skout and Meet Me put a big list of "don't dos" and turn-offs that will get you blocked by them, and they often wore what I like to call the "American bitch smile" in their photos. This kind of smile is one where the girl poses like she's queen bitch and hot as hell. The pickings were quite slim on those two apps, but I did manage to get a handful of semi-attractive women to meet up with me over the month I was back home. There were so many ugly, overweight, divorced, and/or child-bearing kids flooding these two apps though.

I also noticed that you have to prove to so many American women that you're not an axe murderer before they'll meet you. And just prior to meeting some of the women, they would send warning messages like "by the way, I'm not down to f**k." And meeting up with some of the women was like pulling teeth. I couldn't in any way talk about myself because none of the women would have understood what the hell I was talking about. The stuff they talked about was usually so uninteresting and irritating. On the plus side to all this, some of them were quite willing to jump in the sack, regardless of their prior warning messages. And also on the plus side, American women tend to be pretty decent overall in the sack. Regardless of all this, none of the women I met even came close to girlfriend material.

Now I gotta mention the results of using the WeChat app (which practically zero Arkansans use). Every so often I would use the Look Around feature on the app, and would spot one or two Chinese girls on there. I would also occasionally go to Chinese restaurants and chat with the Chinese waitresses in Mandarin. This usually impressed them quite a bit, and they would usually quickly show deep interest in me. Chatting with the Chinese girls in the USA was like night and day compared to the American girls. Unlike so many of their American counterparts, they were polite, lady-like, attractive, and interesting. One of them even told me about how much she dislikes Arkansas and how she wants to move back somewhere in Asia (but not necessarily back to China). It was interesting to hear a Chinese girl who had been living in America for a decent amount of time say this. I also met a few Vietnamese girls, who were equally as good as the Chinese ones. All I can say is if I were a single guy in America again some day (although that's very unlikely), I know exactly where I'd be looking for a girlfriend. I imagine you could have equally as stimulating experiences with the Mexican waitresses at the Mexican restaurants , or any foreign waitresses at any foreign restaurants.

All I can say is if my family was not living in America, I doubt I'd go back often, if even at all. Maybe from a foreigner's perspective, America is an interesting place, but as an American, I have very little positive things to say about my homeland. Life just feels so much more meaningful when you travel around the world and live from country to country. I'd rather be an expat in a foreign country over an American in America any day.

[zacb]

So I recently got back to the U.S. after spending months in ex-USSR again. I just feel every month I spend in ex-USSR countries has an immense value for my life. American life just CANNOT replace that amazing life experience!

Things I noticed stepping off the plane:

1. LOUD UGLY WOMEN. My God! There was a huge line at the customs and guess how many young good looking women did I see? One! She was a black American girl, more or less well dressed. Yeah, there was about 200 high school kids in the line around 16-17 years old, lots of young girls. How many of this girls were good looking? ZERO! And try going to Ukrainian high school, how many good looking girls will you see? Around 80%!

Why the f**k all American girls wear messy clothes, have their ugly greasy ponytails and sloppy faces with acne and absolutely no make-up? Just looking at them makes me wanna puke. They act like they own the world, their faces ARE SO DAMN stupid though!

2. LONELY PEOPLE. You can just see in people's faces that they are alone in the crowd. I NEVER FELT that in Russia/Ukraine/CIS countries at all! Even when you are in the city, you know strangers are available for a contact, almost ALL of them are virtually available.

3. NO ONE MAKES EYE CONTACT. Girls in Russia/Ukraine make eye contact ALL THE TIME. They also look at you as a value material, meaning they evaluate you as a possible boyfriend - you CAN READ it in their eyes! AND I LOVED IT! I felt like a pretty girl in America! That's probably how good looking women feel in America, wanted by everyone all the time, I have to say I love it and want to have it in my life all the time.

4. TERRIBLE FOOD. And I mean absolutely HORRIBLE! Driving around suburbs all I see is McDonald's, Burger King and if you get lucky, some Asian buffet which also makes their food from processed frozen cheap crap. Ukraine has just a few chain restaurants, other cafes and restaurants are locally owned and cook from scratch and cost is very cheap! I just loved it there.

5. f***ed UP PERSONALITIES. EVERY AMERICAN IS f***ed UP ON THE OUTSIDE! Every person I look at in the U.S. cannot be described as "normal". WTF is going on? Guys wear skinny jeans, act "hipster-gay-cool" wanna be and that's considered "cultured"???!!! What's up with wearing brown jackets and purple pants? I mean, who the f**k does this anywhere in the world??? So f***ed up!!! Girls wear baggy pants, sweatshirts and ugly plain flip flops or slippers! Where is the dress shoes??? HELLO! When I was flying out of Ukraine most girls were fixing their hair and putting on make-up before leaving the plane, so they look good for the crowd. EVERY single one of them was wearing dress shoes, most on high heels. NOW THAT'S what I am talking about!

6. TEXTING, iPods, E-Books. EVERYONE HAS ONE! These people have no life, I swear! Everyone is reading, clicking their iPod or texting on their smartphone. NEVER SEEING THIS in Russia/Ukraine/CIS! Even I look weird when I text for a long time while I am in the bar/club/restaurant abroad, people take it offensive and blame me for not caring for them. Isn't that true? So I was not texting much when I was in the U.S. and almost never browsed the internet on my phone, but now since I did not do it for so long coming back to the U.S. seeing that is just SHOCKING. People have no life besides their bubble on the internet.

7. WHY WHY WHY DID I COME BACK??? I was living in the dream, now I am in the nightmare once again... But it is all good, I am going back soon. I am not staying here, NO WAY!

^. is extremely true. It seems like there is no actual culture anymore. Someone mentioned in another thread how people used to go to arcades or stuff like that, but anymore that is dead and gone. It kind of bugs me in the sense of how are you ever supposed to meet anyone in public if that is all they are doing? Sad state of affairs. In addition, at least i my town, it seems like everyone is already settled. Not trying to bitch, but it's true. And then people say do something you like. Ok... like? The only things here are the movies, museum, fishing, walking around, and a half dead mall. And don't even get me started on churches . There is also school, a beach, and maybe being stuck playing video games if you don't have anyone to hang with.