Home again, home again, jiggity, jig!

After six years of living in Asia, I finally returned to my homeland. Of course, a lot of things have changed in that time. Many of my friends have married, had babies or moved away. So its like moving to a new foreign country all over again. Starting from scratch, so to speak. And now the reverse culture shock sets in. I find myself constantly comparing Eastern and Western culture. Of course, both have their good and bad qualities such as weather, government, pollution and social services. Its been a struggle. I've been back for about 3 months now and I feel just as isolated and lonely as before, although I am now much closer to my family.

I guess after being away for so long (and that was being TRULY alone) its been difficult adjusting to not only having lots of people around but with whom I can communicate with in my native tongue. The strange thing is....they may as well be speaking another language, for all that I seem to be understanding. The culture here is different. Its not about following ancient traditions or family values like in Asia but more about social expectations, what's politically correct or what is considered acceptable by the media's standards. People are more arrogant, intolerant or just plain rude. Whatever happened to respect for the elderly, teachers and parents? I see that my own culture has declined considerably, while away. People won't take any responsibility, refuse to be accountable for their own actions and blame others for their own misgivings. However, that being said, there are exceptions....such as how the Canadian Olympian athletes kept their composure and grace even if they didn't win the gold. Unlike some of the other competing countries when they lost their first place position. Some of them soured and pouted and made NO effort to be polite or gracious as they accepted their silver or bronze medal. And yet, when the Canadians are in that position, they still manage a smile. We understand that these athletes have been training for over 4 years so to lose first place is a big disappointment. But everyone needs to learn good sportsmanship when getting involved with sports. Be the bigger person and show some appreciation for even making it to the winner's podium. But this is just one tiny aspect of our culture. Canadians have always been more polite and considerate...generally. After working overseas....I discovered that although my fellow countrymen are polite and considerate, they aren't necessarily friendly. Canadians are more like the Japanese....polite and kind but also very conservative. And for all the criticism I have observed about Americans, in the end, they are still the friendliest foreigners I've met abroad.