Negotiation Phase

Culture shock, phase 2: Negotiation.

"After some time (usually around three months, depending on the individual), differences between the old and new culture become apparent...Language barriers, stark differences in public hygiene, traffic safety, food accessibility and quality may heighten the sense of disconnection from the surroundings..."

 Adam left for Beijing on Friday with his class, and while I"m sure he will have his own blog dedicated to that, I have continued my adjustment here. Last time Adam left for several days, I locked myself out of my house in my pajamas, with all the lights on, candles burning, and dogs wagging there tails at me through the window. I had to drive to a friends house to call my parents, who in turn drove 45 minutes to my house, before my Dad broke into the door with a coat hanger. Phew. Now put me in a foreign country and leave me. The only thing is, is that while very foreign yes, I was not alone. I am so lucky to have friends who took me out with them and called, texted, and facebooked to make sure I was doing good. It could have been the fact they know the story, or it could be that they are just plain awesome. I say they are awesome. Besides getting two massages over the weekend, yes Gen I got another without you, I went grocery shopping. Would you ever believe that we go to 4-5 places to get our food? And we don't go there for better deals either, it's just where you go to get things. There's the Chinese market, there's the "Western" market where there's western and organic stuff, there's the market that's a little of both and has snacks and drinks, there's the wannabe Trader Joes that has boxed and canned Trader Joes products randomly like they might be shoved in suitcases and then sold on shelves, there's the Portuguese market that has fresh meats and cheese and other things that can only be found there, and there's the fruit and veggie stand that sells fruits and veggies and gives us free green onions every time we go. I can't even imagine what it would feel like to have a Safeway at my finger tips now! Although, you have have to pay for green onions there.

The language barrier can be a bit rough at times, especially when you only speak one language and are surrounded by people who speak 2, 3, 4, and yes, even 5 languages. It's challenging, awkward, difficult, uncomfortable, and quite honestly can make you feel inadequate. And yet, I haven't signed up to go for the weekly Monday night Mandarin course. I think I should learn Portuguese instead, people speak it here, of course not who you need to speak it like the taxi drivers, retail workers, or medical staff. But I feel like I could actually have a shot at learning it.

"...adaptation of gut flora to different bacteria levels and concentrations in food and water; difficulty in seeking treatment for illness, as medicines may have different names from the native country's and the same active ingredients might be hard to recognize. Still, the most important change in the period is communication."

One sinus infection, one food poisoning episode, one random fever, and one cold in 8 weeks. Besides the food poisoning (don't reheat shrimp), teaching Kindergarten includes germs, lots of germs. Luckily there are pharmacies lining the streets, unfortunately, they speak and write in Chinese. There is no sudefed, nightquil, Halls cough drops, etc. There are shelves full of apothecaries and white boxes. Good luck with that. When our cousins come visit in December, we will be requesting a delivery of red tinged pharmaceuticals.

There are two main hospitals in Macau affectionately referred to as "take your money" and "take your life". In order to be "legal" here, we had to go to the "take your life" hospital, or so I think, because the nurses still wore triangle paper hats and pink dresses, the walls hadn't been painted since 1952, and it had a special smell. Regardless, I peed in a cup, had my weight, height and blood pressure taken, had a chest x-ray, and got poked and prodded... all for $37 USD. Yep. That's the other reason I think it's the "take your life" hospital, because that's not a lot of money.

So yes, there are stark differences, and negotiating these are part of the process. I'd like to negotiate my way out of all the cement and high rise buildings at some point. If we lived in Auburn and a beach nestled in the tropical forest was only 15 minutes away by car, we would have moved there in a second. Here. it's actually possible. Coloane is just a stone throw away and with patience you could just take the 20 minute bus ride everyday, but it's only 15 minutes with a car. Yes, there is no grocery store there, there are not 100 restaurants to choose from nightly, but if you leave your windows open at night, you can fall asleep listening to the waves. Hmmm.... food for thought.