Hello everyone! It's Laurel again, and today, let's talk about culture shock!

Culture shock is the feeling of confusion when in an unfamiliar or new environment, city, or country.

It most commonly happens when someone is in a different country, but it can also happen in your home country!

I've experienced culture shock in both America and Japan, and most of the differences that left me feeling a little confused were because of the size of cities I've visited! Even that aside, though, there are some things that have left me feeling confused--or at least very aware of how different some things are between Japan and the USA.

For example, Japan is way more quiet than America; even in my small hometown, everything is often loud. In Japan, it feels like the complete opposite, even in a city that's much bigger than my hometown.

It's also very uncommon for strangers to talk to you in Japan; in the USA, though, strangers will make smalltalk, give you compliments, tell you their life story... and then just walk away. It's definitely far more different here in Japan--though differences aren't a bad thing! I think they often make things much more interesting.

Thank you for reading! Have you ever experienced culture shock? Let's chat about it sometime! See you next time!

Laurel