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Finding a New Normal: What We Miss Most about Korea
Now back in the United States for a couple of months, we’ve been enjoying some of the comforts of home. Catching up with friends and family has been a highlight of our return. However, it’s also been a time of reflection on those parts of our South Korean experience that we really miss. Grief is a normal part of culture shock, and part of coping is understanding that conflicting emotions are okay. It’s okay to miss home and also to feel really excited about living in a new place. It’s also okay to feel happy to be home but also to grieve for the place you left. Few life transitions…
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Returning to “Normal”: Hitting the Easy Button on Stateside Life
We loved our experience of living in Seoul and wouldn’t trade that time for anything. It was hard to leave a city we had come to love and the people who made our year really special. As happy as we were, we knew that parts of life in a different culture and with a significant language barrier were very stressful at times. The moment we landed in Hawaii, our first stop in the U.S. after leaving South Korea, we were reminded of how much easier life’s simplest tasks are when you are in a familiar culture and speaking your first language. Here are some of the first everyday “easy button”…
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Good Grief! What’s so Shocking about Culture Shock?
If you’ve ever traveled outside of your hometown, you probably are familiar with the highs and lows of experiencing a culture different from your own. Traveling (even to another state or city) can be exciting, challenging, and full of learning opportunities. It also can be scary, frustrating, and overwhelming. Add a worldwide pandemic into this mix, and you have a recipe for lots of potential stress. The term culture shock describes the mixed emotions and sense of disorientation that are commonly felt by travelers to a culture different from their own. As I’ve spent my social work career helping people coping with grief and loss, I find it helpful to…
