Showing posts with label AIESEC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AIESEC. Show all posts

January 14, 2009

申请过程中的感悟(二)- Reverse Culture Shock


Reverse Culture Shock这个话题其实我一直有点避讳。因为这个话题太敏感了,如果表述得不够清楚和客观,很容易就背上“崇洋媚外”的骂名。但是上次@culture preparation的时候,nick提出来了,后来又跟他小讨论了一下,觉得还是很有必要讲一下的。特别是对于即将要出国或回国的同学们。

我首先要说明一下,这篇文章我不是在抱怨什么,而是在用真实详尽的例子告诉你们我的切身体会!还有怎么去克服这些问题!想骂我的到心里暗骂就好了,不要到我帖子下面留言进行人身攻击!当然~客观的讨论还是很欢迎的。

Wikipedia上对于reverse culture shock的定义是:

Returning to one's home culture after growing accustomed to a new one can produce the same effects (of culture shock) as described above, which an affected person often finds more surprising and difficult to deal with as the original culture shock.

我觉得,在国外长期生活过的人应该对这个有很深的感触的。我第一次接触这个概念,还是在Mitbbs上的一篇女海龟的帖子。帖子主要内容就是讲女主人公在美国完成学业并工作两年后归国,遭遇到了工作方式,处事原则,感情生活等各方面的巨大的不适应。那篇帖子里用的还不是reverse culture shock这个名词,而是ADVERSE culture shock。可见,她对于归国后的现实状况是多么地不满意。。。

当时我还在波兰实习。在我回国前的某天,Betty跟我说,她刚从土耳其实习回来的时候,特别不适应,花了好一阵子才调整过来。当时我就挺担心的,Betty还只是出国2个月,我在波兰都住了快半年,那这种reverse culture shock效应岂不是要更严重?!幸运的是,我已经提前作好了心理准备,打算沉着面对并努力克服这种不适应性;不幸的是,我还是不可避免地遭遇到了reverse culture shock。。。

首先,我太习惯每天飚英文了,习惯到回国后说中文的时候总免不了夹带英文。。囧 这一点遭到了cici,贾大妈等人的强烈BS!其实我真的不是故意的,有些概念第一次接触到的时候是通过英文,结果养成了英语的思维习惯,直接造成后来每次提及的时候就直接说英文。而且英文在时态和指代的表达上较中文更为简洁,我有时候就不经大脑地把英文飚出来了。。


其次,是生活环境。虽然波兰不是一个特别发达的国家,但是波兰真的比武汉干净和安静太多了。习惯了在波兰每天准点准分到达的公车(因为公车站都有时间表,标明了哪列车几点几分到站,误差一般不超过2分钟),回到武汉要漫无边际地绝望等公车让我特别烦躁。波兰很干净,路上垃圾很少(当然不排除有喝高了的人乱扔酒瓶的情况。。),公共场所也很少有人大声喧哗(不排除人口少的因素。。),武汉,恩,不说大家也都知道。另外,在波兰的时候,宿舍不熄灯不断网还有厨房,party又多,大家玩起来都超开心的。回到武汉的很长一段时间里,我的生活日程里几乎都没有出现过party这个词,喝酒和去club的次数也少得可怜。连国外的朋友都在facebook上面问我:monica, why are you living so queit in China? 囧

接着,是沟通方式。刚回来的时候,有些人觉得我说话有点冲。其实,我只是说话比较直接而已。实习的时候,Aneta(上司)问过我,为什么你不直接告诉我你心理是怎么想的,你准备怎么去做?有些问题你应该当面跟我说清楚的。我工作中出现问题的时候,Aneta也是直言不讳地指出来。我曾经在办公室被她劈头盖脸地大骂,甚至被她骂到躲进厕所里哭——尽管我私下的关系跟她是非常非常好的。这个是工作,另外在国外跟朋友的相处也是一样的,大家习惯比较直接的表达:比如,有人邀请你去party或者有事情找你帮忙,如果你不想去或者不想帮忙,可以直接说出来,没必要找什么借口去搪塞别人,也不用担心别人会因为你的拒绝而拉长了脸。。。好吧,我承认,回来以后我开始极度不适应拐弯抹角、含蓄内敛的沟通了。。。

