off balance

To me, the term Culture Shock implies a psychological state of astonishment and bewilderment caused by a sudden insertion into a completely new and entirely different environment; nothing seems familiar. For those of us who have lived in a foreign country for quite a while, Culture Shock as experienced by tourists has long ceased to exist. Language, social customs, dress, and the size of the money all feel natural. There is no amazement anymore.

What, then, do you call those little things that pop up years after the Culture Shock has died away, but still manage to baffle you? Why, for instance, do Japanese people when getting on their bicycles place their left foot on the pedal and push off with the right foot from the same side of the bike before swinging their leg over the seat? I tried it this week and almost took out a small tree. Yesterday I learned that most Japanese people learn to light a match by striking a vertically positioned box with a downward motion, a method I consider to be an effective way of lighting yourself on fire.

These things are not necessarily new to me, nor are they astounding or mind-altering. They are, however, little aftershocks of a larger Culture Shock I thought had become immune to. And they have turned up when I least expected them to. Do they mean that I am once again paying more attention to a world I had become complacent in? Or have I just been lucky enough to find those few quirky customs I missed during those first months? I’m not quite sure, but I hope they’ll happen more often, as they will make my last three months here more interesting and provide a few more amusing topics for me to write about.