Reverse Culture Shock (Destiny)

by narcogen , Andover, Massachusetts, Tuesday, November 07, 2017, 18:34 (2578 days ago) @ Claude Errera

I think the problem of choice is only a problem to the new or the uninformed. In your example you use Pop from the supermarket. If you've never had any in your life, yeah, you'd be overwhelmed with the variety. But if you are familiar with it, the choice doesn't bother you at all; you just go for Vanilla Coke.

You are 100% wrong about this.

I grew up in the United States, and was completely comfortable with supermarkets. I joined the Peace Corps, and spent 3 years in a developing nation. When I came home, one of the most overwhelming things was walking down the cereal aisle in my hometown Stop and Shop - it made me physically dizzy.

I guarantee you, if you poll 100 returned peace corps volunteers, more than 75 of them will have a similar story.

Reverse culture shock.

RPCVs and others working for charitable institutions in various parts of the world probably experience it more often, but it can happen to anyone living long enough in an area with different economic conditions.

Did I mention I'm returning to the US permanently starting next week?