Reverse Culture Shock

akamaki

Hello all,

It has been a while since I've visited MFP. It's rather relieving to be back at the moment.

So!

I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to study abroad in Tokyo, Japan for one year (From Sept '09 - Aug '10) and I admit that I completely forgot about managing my diet and exercise while I was there.

Why?

#1. Because I was living in Tokyo, a big urban city, compared to my expansive suburban native land where I need a car to get anywhere. In Tokyo I walked EVERYWHERE all day. 15 minutes to school, 5 minutes to the convenience store and to the grocery store, 35 minutes to get to the train station where I could commute to anywhere I wanted in Tokyo, WALKING!

#2. Portions were almost always at least 60% of the size than most restaurant dishes and grocery packages served here in Midwest, U.S. suburbia, making it a lot easier to manage food intake while cooking for one.

I really didn't need to manage anything because I was automatically eating healthier and losing weight without trying. Granted, I made conscious healthy choices all the while, but the flavorful, well-sized options I had and the convenient walking commute made it easy. Drinking water was everywhere because I walked by convenience stores every block.

Well, now I've been back in the US for a good 6 months. Of course the first thing I do when I get back is sleep for a good week straight. And then friends and family take me to all my favorite restaurants I'd been missing. I get my car back and re-realize that I can’t just WALK to where I want to go. In short, I gain weight again. Generally I was amazed at how inconvenient Suburbia is for healthy living in comparison. o_o

I've had a frustrating time dealing with the fact that If I want to walk, I have to take time out of my busy schedule and aimlessly walk with no real destination. The 1 hour 30 minute walk to anywhere (grocery, school, convenience store are all at least this far, if not grossly more) is more efficiently spent studying or working.

Grocery shopping has also become a nightmare as I've had to completely re-teach myself what I used to eat and how I used to eat in a healthy manner, and without blowing my budget on bulk packaged products that I don’t know how to manage anymore. Japanese groceries would sell products like raw meat/fish and bread in small-serving packaging at reasonable prices so that I didn't feel like I had to eat it all right-away before it went bad. (like a giant loaf of bread here... I kid you not, they're giant to me now. XD)

Putting my silly griping aside, I've just had to re-learn how to stay healthy in my hometown and I've found it surprisingly difficult, as happy as I am to be home with friends and family. I've finally started to get over my reverse culture shock stresses and overcome the minor bout of depression I'd somehow fallen into along the way, and I feel a lot better and ready to get back on track. While I'm sad that I no longer have a broad, urban world outside my door and available to explore on foot any longer, I'm still happy to be back and working at the goals, hobbies, and activities that I'd had to leave behind. I know I've come out of my experience with a vast store of new knowledge and experience.

So! Has anyone else had to deal with culture shock? Even just moving about the country or the next town over could be hard, I'm sure. Anyone have any good advice for managing budget groceries when cooking for one, without getting sick and tired of frozen chicken breast, grapes and sandwiches every night? ;;

izobel

I enjoyed reading your post. I've lived in Tokyo for many years and yes, yes, yes it is such a walking city. Along with skinny genes and healthy eating that is one of the reasons you see so few fat Japanese apparently ... or I wonder if they are too embarrassed to leave their homes?

Many of our western countries are so car dependent. I'm originally from NZ and remember circling the village until I could get a park right outside the bank rather than walk 2 minutes to it. Ouch!

I've never invited my brother to Japan because he lost a leg in an accident and would never cope with the walking and station stairs. His son was here in August and was huffing, puffing and sweating walking round Tokyo. He said "Dad could NEVER do this". I thought for a young average weight guy he could have managed a bit better himself!

I go to the States annually (Seattle/Ichiro/sad!!) and I think it is quite difficult to eat out healthily there with portion sizes and dressings etc. I was in rural Ohio last June and was very shocked being taken to two buffet restaurants at the size of the patrons and the quantity of food on their plates. So many people needed walkers and the restaurant doors were super wide to accommodate them. I think it is very easy for the moderately overweight to get complacent surrounded by much larger people. But you do have a great country and I understand the lack of motivation to walk 90 minutes to the supermarket. Maybe listening to some good (educational) podcasts would give it some purpose? Or personally I would take up cycling. Your roads are goodt, the countryside is nice.

Surely vegetables are cheaper in the States? They are a crazy price around me!

Anyway sorry I can't help with any of your questions. I think it will just take time, because the US is a nice place to live.

soze

What a truly great experience!

My youngest daughter studied abroad and landed a dream job with top pay and benefits. She went to Spain, Italy, and then to Venezuela. Caracas to be exact, the murder capital of the world. Unknown to me at the time. She then was able to see for herself the naivety of many of us on what we know about the world. It is a mind opener.

Levedi

I haven't lived abroad, but I hear you about cooking for one and walking everywhere. Now that I live in LA I almost never walk places.

