The
second stage is the crisis or disenchantment stage where the honeymoon ends and
reality of my new culture sets in. Some
things become disappointing, and people can feel homesick, lonely, helpless and
confused. I experienced similar feelings
during my stay
My accommodation had no air conditioner, no
fans, and very little plug outlets. The weather in Coffs Harbour is very hot and
humid, and most days rainy. Often I would have to open the window in hopes that
a cool breeze would come in. These conditions were unpleasant and made me feel
sticky, sweaty and unclean. I was so used to having air conditioning at home,
that the new living conditions disappointed me.
Another
difference is that many Australian do not have dryers for drying laundry.
Detergents are all eco friendly and environmentally safe. These subtle changes
had positive effects because they helped saved on electric and had environmental
improvements. However, I was unaccustomed to waiting days for my clothes to dry,
which was frustrating since I was used to instant gratification of clean dry
clothes. Not only that, but I felt like my clothes were not at the same cleanly
standards that I was used to. I work with dolphins and seals so my work clothes
often become soiled and smell like fish. After washing my uniform did not have
the fresh scent, I was hoping for, and sometimes had a musty odor due to improper
drying. I missed the convenience of a dryer, but I learned that it was not a
necessary item for life.
Transportation
is also different here and needs some taking use to. In big cities like Sydney,
transportation is convenient and easy, but in comparison to the area I, am
staying public transportation is nonexistent. I have to ride my bike everywhere
since a car was not an option and buses often run off schedule. I often have to
cross main highways to get to my desired location, and bike paths are not
available. In addition, cars are different in design because they drive on the
opposite side of the road and the driver’s seat is on the opposite side. The
first time I tried to cross the road I was almost hit by a car. This is because
I was in the habit of looking left to right, however in Australia you need to
look right to left. I learned that lesson very fast.
Food
shopping was my biggest cultural shock. Meat here is so expensive that I cannot
afford to buy a small steak based on the budget I set aside for myself. Bread
goes bad within a week, and fruit goes bad two to three days after I buy it.
Many people go food shopping every three days for that reason. All the name
brands I know and love from home are hard to find here. A box of fruit loops,
which is the only cereal I recognized in the isle, cost 8 dollars, and that was
for a small box. Shampoo and conditioner are also expensive. A small bottle can
cost ten to 15 dollars. Water here costs more than soda. When I went into the
cheese isle, I did not recognize anything. They have cheese names such as very
tasty. I have learned to buy very tasty cheese because it is the closest thing
I could find to the American cheese I love. Australians are also very big on
vegemite, which is a yeast spread for toast. Well I tried vegemite, and it is
not very exciting. It is salty and gross, but with the tasty cheese, it makes
for an all right breakfast. Although I found the prices and brand names to be
very different, I was excited to see that healthy foods were more reasonable then
foods back home. I was never big on eating vegetables and fruits, but here I
had the opportunity to change that as I started to be more conscience about the
foods I was consuming.
I
found relating to the people I worked with to be very hard because I felt as if
I was in the way since I had not yet found my niche and I had a difficult time understanding
the slang. People acted like they were interested in me and talked as if they
wanted to hang out, but I found that many were had their own lives and were
unable to spare time to show me around. For the first few weeks, I had nothing
to do, and nowhere to go. I felt very lonely because there was a 15-hour time
difference between my friends and family back in New Jersey. When I was awake,
they were asleep, and when they were awake, I was asleep. This combination made
me feel so alone and as if I would not make any friends here in Australia,
because no one wanted to get to know me outside of work, and because I was
missing everything that was happening back at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment