A truth about culture shock

If you Google an image of culture shock, most of what pops up will be a variation on the theme of a W shaped curve.  The description is this: You are high at home, hit rock bottom in the new culture, reach a new high in the new culture, hit rock bottom after returning home and then readjustment is high again.

More realistic curves have far more ups and downs and several plateaus.  There are names for phases like "surface adjustment", "mental isolation" and "return anxiety".  Until you have experienced living in a culture different from your home, it's hard to understand what all this means, especially how it would be possible to suffer shock once you are "home" again...but that's where I am living these days, and I can attest that it is very real and fairly challenging for someone disinclined to wallowing.

If I had to plot myself on one of those charts right now with honesty, I would be in a low "mental isolation" phase.  The good news about being at the bottom of the curve is the only way to go from there is up.  I've been through all this before.  I know what it looks like, what it feels like and how it will change from month to month, year to year.  If I get on with it, it will get better, bit by bit...but I can also attest that the process is difficult, possibly never moreso than when one is at "home" because it is easier for people around you (or you yourself!) to comprehend your difficulty when the culture that challenges you isn't the same as that of your birth.

I noticed lately that I haven't been writing: not blogging, not emailing, not journaling...not much of anything where I would be inclined to record and share my thoughts.  I like to keep the negative self to myself, but then I also realized that I am not alone in this.  Culture shock, or in my case reverse culture shock, is a real challenge, and sometimes it is reassuring to find in Blogland that you are not alone.

*I know the pics are a bit random, but I thought they were interesting in relation to different cultural experiences.  One is from Holland; the other is from Qatar.

New blog update

Hi there!

A week on, I thought I'd give you a little update on the new blog idea. This week, I met with the lovely ladies of Media on Mars in North Fremantle, and I had a nice chat with them about what I was hoping to do with my new website. All I knew about their work had been gleaned from drive-by observations of their shop and a desire to support local businesses. It turns out what I had in mind isn't the type of work they typically do. Ah well. I appreciated the chat and the input. I also got a new link out of the chat: one of the women who works there has a fun blog at a little piece of pie.

I'm still rolling with it. My head is swimming with ideas, and I think I can get it going with the help of some books (Blogging for Dummies and Wordpress for Dummies). I'm giving myself another month or so (the domain rights expire mid-March). Looks like I'll be studying up on web-schtuff this weekend...

I hope you've got some fun things in mind for your own weekend! What will you be up to?

Hatching an idea

Last year, Hubby went away for work (unheard of!) and I bought a domain name. As you do. What I was thinking, I really cannot say. I don't know about web design. I am big on ideas but small on follow-through. So, here's this post for accountability. This afternoon, I contacted a local company about helping me build a site on my (nearly year-old and yet unused) domain. If they can help me achieve something close to my vision, you will be the first to know. In the meantime, expect to come back here to rambling nonsense and the occasional useful recipe (hey, at least I'm honest).

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Journaling in the new year

After years of journaling hiatus, I feel it's time to start journaling again...but where to start? How to start? The truth is, it isn't easy anymore. My thoughts run faster and longer than my opportunities to record them, and frankly, sometimes it just feels like one more thing to do (and who needs that?).

Magically, today in my inbox was an email that should have gone to junk, but somehow didn't. It was from the stationer kikki.K, all about journaling in the new year. The blog offers up a stream of great journaling prompts to get you writing. The most meaningful tips came from this entry. The essence (in my words):

Get going! No rules!

Realize that habits take time to form. Every time you skip journal time makes it easier to skip the next day and the next...

Take the pressure off an outcome and simply put pen to paper, even if that means doodling or even simply drawing a grid on the page.

Ideas: Record a quote. Print out and glue in a photo from the day. Draw. Doodle.

Making that time for yourself and your journal is what really counts.

Have you been toying with the idea of journaling?

What has your new year looked like thus far?

Note to self

Dear Self,

That double-shot affogato that tasted so lovely at 12:45pm today isn't doing you any favours three hours after your normal bedtime.

You cannot tolerate that much caffeine.

Get the message! Thank you.

Love,

Yourself

How to distort your color perception

For 30 seconds, stare at a piece of hot pink paper. Then look at a white wall.

What color do you see? (bright green)

For 30 seconds, stare at a piece of green paper. Then look at a white wall.

What color do you see? (hot pink)

Mastered that color distortion yet?

Now, attempt to cut hot pink fabric against a bright green cutting mat!

Whoa, nelly.

Teacher's pet

At our school, parents are expected to contribute at least 6 hours' work each semester. It can be filled with library duty, gardening work, playground maintenance, class laundry...or in my case, sewing. Since our teacher discovered I own a sewing machine, I have been a sewing fool for that classroom. Last year, it was 2 children's aprons...swiftly followed by 24 (count 'em, twenty-four!) child-sized chef's hats. At the start of this year, it was two dozen vinyl pockets. Have you ever sewn with vinyl? That was an adventure, let me tell you!

This term, I sneakily signed up for class laundry once a week. Smiling Teacher noticed and asked me instead to please sew just three little pockets with velcro closure--out of fabric this time she emphasized--and she would pass the laundry to another family. Okay, I said, waiting for the complication. None was forthcoming. We met and discussed what she had in mind; easy peasy. She bought the materials (usually, I do that); that was my hint.

When she handed me the bag of fabric, there were more than three fabrics for more than three pockets...plus a meter of hot pink cotton in there too. "For the petticoat," she smiled. Um...wha? "You know, a nice big petticoat, with lots of ruffles around the bottom. By the end of the week if you can. Thanks!" Big smile.

Do I mind? Actually, no, not at all. When I was a teacher (without a sewing machine), I often thought up simple solutions to a classroom need that would be so easy to remedy myself...if only I could sew. Now that I can sew, I'm happy to do it, and I'm extra happy to see the work being put to fun use by the kids. But I do have to laugh at how every time the commitment increases dramatically after saying "yes" to the project.

The mom who sews.

Every teacher should have one.