Here are some of my favorite things to keep on hand at all times for quick meals in single portions.

1. chopped garlic
2. olive oil
3. pesto (it's high fat, but a little goes a long way and it stores well in the fridge)
4. sweet potato (microwave it for 4 minutes, flip, 4 more minutes. eat with a dab of butter and some cinnamon.)
5. farfalle or angel hair pasta
6. grape tomatoes
7. frozen individually wrapped chicken breast portions (buy in bulk and package them yourself.)
8. dried cranberries
9. couscous
11. lentils
12. canned tomatoes
13. plain, fat free yogurt
14. a rack of favorite spices
15. cucumber
16. chicken broth
17. frozen peas, pea pods, and broccoli.
18. jar of hoisin or curry sauce. (again, not low fat, but used sparingly a little goes a long way)
19. vinegar (pick your favorite kinds)

make couscous with chopped cucumber and craisins, plus quick sauted chicken and balsamic vinaigrette spritz.
Or mix pepper flakes with yogurt, a little lemon juice, chopped fresh tomatoes, and sauted chicken.

Make pasta, saute chicken and mix with your favorite veggie and favorite sauce from the list - lots of variations are possible here.

For variety, cube tofu, fry that in garlic oil, add stir fry veggies and favorite asian sauce. Again, lots of variety possible with this too.

cucumbers with a dash of vinegar and feta cheese makes a great snack or side dish.

All of these require at most a frying pan, pot, knife, and cutting board so they work well in a small kitchen and leave minimal clean up.

Welcome back to the States!

alissit

Hi, 8 years ago I emigrated from Canada to the UK. While the cultures are similar, I can relate with the walking situation. I love how I can walk to everything here, only 5 minutes from the Tube that can take me ANYWHERE in London.
Again, everything is sold in smaller quantities, but because everything is within walking distance it's no problem to hit the grocery store 2-3 times a week.

When I do go home to visit, it can be a nightmare to eat sensibly, but what i recommend doing is meal planning.
Sit down and plan out what you are going to eat for the next 7 -10 days and then purchase as needed. Of course you will have to replenish veggies/fruit/milk etc. but having a rough idea of what you are going to eat for the next couple of weeks will stop you buying things that either sit in your cupboard for years, or spoil before you can use them.

You can also buy larger quantities of things and then repackage them into smaller portions. I'll buy 12 breasts of chicken, then repackage them and freeze them so I can pull out a breast whenever I need one ( ...hmmm, that sounds a bit dirty ... ). I'll whip up a huge batch of spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker, then freeze it into portions.

All of this requires planning, and once you can gain some control over it, it will fall into place.

Best of luck
xoxo

habibti

I can relate to your points. When I was home in the States this past December, I couldn't believe the size of produce!!!

I've actually had a bit of an opposite experience too, I used to live in Chicago without a car. I walked everywhere - the bus stop, EL station, Target and the supermarket with my backpack and carry groceries home. But I've been living abroad, in the Middle East for almost 4 years and it's all about driving. Granted, it's too blazin' hot to be in the sun a lot of the year, but it's also just not pedestrian/bike friendly. I was fit and slim and never "exercised" in Chicago, but I gained about 50 pounds in 3 1/2 years here! Oh Nooo! :laugh:

akamaki

izobel: Thanks for the encouragement! I imagine 1 hour and 30 minutes for a walk doesn't sound bad to a lot of people. lol. I live on the outskirts of a town that's not terribly pedestrian/cyclist friendly, but it's certainly not impossible. I'll try to get out and enjoy a good long walk when the weather warms up and I'm not so concerned with my poor time-management skills... Which I should improve in the mean time. Also, yes... the veggies were SUPER expensive... the fruit was even more expensive. When I got I got back to the US, prices had also risen, but it's still cheaper than Tokyo, most of the time... just managing the sheer bulk of it was hard, and it ended up being expensive for me. xD;

soze: It is an eye-opening experience! I met some amazing people from all over the world and we all learned a lot from eachother about how our own and other's worlds look from the outside. I'm happy for your daughter to have an awesome experience like that!

Levedi: Thanks! It sounds weird that I couldn't remember my old staples... but this does help! It'll make my shopping a little less of a stress test.

alissit: Thanks for the tips! It really does feel nice to live in a convenient big city! Oh, I'd love to go to London.
I feel silly having forgotten how to take care of my basic needs... I've wasted so much food since I got back that I really feel bad. I've gotten better, but I do need to improve my planning abilities so that I can actually follow the plans that I make. xD

habibti: I'm glad it's not just me who's had the problem! My location is also very hot in summer (usually averages around 100F) probably not as bad as where you're living. xD It's also very cold in winter... lately it's been warmer at around 20-30F, but I'm used to below 0 weather and SUPER DRY air. Pedestrians are truly a rare sight here, almost everyone owns a car the moment they're allowed to drive one. xD