Ed vs. Reverse Culture Shock [Season 3, Episode 63]

When you’ve been an expat for a long time and don’t visit home regularly, what’s it like going back?  Is reverse culture shock even real?

Greg and Ed discuss Ed’s first trip back to the States in 4 years to see how ed digested it all. Usually one to enjoy his trips back, Ed notes two major things that struck him: first, without the language and cultural barriers, things unexpectedly just work, and the feeling of standing there not knowing what to do when things go well is a little weird. Second, in the American suburbs, you can travel pretty far very quickly, while in Bangkok, all travel seems to take a long time. So while back in the States, all time estimates have to be re-calibrated.

Greg then asks a few interesting questions: Did Ed find his hometown boring compared to Bangkok, as Greg did with his own? Did Ed get distracted by all the conversations around him that he can now understand? What type of questions did he get about Thailand? And how were Ed’s friendships affected by staying away for so long?

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