Reverse Culture Shock (Taiwan ✈️ United States)
When I came back to the United States, there were definitely a few things I had to get used to again. Mainly about safety and people are way more open causing a scene...
My first culture shock was on the plane ride from Taipei to Seattle. We didn't even take off yet, but there was an American flight attendant yelling at four other flight attendants on the plane. Crazy. Usually people on transportation in Taiwan are quiet, so seeing people get yelled at was like a shocking reminder of home 🇺🇸 When I was going through security in the Atlanta airport, there was a woman arguing with security guards about how she wanted to keep the liquids she brought on her carry on even though they were too big. They were going back and forth and holding up the line. Then everyone was piling into the security area and complaining. The TSA was also screaming at us things like "TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF! HAVE YOUR ID AND BOARDING PASS OUT!" The airport security in Taiwan was way nicer. They just nicely told me things like “推进去” in a soft voice. I guess I just have to get used to getting yelled at again??? Well... I got used to it right after my mom picked me up from the airport because she always yells 😔 🤚
Right after I got off the plane, I was walking with Emily behind a little boy and his father. This tiny Taiwanese boy said “美国人会拿枪”。Emily and I just turned to each other like this 🫢 I mean... he's not wrong??? It's really sad that he's not wrong. Guns are really common in the U.S., and so is gun violence. When I was flying to Taiwan at the end of June, the line to check bags in the U.S. was backed up because someone tried to pack their gun in their luggage improperly. Then police came out and an announcement was made about the importance of disassembling your firearm before checking it in a bag. On my last flight in ATL airport last week though, I met a woman who told me the last time she was in Atlanta, she got stuck in the airport train station while there was a shooter??? She told me she survived because the shooter was in the parking lot, not inside the airport, but wow. She is actually from the same city as me, so when we were talking about where we went to school, I remembered my high school was next to one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in my city, and gun violence is a huge problem. That was probably the biggest reverse culture shock to me. In Taiwan, most people aren't even allowed to own firearms, so gun violence isn't really something people worry about there. Very big difference compared to the United States where we have the second amendment. In Taiwan, whenever i heard a loud noise, I'd look and that's it. People usually just ignored loud noises there. Now I have to get used to hearing a loud noise and watching if people start running again... or think to myself "was that a firework or a gunshot?"
Well. Gotta readjust! Sorry this is kinda sad to read about, but it's my experience for the reverse culture shock extra credit assignment💀





