This is post #4 in a series of edited versions of my blog from 2010/11 when I studied Persian in Tajikistan. The first post is here, and more are to come!
Culture Shock Stage Two: Irritation and Hostility
Sometime after approx. one month in Tajikistan
I only had a few days of Stage One: Euphoria and Excitement. It’s difficult to be euphoric when your intestines are being put through a blender.
Why is everything so dirty and run down!?
Why does my family have to sit together and know everything the other is doing?
Why can’t I get a moment’s peace and quiet in my room?
Why does my host mom yell at her grandson all day to help her with this or that? Shouting across the courtyard is the norm in the house.
Why spend hours cleaning your car, but don’t connect the water to the sink you installed in the bathroom? How hard would it be to fix the sink?
If you took the same amount of energy that you expend spraying down the now mostly dirt road in front of your house each day with water to prevent dust, …
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