Archive for August, 2010

My first impression of the cruise is that it’s a summer camp for grown ups. You have lots of people rounded up in one place  and the meals and entertainment are on a schedule. The diversity of the people, however, was fascinating. Few of the crew members were Americans and many of the passengers spoke other languages as well. Many of the crew members came from countries that are not as economically prosperous as the US and in some ways, it made me think of the wastefulness that took place on that cruise ship.

There were food available 24 hours a day and the choices were so vast and supply so plentiful that people didn’t feel bad about throwing away half plate of perfectly edible food. The electricity was running constantly, be it the hot tubs on the deck, lights all around the ship, the casino, the rooms, etc. Constant electricity was rare on land where I was living just 3 weeks ago, yet I was able to have it ON A BOAT? And then there was the service – customer service so amazing that it was almost over the top. One evening, our wait for dinner was a bit long, and the next thing you know they sent us cakes and a note to apologize in our room. We love the turn-down service where they make animals out of towels. The contrast was drastic, and surreal. Throughout the week, I kept thinking to myself, this is the epitome of the American culture, and it was bizarre.

one of many towel animals during turn down service

The two port-of-calls were charming little seaside towns and good chance to get out of the enclosed space and walk around a bit. This was the first time I ever step foot into Canada, and much like what I imagined – it’s a lot like the United States. There are very few, if any, particularities that made me though, “oh, this is very Canadian.” There is one thing – the sales tax that hovers around 15%! No wonder they have such great social services. The money always comes from somewhere.

Saint Johns, New Brunswick

a local indoor market in Saint Johns

The cruise was overall an interesting experience, though probably not my favorite way of vacationing. It was, however, lovely to spend quality time with my family whom I haven’t seen in a year. Besides being enclosed on the ship for a week, we’ve also put on our touristy hats and visited New York and Washington D.C.. The tour continues to Boston tomorrow. Stay tune for updates!

Halifax, Nova Scotia

view from the window of our room

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I’m currently on the road of my East Coast whirlwind tour and found a little time to update the progress of my reverse culture shock. I find that it didn’t take me long to ease right back into the modern life, though there are still moments that take me back to Cameroon. I returned straight to Saint Louis where my parents reside and spent the initial two weeks of my return there. In some ways, it feels as though I had never left. I visited my alma mater – Saint Louis University, where I had graduated just three weeks before I departed for Cameroon. I was driving around the ridiculous multilane highway of St. Louis, and so little has changed, yet my life is different in so many ways. It made me quite nostalgic being in all these same places after so long.

I had many more reverse culture shock moments in those initial two weeks, and the funnier ones were as follow:

• walked into the Saint Louis Galleria to shop and was incredibly overwhelmed by the multi-level luxury shopping completed with food court at the bottom. Found myself taking deep breaths and just walking around aimlessly. Sometimes, I have to leave a store because the choices were overwhelming.
• did laundry at my parents’ house and could not figure out how to use their washer and dryer that had so many buttons on it! Also used the vacuum cleaner and the entire time I was thinking how cool this thing was and how that would’ve been really useful in Cameroon, especially during the dry season.
• got my Macbook and iPod touch and was SO amazed at all the amazing things you could do with technology these days! Everything is almost literally right on your fingertip. whoa.
• went to my favorite dessert bar that I frequented in college – The Chocolate Bar – I was so happy to be there again and so excited to finally eat the delicious goodness that I’ve dreamt about for two years that I was speechless for quite a while when the food arrived.
  

  Mmmmm! chocolate & cheese, can you really go wrong?

• went to the wine tasting at the Saint Louis Zoo and was so amazed by the sheer concept of a zoo, and then having people drink wine while walking around in it.
• I found there is something really scary about being in a Wal-Mart. It makes me really nervous, and I can’t be in there for more than 10 minutes at a time. Must be the combination of the ridiculous amount of things and the kind of people that are around.
• I don’t even want to think about how much weight I’ve gained in just the short time that I’ve been home. Everything tastes delicious and American portions are HUGE. The consensus among my Peace Corps friends who’ve recently returned is that Americans as a whole are fat and flabby…

Some pictures from SLU. The school is so much nicer now. Lots of improvements over these past two years. I really took that place for granted. It’s not so bad after all.

The Clock Tower

John Cook School of Business - my second home

The atrium of the Business School

Pius Library - many late nights took place here

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