Moving to another culture is an eye-opening experience. It not only teaches us about the world, but it teaches us about ourselves as well. Only when we leave our culture do we begin to understand it. Only when we step out of our own comfort zone do we truly discover what makes it such a comfortable place for us.
Before settling down in Java, I spent two years teaching English at a Chinese middle school in Kowloon, Hong Kong. I loved the kids I taught and enjoyed working with my Chinese colleagues. After living there for six months, though, I began to feel uneasy and uncomfortable. Why was I feeling this way? The answer didn’t come to me until I traveled to Thailand for the Christmas holidays. As the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai chugged along, it passed through spacious green fields. The lush verdant landscapes were like balm to the soul. That’s what I had been missing in Kowloon!
Before moving to Hong Kong, I had read up on what to expect. I had talked with people who had been there, and I assumed I would have no problem adjusting to life in such an exciting city. I had not anticipated how strongly a crowded cement jungle would affect my mood, though, and how important space was to me until I didn’t have it.
People who grow up in crowded conditions often feel just the opposite. An Indonesian friend of mine from densely populated Java was very uncomfortable when she arrived at the airport serving Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Where were all the buildings? Where were all the people? Whereas I relished the open countryside there, she found it not only disconcerting but frightening.
People in teeming Java love having other people around. A crowd is part of the culture. When two librarians from Thailand were visiting us, we wanted to take them to Central Java’s renowned Borobudur Temple complex, a World Heritage site. I suggested we go on a Monday when it would be less crowded. Our Javanese library director disagreed. He insisted we take them there on the weekend when it would be crowded because that’s part of the fun.
That’s not to say all Indonesians enjoy crowded conditions, however. People from the eastern islands of Timor, Sumba, and Papua, among others, are used to living far apart and value distance and space just as I do. When my husband, a Timorese, was doing his Ph.D. in Australia, we looked for a house apart from others that had a spacious yard. Javanese students, on the other hand, preferred renting rooms together in a crowded neighborhood where they could be close to each other.
Have you ever stepped out of your comfort zone and moved to another culture? If so, what did you learn about yourself from the experience?
Before settling down in Java, I spent two years teaching English at a Chinese middle school in Kowloon, Hong Kong. I loved the kids I taught and enjoyed working with my Chinese colleagues. After living there for six months, though, I began to feel uneasy and uncomfortable. Why was I feeling this way? The answer didn’t come to me until I traveled to Thailand for the Christmas holidays. As the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai chugged along, it passed through spacious green fields. The lush verdant landscapes were like balm to the soul. That’s what I had been missing in Kowloon!
Before moving to Hong Kong, I had read up on what to expect. I had talked with people who had been there, and I assumed I would have no problem adjusting to life in such an exciting city. I had not anticipated how strongly a crowded cement jungle would affect my mood, though, and how important space was to me until I didn’t have it.
People who grow up in crowded conditions often feel just the opposite. An Indonesian friend of mine from densely populated Java was very uncomfortable when she arrived at the airport serving Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Where were all the buildings? Where were all the people? Whereas I relished the open countryside there, she found it not only disconcerting but frightening.
People in teeming Java love having other people around. A crowd is part of the culture. When two librarians from Thailand were visiting us, we wanted to take them to Central Java’s renowned Borobudur Temple complex, a World Heritage site. I suggested we go on a Monday when it would be less crowded. Our Javanese library director disagreed. He insisted we take them there on the weekend when it would be crowded because that’s part of the fun.
That’s not to say all Indonesians enjoy crowded conditions, however. People from the eastern islands of Timor, Sumba, and Papua, among others, are used to living far apart and value distance and space just as I do. When my husband, a Timorese, was doing his Ph.D. in Australia, we looked for a house apart from others that had a spacious yard. Javanese students, on the other hand, preferred renting rooms together in a crowded neighborhood where they could be close to each other.
Have you ever stepped out of your comfort zone and moved to another culture? If so, what did you learn about yourself from the experience?