Reverse Culture Shock

We have been back in America for a week and it is so funny how as much as I have travelled and transitioned from culture to culture over the years, I am still surprised when I experience culture shock. As much as I missed the "American" way while living in South Africa, I realize that I had adapted to the South African way more than I realized.

While doing laundry, I find myself asking, "Why is the (tumble) dryer SO big??"

While planning meals, I find myself confounded on what I used to make here, which spices I need, and how to budget in dollars.

While interacting with people, the realization that for me and Arno, being from two different cultures, means one of us is ALWAYS different and doesn't "quite" blend in. Now Arno is wearing that hat....

....and more things that are still revealing themselves to me.

Reverse culture shock is so very strange. How can you forget the culture that you grew up in --well, sort of grew up in -- the culture of my family, at the very least, the culture that I lived in for 10 years before moving away?

It is quite the phenomenon that as hard as it is to adjust, once you do, you are different, changed -- for LIFE!!

So again the transitions come.....

Have you experienced culture shock travelling overseas or even coming back home? What are some things that you have done to help yourself adjust?