Sunny Palm Springs
Reverse culture shock was very worrying to me prior to our return trip to the U.S. We have been on ground for the past 2 weeks now, having landed in Houston and staying for one week while we tackled the job of emptying our storage unit. It has been hectic, and access to wifi limited, hence the silence last week. Thankfully, it was not as bad as it could have been. The gods smiled upon us and made things easy. A lot of my relatives are extremely happy right now.
Hanging out at my old partner’s house with old friends.
We had been dreading what we would find at the storage, but we were tired of paying $154 monthly for stuff we hardly remembered . While chatting with one of my sisters in Nigeria about the furniture, l showed her pictures of some of the pieces. She liked them so much and said she would pay to have them shipped to her there. My cousin also saw the pictures and wanted some things, so we were thrilled. We only had to contact the shippers.
My sister took the heavy pieces like this . This was one of the rugs we lost to the moths. At least they had good taste! :-)
A lot of the other things went to my cousin and old technicians. Clothes and shoes went to our airbnb hosts who just happened to have the same size clothes as Federico (but not shoes) and the lady had the same size shoes as me, made out like a bandit, as some of the items had the price tags still, shoes and clothes. They were thrilled to say the least. We lost a couple of valuable rugs to little moth like insects…little bastards!!!!!
Hanging out in the wine room while the guys watched the fight..
Reverse culture shock is a very real thing, and can be traumatic for a lot of people. It’s not unusual to feel like strangers in their own land after being away for a long period, fall into depression and require a period of adjustment. I was curious to see how l would feel being back on U.S soil. Part of me was thrilled. It was great to hear English spoken all around me. Everyone was so polite, and it all felt familiar. Driving on the freeway was good, like l had just done it the day before, and not almost three years prior. Sometimes l felt like l was a viewer, but not an outsider.
A meal courtesy of our airbnb host. Plantain and grilled chicken which was fantastic. The plantain not so much to me as it was not as ripe as l like it. He also made fantastic French toast and scrambled eggs.
One of the first things that struck me was how expensive everything seems to have become. We had lunch at a TGIF restaurant, and there were very few customers. We realized why upon seeing the menu . Things like a plate of ribs which were $9 before were now $19.29, double and then some. Even the lunch specials were priced much higher. I guess l am used to the prices in Spain . The portions are also much smaller than l remember. Meal times are earlier than we are used to now, but it was no big deal. Siesta, we still haven’t adjusted to in Spain, so we were out driving (stuck in traffic more like) visiting with friends and family. Prices in the department stores are also higher. Christmas decorations are already put out, and there were so many commercials for pre Black Friday sales, constant bombardment. Consumerism culture is still very much alive. I realize l don’t miss it at all. Buying does not intrigue me, not any more..but l have not had the ultimate test (shopping for bags)… So who knows??
The most amazing crunchy roll from my favorite sushi place. Getting it’s own post, still as wonderful as l remember.
We have been catching up with old friends and co-workers. It’s been almost five years since we were in L.A last. I have to say l am not a big fan of the new construction that is springing up everywhere . So many high rise apartment buildings. It seems almost claustrophobic. It’s going on everywhere, from Hollywood to West Hollywood to West L.A. I barely recognized the Century City Mall . L.A traffic still sucks balls!!! The 405 freeway is still a parking lot during rush hour. It took us 2.5 hours to make a 16 mile journey one day. I told my friend it would be the last time l would visit him.. .
Mamita’s homemade tacos…so yummy, l ate 5!!!! :-)
One thing l found surprising was that most of my friends were very curious about our travels. They asked loads of questions and most admitted being jealous of the life we chose and hoped someday to be able to travel more (after the kids were grown etc) . I had fully been expecting them to not even mention it, but nope..they wanted to know everything..genuinely interested.
They loved hearing the stories of our travels to faraway places like Istanbul.
What l am really grateful for is how seamless coming back has been. We stayed the first week at my friend’s mom’s house in North Hollywood, and she spoiled us rotten, just like she always did. She made all my favorite Salvadoranian food, like Pupusas and plantain. As l write this, l am sitting at my old Hollywood housemates house in Palm Springs, overlooking the golf course and with the hulking mountains above and reminiscing about the old days. My best friend arrives from Bermuda in four hours, and we are all excited. Family is not just blood relatives, it’s also people that you allow into your life, the ones that have your back and rejoice in your success, pick you up when you’re down and will call you on your s**t . Only two people so far have asked if we would ever move back, most want to join us . Our answer so far has been no (me) and at some point in a few years, yes (Fede) . There is no right answer by the way. We only have to worry about us, so our decision might take all of five minutes or less .
Our friends house in Palm Springs. Fede can’t wait to hit the water..
We are looking forward to our first Thanksgiving in the U.S in three years. There will be 37 of us, mostly old friends that we haven’t seen since we moved from L.A, so it should be great time. If you’ve been away and are dreading reverse culture shock, my advice is to chill. Don’t make it about you and go with the flow.
What are your plans for the upcoming Holiday. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving? If so..will it be a big to do? Or a quiet one? If not, are you getting blitzed with the Christmas music yet? Have you ever experienced reverse culture shock?
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