Culture Shock

"Culture Shock is the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, a move between social environments, or simply travel to another type of life." Wikipedia

I don't really remember ever going through culture shock before. I don't know if I was just unaware I was experiencing it when I lived in Spain or if I really didn't experience it. And even though I've heard enough warnings about the signs of Culture Shock, I naively thought I was immune to it. I can honestly say that pretty much every time I step out into the street in Mexico, I experience culture shock. The streets and sidewalks here are much more narrow than anywhere back home and people tend to walk in bigger groups and much more slowly. I often leave the house a few minutes too late and am a fast walker, meaning that I charge through the streets of Querétaro and find myself muttering under my breath as a kid runs out right in from of me, or a group of grandmas slows me down to a turtle's pace. Pedestrians also do not have the right of way here and you must patiently wait for a break in traffic to cross. This is both scary and kind of infuriating for someone like me who comes from a culture that always lets the walker or biker cross first. Just now, I was on my bike when I saw a pedestrian cross signal. An image of a little couple ignited in white, played a chirping noise, and even counted down the seconds you had to cross. I know that seems so ordinary, and that in my homes of Amherst and San Francisco every crosswalk matches that description, but it literally stopped me in my tracks. And just as I was about to roll into the crosswalk, a sedan whizzed past me on a right turn. @#$(!#$%^@!!!! Not even chirping, counting, blinking pedestrian lights make a difference and the cultural norm prevails. 

Yesterday I experienced another type of culture shock. I had told my Spanish teacher that I'm interested in elementary math education and am in search of a new side project to do for the rest of my stay here. She told me that two different departments at the Universidad Autonoma de Querétaro (UAQ) were conducting research projects about math education. She encouraged me to go to campus and ask for the directors of each department to see if I could get involved. And so I walked into the Facultad de Ingeniería (Engineering Department) and told the secretary why I was there. She brought me to a professor's office who kindly explained they don't have a research project going on but they do have a teaching credential in elementary math and invited me to their department meeting. I then went to the Facultad de Psicología where again, I spoke with a secretary who told me to go to a different building and speak to someone there. In the second building, I spoke with a second secretary who looked up all the research projects going on in the psychology department so she could be sure she helped me get in touch with the correct person. When we couldn't find the math project, she pointed me towards another professor's office. Professor Two also said they aren't conducting a formal research project but her own research is on math teaching in the classroom and that she gives workshops. She invited me to email her, assuring me she'd respond, and suggested I attend her next workshop as an assistant and from there I could work with her in some capacity.


I had been so nervous on the bus ride to the university. Who was I to barge in and ask to work on an academic research project? What makes me think they would want my help? I kept thinking. But everyone I talked to was so kind, they approached my request by trying to think of how they could be the most helpful to me. When I asked about a non-existent research project, they thought of what else they could offer to fulfill my curiosity. I don't think that would every happen in the U.S., people are so much more suspicious of strangers and wouldn't automatically entrust a random person to work with them. My friend Robert had a similar experience when he contacted a philosophy professor at the UAQ to ask about being his research assistant. Even though I kind of hate walking through the streets and get a little rageful while waiting for cars to let me cross, there are times when I am awe-struck by the level of humanity here as well. I have made promises to myself that when I move back home I will be better at greetings, better at saying goodbye, I'll stop and chat with co-workers more often and really listen when they chat with me. I still miss home and I still wish there was a fast lane on the sidewalk, but I'm grateful that Mexico is teaching me to approach strangers with compassion rather than impatience and distrust.