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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