Lena: Shocking moments back in America

Posted 08:42 PM, August 12, 2006, by lenawine

So now that I'm back in America I've had a few moments that could be called shock. I think only one experience can really be classified as 'culture shock.'

When I walk down an empty street or an empty hallway and I pass someone, I can't help but greet them now. Likewise, if I bump into someone that I know, I feel like if I don't have at least a 10 minute conversation with them, I have been extremely rude. I find myself asking people over and over how they are, how their family is, how their summer's been, how's this and that and the other thing all are? I can imagine that it must sound repetitive and perhaps even nosy. This behavior may not sound that unusual to you, but this friendliness goes completely against my nature as an East Coaster.

Besides that I've only had shocking moments in which I have to remind myself that 'we're not in Tanzania anymore, Toto':

~My initial instinct before stepping outside in the evening is to apply bug spray. As my friends and I walked outside to warm up the grille, I asked, aren't you guys going to put on bug spray? Before they could respond, I realized that bug bites here aren't as serious because there is no risk of malaria (although perhaps people should be more careful with west nile floating around).

~I was filling up my water bottle with ice cubes before heading to the gym, when I found myself ready to dump them out. I had to ask myself why I would do such an irrational thing (because one of the things I appreciate most about being back is nice cold water, straight from the tap). That's when I realized that we are advised against ice cubes in Tanzania because they are generally made from contaminated water.

~Similarly, I was really excited when I got to run my toothbrush under the faucet to clean off the toothpaste, although I flinched the first few times. I had accidentally washed my toothbrush in Tanzania a few times. I must say, it was really nice to have a clean, non-gummy toothbrush to use the next time I brushed my teeth.

~I went out for chinese food and at the end of the meal I was shocked to see that the oranges they brought out with the fortune cookies were actually orange. Oranges in Tanzania are green on the outside and sort of yellowish on the inside. Interesting the Swahili word for the fruit and color is still the same. Once, I asked one of my professors how she could tell oranges, lemons, and limes apart because they're all green. She found this very amusing; you look at the texture of the peel of course, she replied.

When I finally stopped my malaria meds (which I had been taking every day for the past 2.5 months), it finally hit me that I am home for good.