Between cultures
Reverse culture shock or a lack thereof...
Life Recently
Moving between cultures has become easier as of late.
Before visiting the U.S. last month, I dreaded reverse culture shock. When I returned home from studying abroad in Florence, Italy in 2010, Texan culture hit me like a ton of bricks. The blonde hair, accents, so many people who looked and spoke like me…
Rejoining college after living independently in Europe felt like I’d matured five years in four months. It was difficult relating to those my age again, and I strangely preferred conversations with those a decade or more my senior.
Going home this time, after living in another non-English-speaking country for over a year, I was bracing for any number of reverse culture shocks, only to find there really wasn’t one!
Whether it’s because we’re around so many Americans at the embassy here, or because we’ve come and gone from the U.S. so many times over the last four years, I’m not quite sure.
But I do know I slid right back into my home culture…hitting up Central Market (iykyk), my favorite barbecue spots and seeing old friends who luckily were in town for Thanksgiving just like me.
Returning to Romania wasn’t too difficult either. I was perhaps a bit surprised once again by the pervasive graffiti and striking Soviet-style architecture, but all in all I’ve been feeling very American-Romanian after our trip.
What else has happened recently? Let’s see…we attended a rugby game—USA vs Romania. Our chargé d'affaires (the acting ambassador) presented the trophy. Spoiler—the Americans won!
We attended the Marine Corps Ball at the Palace of Parliament. I wore a crowd-sourced beaded gown that won my Instagram poll in a landslide.
I cooked lots—made spiced banana bread, a rich parmigiano minestrone, vegetable lasagna and a full Christmas turkey dinner with homemade gravy, among many other dishes.
We also attended a tropical Christmas birthday party for our friends Lydia and Maria who live near our old neighborhood downtown.
Tonight is New Year’s Eve. We booked tickets for a rooftop event in the city center featuring a buffet, prosecco and (supposedly) a spectacular view of midnight fireworks, if we can muster the energy to stay that late.
Just like in England, you must “book ahead to avoid disappointment!” in Romania, so we committed to this event weeks ago, mostly out of fear of everything selling out and having nothing to do!
Reservations are almost always mandatory in Bucharest and often you’ll be out of options without a bit of preplanning.
Will let you all know how it goes!
See you in the new year. 😘
Michelle
Connect with me on Instagram or Threads.
Destination Guides
Hungary | Italy | Romania | United Kingdom | United States