i have culture shock.


culture shock defined:

Culture shock is the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, uncertainty, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within a different and unknown culture such as one may encounter in a foreign country. It grows out of the difficulties in assimilating the new culture, causing difficulty in knowing what is appropriate and what is not. This is often combined with a dislike for or even disgust (moral or aesthetical) with certain aspects of the new or different culture.

[thank you wikipedia]

next question would be "why does janna have culture shock? she hasn't been in a foreign country recently...so this doesnt make sense"

you are right. i have not been in a foreign country, but i have entered into a new culture.

this new culture of mine is called adulthood.

there are phases to culture shock. [who knew...wikipedia apparently] and we are going to talk about where i am and how im doing with this new development.

1. the honeymoon phase
"during this period, the differences between the old [childhood] and the new [adulthood] culture are seen in a romantic light, wonderful and new...this period is full of observations and new discoveries. but like any honeymoon, this phase ends"

i started my job with high hopes of teaching kids how to count, learn colors and rhyme and to sing the happiest songs...because in my head, thats what preschoolers should be doing. they should be playing and be read to. they should also be full of energy, ready to learn and discover new things. they should be given boundaries but within those boundaries should be room to learn and grow.
this thinking of mine has stopped.

2. the negotiation phase [which we know from heather's traumatic experience on sunday is also in the stages of grief, but with different wording]
"after some time (usually weeks), differences between the old and new culture become apparent and may create anxiety. that sense of excitement will eventually give way to new and unpleasant feelings of frustration and anger as you continue to have unfavorable encounters that strike you as strange, offensive and unacceptable.....this phase is often marked by mood swings caused by minor issues or without apparent reasons. this is where excitement turns to disappointment and more and more differences start to occur. depression is not uncommon."

where did my excitement go??? oh right. the anxiety [and depression?] about becoming an adult ate it. for breakfast. why is there sooo much traffic at 7:42 in the morning?? i hardly even know what a bill is and now i have to pay them? what?!? and why can't kids just get along? why must they bite and throw their food on the floor? and for goodness sake, WHY CAN'T PARENTS POTTY TRAIN THEIR CHILDREN?!?!?!?!?!?! i am so sad for the future of america. kids cant rhyme or count or sing their abc's or heck, some of my kids dont even talk yet. how is this possible???
usually i am so excited for friday. i mean my gosh, its friday! last friday i was so angry i took some equate nite time [!] and went to bed way early because i was so mad. at everything. talk about mood swings.
i was fine on saturday. clearly i am in this phase of culture shock. i just cant cope.

3. the adjustment phase
"again after some time (6 to 12 months) [6 to 12 months?!?!?!?! what?!?] one grows accustomed to the new culture and develops routines. one knows what to expect in most situations...and starts to develop problem-solving skills for dealing with that culture and begins to accept the new culture with a positive attitude. the culture begins to make sense and negative reactions and responses to the culture are reduced. reaching this stage requires a constructive response to culture shock with effective means of adaptation."

this seems impossible and unlikely.

and now i will quote audrey and helen from raising helen:

audrey: don't you remember what it was like to be young???
helen: of course i remember...it was last tuesday!!!

this is how i feel. i will never get to stage 3 because i cant adapt, adjust or cope with change.
[also i dont believe in evolution?]

[a special thanks to wikipedia for defining my mood swings]