reasons why being here is awesome:
1. being with jess, relaxing with jess, getting to know each other better (xo jet)
2. skatepark down the street
3. madison (its hella cool)
4. ians pizza by the slice (pronounced e-awns)
5. the bodegas in whitewater
6. the few people i've met are nice
7. the food in madison
8. frank lloyd wright
9. wifi in our apt.
10. my anti anxiety medicine
reasons why being here sucks:
1. not having family or friends that i care a lot about and like to spend time with nearby, i've been feeling terribly lonely at times and miss everybody
2. there are no real skateshops, its hard to believe that i went to two and couldn't find boards wider than 8 inches, vans, or magazines (barnes and nobles had every skate mag)
3. the beer (german beer and piss-american beer, even PBR isn't made here anymore)
4. accents that sounded quaint at first and now are just irritating
5. maybe this should be number 2, being alone most of the day is making me more self absorbed, self hating, cynical, and irritable, i have conversations in my head while i'm painting and rant and rave about stupid stuff
6. the lack of skateboarders and enormous dearth of scooter riders and bmxers
7. its freakin flat (except in madison)
8. i can't find vans shoes for less than $40 (a shoe that wholesales at $17.50 being sold for $45? come on now)
9. hicks/rednecks/bigass truck driving types etc who i'm sure are nice when you meet them but seem a bit shocking when you see them
10. closeminded conservatives that blindly support anything that has the word God or America attatched to it (i.e. Bush-check out this link to Cold War Skateboards for some subversive art)
i think i'm in the 3rd week slump that i learned about/experienced when i went to china. some theory about the 3rd week being the one of most cultural clashing or something...thats how i feel some of the time, like really bitter about the situations, people in the new culture ect. so yeah, i guess going to the midwest is a cross-cultural experience for me.
2 comments:
Hard to beat the Valley in MANY ways ..... :-0
We're crazy here but it's fun.
Reality check (below).....yup....looks for real....hang in there.....you will be home before tooooo long!!
Focus on your top ten positives for survival :-/
Symptoms of Culture Shock
1. Feeling very angry over minor inconveniences
2. Irritability
3. Withdrawal from people who are different from you
4. Extreme homesickness
5. Sudden intense feeling of loyalty to own culture
6. Overeating or loss of appetite
7. Boredom
8. A need for excessive sleep
9. Headaches
10. Upset stomach
11. Small pains really hurt
12. Depression
13. Loss of ability to work or study effectively
14. Unexplainable crying
15. Marital or relationship stress
16. Exaggerated cleanliness
17. Feeling sick much of the time
In order to have culture shock, you need not have every symptom on the list. It is possible that only a few may apply to you. These symptoms may also appear at any given time.
Post a Comment