Reverse Culture Shock

Reverse Culture Shock…is real and difficult. I expected to feel a lot more critical about the people living in excess here in the USA, or guilty for the blessing I have. However, I have not experienced those thing…instead I have just been sad and still feel out of place. A nostalgic sad that brews and then sometimes explodes in tears. A feeling of being out of place…I assume due to the personal changes and growth the trip brought. I want to still be there where I can spend 80% of my day giving to those that need it most.

Here in the USA giving is a choice. There in Nicaragua, it is a necessary part of living. No one can make it on their own and so everyone depends on their families, neighbors, and communities to help out…and they do help regularly.

Here there are walls that keep people out of other people’s lives. There in Nicaragua, walls are built to hold people together and give shelter.  A person in the USA could live their whole life without knowing their neighbors, or having any personal relationships at all. A person in Nicaragua, even they do not know the person walking to their door, will welcome them invite them in and offer whatever they have to their guest…a chair to sit, a cup of coffee/soda, a tortilla and will take the time to visit and get to know them.

In the USA we are expected to be in control, have it all together, be independent, and plan the next step.  In Nicaragua, that is not an option.

I am speaking English just fine…sometimes my recall of words is slow and I can only think of the Spanish word.

The best treatment for Reverse Culture Shock I have found to be is:

1.   Time

2.   Talking and/or writing about your experiences with lots of people

3.   Quality time with loved ones

4.   Not holding it all in but instead consciously recognizing, and redirecting the negative or uncomfortable feelings and thoughts to something motivating…It’s all about choosing your attitude.

5.   Prayer

Love,

Ayla Landry

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. 

Attitude, to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.

It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company ...a church ...a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past ...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.

We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ...I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes”. 

~Charles Swindoll