shock
1 [shok]
noun
1.
a sudden and violent blow or impact; collision.
2.
a sudden or violent disturbance or commotion: the shock of battle.
3.
a sudden or violent disturbance of the mind, emotions, or sensibilities: The burglary was a shock to her sense of security. The book provided a shock, nothing more.
culture shock
noun
a state of bewilderment and distress experienced by an individual who is suddenly exposed to a new, strange, or foreign social and cultural environment.
Before moving to Singapore, I did a lot of reading up on the location, the climate, the culture. I watched youtube videos of how to speak Singlish, and of common Singaporean terms. I read up on becoming an expat as well as culture shock. I was aware of the "Ugly American" and how not to become one. I made connections ahead of time in order to make the transition easier, and yet, here I am in shock.
Culture shock tends to make one think of moving to a third world country and having to assimilate to such a state of destitution, or moving to a foreign country in which the customs are so different that it is overwhelming to have to remember everything, or even moving to a place in which you cannot find any of your usual home comforts. I can see how one would go through a period of shock while transitioning into these cultures. But Singapore, Singapore is a tricky place.
Called "Asia light" for good reason, this city-state is bursting with expats from every corner of the world. The first time I walked into a grocery store, I was nearly knocked over at the sight of all of the foods that are exactly what I find back home. I found my gluten-free brands and my organic brands, and even found little packages of raspberries and blueberries from our home state. It was....unreal. It was too easy to be here.
Our current apartment, a temporary living space for us until we acquire a rental and our household goods shipment comes into port, is in the heart of the city. Being furnished apartments, it is the launching pad for many, many expats coming into Singapore. I go down to the pool and can hear French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, and English in various different accents being spoken. I thought that I'd find some kindred spirits among these new additions stumbling their way into this new world along with me. But it is among the expats, mainly, that I have become most shocked.
My culture shock does not come from the Asian culture, as I expected it to. While I've been exposed to a lot of Asian culture through the areas in which we've lived, I knew that being immersed in it would be different, and take some getting used it. But, we are accustomed to, and love, the food. We know how to use chopsticks and soup spoons. We take off our shoes in homes. The specifically Asian culture has not shown to be too difficult of a challenge for us. It is the *Singapore*, wealthy, privileged, entitled - whether local or expat - culture that has knocked me off of my feet.
We are here as civil servants. We do not have flashy, high-paying jobs. We are our governments' minions, doing much work for little pay. We just now get to do it in a different place. But the rest of the people here, it is obvious that they are not accustomed to the lifestyle that I am. There are two classes here. The wealthy, and the helpers. All of the menial laborers are from foreign, poor, countries. They work for very little money and live very simple lives. The rest are the 1%, living lavishly, relying on the helpers to do the tasks which they deem beneath them. Tasks such as cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children. The tasks which I associate with being a wife and mother, they seem to look upon as unimportant. And this, this is where the culture shock has set in for me.
The hardest part for me is to see the conditions in which these helpers survive. They are given tiny, non air-conditioned rooms in which to sleep, their bathrooms barely large enough to hold a toilet and sink, and have a shower nozzle attached to a wall for bathing. They are paid $400-600 a month to run a household. To do the shopping, the cleaning, the cooking, the child-rearing, the shuttling back and forth to activities. I would be LIVID if I were deemed to be worth no more than $600 a month! So this, this is where the culture shock sets in for me. To walk down a road and see people so invested in their handheld devices, wearing shoes that cost more than their helper's monthly pay, carrying bags from outrageous overpriced stores, eating in restaurants with their child(ren) and helper seated at a separate table. It has been a shock from which I still have not recovered. And it is something that I do not just want to become accustomed to and immune to. I do not want to brush it aside as "just the way things are", and feel that it is alright to devalue someone's worth so much.
I'm not really sure where to go from here.
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