Cultural stress??? What is that?
Culture stress, sometimes known as culture shock, is very common when relocating to a new culture and should be expected with all overseas travel. Culture stress can take on many forms, the most common being depression, irritability and homesickness. The degree to which you will suffer from culture stress will depend on how long you are gone, how prepared you are for the effects of stress and how open-minded you can remain throughout your study abroad experience. Culture stress is not derived from any one specific event or problem, but is a symptom of the psychological discomfort of encountering different lifestyles, methods of organization, and value systems that may "threaten" the model you have lived with all your life.
ISMA about Cultural Stress
- eating more than usual - gaining weight
- not eating enough - loss of weight
- calling home much more often than usual
- feeling hostile / complaining a lot about the hosting country / culture
- avoiding meeting people
- increased need of sleep
So when we're having cultural stress what do we do? Figure out a way to make the foods you miss!!! Yeah, as you notice the first thing of things your are likely to do is eat more than usual... Well we decided to embrace it! So we made one of our favs - Chick-Fil-A! Our Fav. So, it's definitely not the restaurants' but it's as close as we can get. Before I moved overseas, I had never even fried chicken! Here's the recipe I followed Chick-Fil-A Nugget Recipe.
Also, I've been craving lasagna. Well, the recipe I wanted to make calls for Jimmy Dean sausage. I can't just go to the grocery store and buy Jimmy dean, so first I had to make sausage. While I was making the sausage I had to make the tomato sauce. You can find cans of tomato sauce here, but it's pretty expensive and I needed a lot for lasagna! So not only did I have to make the sausage and the tomato sauce, I had to make the ricotta cheese that goes in the lasagna! It was a lot of hard work, but I tell you what, that was some of the best lasagnas I've ever tasted. But that being said, it's gonna be so much easier when we're back in the states! Here's some pics I snapped while making this masterpiece. (I think of it as a masterpiece anyway... ha!)
What else do do when we're having cultural stress? Watch some classic TV. Here's one of my favs.
And here's the best and one of my favorite remedies for cultural stress - hanging out with these 2 cuties!
A local friend of ours has continued to invite us to a local spa. We weren't sure about it, but during one of the holidays here decided that it would be fun to go. And it was! All the pools have signs with the water temperature so I could even get in the cooler ones since I'm pregnant. :) We had a lot of fun! The kids LOVED it!
On a funny note, the locker rooms - there is NO modesty whatsoever. I mean NONE. Like you stick out if you are wearing a towel... Yeah... Talk about a cultural difference.
We take Braidynn to school everyday a little early around 8am because she gets to do morning exercises with all her friends. The kids dance together and then go in to eat breakfast. I think this part is also something Braidynn looks forward to - Second Breakfast. And not only does she get to have second breakfast, it's noodles! Everyday! She told us, sometimes she eats it and sometimes she doesn't, but I think she likes having this option! haha. Speaking of, last Saturday I asked Braidynn what she wanted for breakfast and she told me fried rice! Yes, fried rice! I told her NO! That she could not have rice for breakfast! We don't eat rice for breakfast! Now this is something common for probably 80% of the globe and probably 100% of the country we live in (well, if not white rice, it's rice noodles or this rice drink called zhou.) So was it wrong of me to tell her no?!
During baseball season, we had a great escape when we needed it! Watch the STL Cardinals together! It's funny, but sports really helps us get through hard times! And it's not just Ben that it helps. :)
We also just go outside! It's so different going outside here, to me. We live on the 9th floor of an 11 story building. And to go outside, I can't just tell the kids to go out back. I know people in all cities are used to life like this, but being from the south I am not. You just walk out the door and play in the yard. I really really really miss our yard. This pic below is of Braidynn on her bike on the little playground in our neighborhood. I am thankful for this little area for the kids to swing and slide and have fun. Aben in the picture below is walking through our neighborhood. Before we lived in this city we lived in another and even bigger city and our neighborhood really had NO neighborhood feeling at all. So, when we found this little gem of a neighborhood in this city I was all for it! It has tons of greenery, little paths through the flowers, and brick roads. I am so thankful.
Well, that was some of the stuff we do to deal with cultural stress. We are know that we are called to live here and that truly is the ONLY way we can make it. It's what gets us through.
I saw this verse today:
“Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight.” Psalm 119:143 NIV
It reminded me that we will always have hard times, but we have hope. Thank goodness! I can't imagine going through life without Hope. We can always find delight and hope in Him. He is Love.
hugs,
hannah
