We've all heard the term culture shock at least once in our lives, but most of us has never experienced it. Over the holidays my family and I went on a trip to Japan and I realized that I have been experiencing culture shock on a daily basis without realizing that that's what it was. Almost every local and most foreigners who come to Colombia say that Colombians are very warm people, and they're kind of right. Colombians hug and kiss each other all the time, people like to be together and having some sort of physical contact; but for me this isn't a god thing, I don't think it is warm, I think it is invasive. I don't need people hugging me all day long, and I really find it extremely uncomfortable when people you've just been introduced to greet you by kissing you on the cheek. I mean: COME ON PEOPLE, I NEED SOME SPACE!!!! This way of thinking and my aversion to any type of physical contact I don't chose to initiate has always make me seem like a freak in the eyes of others. I come across as a cold and distant person who has no interest in those around her, and this isn't true. I actually do like a lot of people and, granted 99.99% of those people are girls because boys are morons, I'm not as distant as I come across. I just don't need to touch people to show them I like being friends with them.
When I got to Japan I felt like I had landed on a paradise for physical-contact-non-loving-people. In Japan your personal space is sacred, people don't touch you. There is such respect for your personal space, and for hygiene, that they don't even shake hands when they're greeting each other, instead they bow. If you're a man you bow with your arms at your sides, and if you're a woman you bow with your hands clasped in front of you. The Japanese are people that know how to be alone, most restaurants have tables for one or two and bigger tables are harder to find, yet they are very aware that they live in a community and they respect that. They don't talk on their phones when they're on the train or the subway, they have very specific rules as to where you should walk to allow those who are in a REAL hurry to move through the crowd uninterruptedly, they speak in soft voices when they're in public spaces, they don't eat or drink while walking down the street, and they don't kiss in public. Wonder how many of these cultural rules which allow the Japanese to live very well in community exist in Colombia? The answer would be NONE. In Colombia everyone is in a hurry and no one else matters, they all need to get wherever they are going first so there are no rules that allow people in a REAL hurry to get anywhere on time. People in Colombia talk on their cellphones like it's going out of style, they talk everywhere and at any time, and to make it worse they don't talk like normal people: they yell. They also yell when they're talking amongst themselves in a public place like a restaurant or a movie theatre (a movie theatre!! There's not even enough decency here to shut up during a movie!). In Colombia couples have this awkward and bizarre need to kiss in public (or the typical Colombian boyfriend with his hand inside his girlfriend's back pocket grabbing her derriere) and they do it without any consideration to those around them that have to witness the not-so-entertaining spectacle. Being in Japan my brain and my body felt completely at peace. I didn't feel like the odd one out; like the cold and distant one, or the one that is to picky about how people behave, because I was in a place where there is so much respect for others that it is no wonder they managed to rebuild their country in such an efficient manner and with no altercations.
I really do think Colombia is a beautiful country with breathtaking landscapes and a magnificent flora and fauna, but the culture here really needs to improve. Colombians need to learn to respect those around them, and they have to learn to stop being so selfish and think about others before they think about themselves. I wouldn't live in Japan because it is too far away, too expensive, and the language barrier is huge; but I won't live in Colombia for much more, if I do I think I'll go crazy (or crazier than I already am) because the culture here is so shocking for me, that I feel like I'm very far away from home.
