Being the Other

These days, most people who plan to live in another country expect there to be some degree of culture shock—moments when the differences of a new culture become overwhelming and cause the person to eventually either withdraw or adapt. This expectation was certainly true for me. But what I didn’t really consider before coming to Georgia was the reverse, that I as an individual from a different culture would so often do things that would be surprising to Georgians.

Being here has made taught me a lot more about my own culture, about values and practices that I didn’t even realize were distinctly American until coming here. There are so many things I do routinely that I never before considered strange, but I have now become very conscious of.

Here is a list of things (small and large, abstract and concrete) that I’ve always seen as normal, but could possibly be considered strange in a culture other than America: 

      1. Bake sales

I was discussing with my partner teacher how to raise money and I mentioned that in America people will often bake cakes etc. and sell them to raise money. She laughed and told me this would seem really strange in Georgia. Interestingly, several other volunteers have thought of this idea and gotten similar reactions.

Bake sales…they always seemed so mundane and normal. But now that I think about it, they really are such an American thing to do (combining our loves of both fundraising and cookies), and it’s not really too surprising that it would seem strange here.

2. Impatience

Americans like everything to be on time, and when this expectation isn’t met, it’s a major cause of stress. But things work differently here. Things just take longer. Or more the point, deadlines and schedules aren’t set in stone the way they are in America. Marshutkhas and taxies leave when they’re full. People can guess at the times if you ask, but it’s just that—a guess. If I were to get bent out of shape when a driver tells me we’re leaving in 20 minutes and an hour later we’re still in the station, my impatience would appear very strange and uncalled for, whereas in America this reaction would be the norm.

One day in class we were explaining adjectives to describe people. While the class readily understood words like “talented” and “lazy,” “impatience” was much more difficult. It’s not that there isn’t a word for it in Georgian, it’s just that that concept is altogether pretty strange here.

3. Spending an afternoon reading

In America, reading is seen as a leisure activity, almost purely for pleasure. I’m not sure exactly how reading is seen here, but if I read for more than an hour straight, I am usually told that I need to rest and that I shouldn’t work so hard. But for most Americans, reading is a form of rest and relaxation.

4. Apologizing

Americans apologize for everything and I am very guilty of this. If someone bumps into me on the street, I will apologize. When speaking to Georgians, I think it’s definitely considered a little odd to apologize as much as Americans do. In fact whenever I apologize for something that an American would typically apologize for, I am usually met with the response, “Why are you sorry?” I am now very conscious of how often I still find myself reflexively apologizing in Georgian.

Anyway, I had a 5^th thing, but a voice inside my head is saying “Gogo, daisvine!” (“Girl, rest!”) so I guess that’s that.