ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

I was surprised one day when somebody asked me about "culture shock" in Japan. What is usually meant is that upon moving to a different country with different customs, uses, and traditions, one feels somehow disoriented, bewildered, and uncomfortable. It usually suggests that it is felt more strongly the more the new culture is radically different from one's own. Having spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia, where many people still live in very poor conditions in the country I have a different take on that. It is true that one feels the contrast much more in places with serious problems like extreme poverty, water shortages, poor health facilities, etc. However, one can feel that just as much within one's own country, and we don't label it as "culture shock". Any trip to some of the really poor parts of the States like Arkansas or Louisiana, would make one feel strange. The high living standard of the Japanese means that one doesn't really experience it that way at all. There is the strangeness of the new language and of course the writing system, but otherwise, I don't think that's the case for North Americans at least. On the contrary, it's more of a fun experience being in a modern, high tech society, but with a different often times pleasing differentness, that can only make you grow. It's fun to be in Japan, isn't it?