It’s done. It’s over. The World Race has come to an end and I’m back in America! I’ve lived this life for the past year on the Race in foreign countries, in third world countries, in places I never thought I would visit, let alone live in, and I look back on those days realizing how much I have enjoyed being uncomfortable and how it has become normal for me. Now, coming back to America things here are familiar and that familiarity is all of a sudden foreign and strange. Since living among different cultures in the world, I have developed some strange quirks, some things that living in Asia has done to me. While I was on the field I didn’t even think twice about how these may be regarded as strange in America, but now that I am back, I am painfully aware:
- Toilet paper.
It is something so simple yet in Asia and in other parts of the world this stuff is like gold. You never know when you’ll need it and for that reason you never want to be without it. It is not readily available in bathrooms in Asia. Bathrooms are kind of a “BYOTP” (bring your own toilet paper) kind of situation so having a pack of tissues or a roll of toilet paper is always an essential. Don’t mind me if I carry a roll of toilet paper around for a while.
- Wait, where does the toilet paper go again?
Now that I am back in America the trashcan is no longer the proper place for toilet paper. It can be and should be flushed, but I often forget and find myself throwing it away. It’s a real struggle to remember and trust that the toilet won’t clog because of toilet paper.
- I could pretty much sleep anywhere in any situation.
Floors, buses, trains, planes, public transportation, crammed rooms with 20 other people; you name it I’ve slept there. There is no place I can’t fall asleep now.
- Time and a schedule.
These things don’t really exist in most parts of Asia. Asian time is actually a thing. The culture is so relaxed that a time for something may be set and people wont show up for 30 minutes to 1 hour or more past that time that is scheduled and it’s normal, in fact in some Asian countries most people wont show up until at least that late. In Asia it’s extremely unlikely that anything will happen when or how it is originally communicated. So if I’m late anywhere, which if you know me this isn’t anything new, I’ll just blame culture shock.
- English is hard.
Being in Asia for a year, my English has started to wear off. I feel like I’ll speak to someone and sometimes forget the English word for things. Now that I’m in America hopefully I’ll relearn the things that have slipped my mind and if I begin to speak slowly and charade things, don’t be offended, I feel like I am learning to communicate with people who can understand me again.
- I am from America.
When people now ask, “Where are you from?” my immediate response is “America”. Even when I met Americans in Asia that was my first response. Well, that is still my response to people now that I am back in America. I guess I forget that here in this country the people who ask me that question are often also from America so they are asking about a specific state.
- Seatbelts are excessive.
I have survived in countries that pretty much had no road or traffic laws and on top of that they had not even the option for a seatbelt, and I am still alive. So now that they are essentially required, it takes me a while to remember that I should wear it…oops.
- Shoes on in the house?! I could never.
Not anymore at least. In Asia we took our shoes off almost anywhere and everywhere: in someone’s house, sometimes in stores, and there are even separate shoes for the house and separate shoes for the bathroom. The other day I actually wore my shoes passed the front door of someone’s home and it just felt wrong.
- Tap water that is safe to drink?
I don’t understand. I’ve become so accustomed to filtering it first that drinking water right out of the faucet is an astounding concept to me now. I don’t know how long it will take me to trust faucet water..
10. I have no concept of personal space anymore.
Asian public transportation, small living quarters with lots of people, and constant community. It’ll do that to you.
11. I am surrounded by other white people?…
For the past 11 months I have been used to being the only white person in a room, on a bus, at a café, and because of that wherever I was, no matter where I was, I generally was a spectacle. Now that I’m back in America I’m not. I am not the only white person in a room and wherever I go people speak English, so I overhear conversations that I can understand. Now I am able to easily communicate with the people around me and it’s foreign to speak so much real English, as opposed to the broken, slowed down English that I am used to communicating with.
Adjustment is hard and feeling like America is a foreign country is also strange, but in time adjusting to everything that comes with being back in the States will feel normal, just as adjusting to living in 11 different countries on the Race became normal! Also, if you happen to witness other men and women in the age range of 21-35 years old acting in a similar manner, they might be World Racers in their transition back to America, so do yourselves both the favor of getting informed now and giving us (transitioning Racers) grace later when we are in public and these things embarrass you because we are just trying to be Americans again!
