Culture shock

There's lots of differences between Australia and Cambodia. Some things like the fact that Australian cities have parks and other outdoor spaces people can use and Cambodians ones don't. The people look different, the food is different- one Aussie wrote on her blog about what it is like to be an Aussie living in Phnom Penh. I keep meaning to, but she's done such a good job for now you might like to read her thoughts.

You can read a bit of it here, and a bit more here:
Talk about a change of scenery! From civilised afternoon drinks in our lush garden in inner-western Sydney, I found myself back in an airport where the electricity kept cutting out, experiencing that sensation of sweat dripping down your back within two minutes of stepping outside, and taking in the whiff of 'the black lake' (i.e. the open sewer around the corner from home) as the tuk tuk made its way through the crazy traffic home.

The last time I went to stay with a family in the province I noticed I was stressed about different things than in the past. When I first started visiting I felt disorientated as their house is quite different from anything I've ever lived in.

I don't know how to do things. For example, there are no sinks. So where do I clean my teeth, and where do they wash the dishes?

I guess I'm used to cleaning my teeth there now, and I can understand more of what people are saying, so those original stresses aren't so stressful.

After a recent visit I realised the stressful thing was that I have such different assumptions/ views etc.

Somethings I have grown up thinking are wrong- they do without thinking.
Things they assume are beautiful are actually really ugly to me.
Things that are normal to them are totally foreign to me.

In all these things they have no idea (as far as I'm aware) that I see things a different way, or even that there is a different way to see things. If they knew how I saw them I think they would be embarrassed. Which probably means that the way I live/act/thing is strange to them, so there must be things I do that they think are weird/wrong etc, and I'm not even aware.

There have been occasions when friends have pointed things out to me, but unless I have a friend to tell me I wouldn't know.

In year 11 and 12 I did a subject called "Society and Culture". I often think about what I learnt in that class "different, not wrong". It's helpful as I sometimes find myself wanting to tell people they are wrong!

I'm still not used to seeing people drop rubbish on the ground so often, so casually, so unashamedly.