再次,是助人方面。我们中国人普遍来说在人际交往方面还是很审慎的,对于陌生人,只有少数人会主动伸出援手。我也不知道是不是我的观点太片面,但是我在波兰的半年里,遇到了太多热心帮助我的陌生人。其实我在波兰遇到了很多乱七八糟令人啼笑皆非的事情,所以我特别感激那个在我第一天正式上班但坐错公车的时候免费开车载我到公司门口的大胡子波兰大叔;特别感激那个在我找错火车站的时候带着孩子还开车把我送到很远的另一个火车站的年轻爸爸;特别感激那个在我熬夜等车的时候送我免费咖啡的加拿大大叔;特别感激那个看我行李太重提不上公车而跑过来帮我提行李的公车司机…… 回国的那个寒假,我一个人背着背包拖着箱子提着行李踩着泥泞不堪的积雪经过武昌火车站(那时候还在兴建)的时候却没有一个人来帮我,无比绝望。。。

最后,是对女生的关怀方面。国外男生也分对女生特别gental和一般gental的,但是基本上都要比国内男生做得好。这样说吧,只要出去吃饭,不管是两个人还是一堆人,男生都会抢在前面帮女生开门让女生先进去,我从来都没自己开过门;看到女生拎着重的东西,男生都会主动帮忙提的。我明白这个情况是基于中国和外国的文化差异和文化背景,所以我也无所谓,只不过在国内有人主动帮我的时候会特别感动。。。


然后说说nick对于reverse culture shock的感受。nick之前在日本做过一年的长期实习,他说刚从日本回澳大利亚的时候,非常不适应——特别是在跟朋友的相处方面。他认识到自己和老朋友之间的分歧多了,他的解释是,i changed, but they are still the same. 这点我也满认同的,毕竟一年的时间在一个完全不同的文化氛围中生活,对个人价值观的影响还是很显著的。我以前看到论坛上有人说,很多留学生出国以后就信教了,开始还满不以为然,后来我渐渐理解了,其实每个人在孤独和无助的时候都需要一点点信仰力量的支撑。。。

上次去CS版聚的时候,遇到了一对海龟夫妇。女生当时感慨了一下现在的国内物价还有RMB的购买力,说100美元能买的东西太多了,可回国后100RMB没买几样东西就用完了。我想,无论是显性还是隐性的,这种回国后的不适应都是普遍的吧!



说到怎么去克服reverse culture shock,我的答案只有两点:时间和摆正心态。

当我发现reverse culture shock给我带来的骄躁情绪严重地影响了我的日常生活后,我开始给自己做积极的心理暗示。我不断地告诉自己其实这些东西都是很无所谓的,努力寻找自己生活中的亮点,同时告诉自己要坦然客观地面对种种文化差异。

话说回来,其实每种文化都有自己的闪光点,关键看你如何去冷静看待它。如果只是一味地放大自己本国的文化亮点,难免有点一叶障目的感觉;如果一味放大外国的文化亮点,那恐怕就要成为真正的崇洋媚外了。吸取不同文化的精髓,树立适合自己的人生规划,才是正确的选择。


下面这个是在网上google出来的,需要的可以免费拿去
我不收中介费。。。
=============================================


Tips for dealing with reverse culture shock

o Re-establish relationships
People you were close to when you left, even those you remained in close contact with, will be separated from you by the unique experiences you have had in each other's absence. However, this separation is certainly not permanent, and new experiences can make for some very interesting conversation. Just keep in mind that since both of you have changed, you won't necessarily interact in the same way.

o Share your experience
Since only you have had your experience, there is no possible way that anyone can fully understand what you have gone through. While people will be interested in what you did abroad, nobody will be quite as interested as you - despite your amazing storytelling skills.

o Readjust
Fitting your new life into your old one can be frustrating. Since every country has a unique approach to life, it can be difficult if you're used to operating within your host country's cultural mode, or have made that approach to life a part of you, to return to your home country where the rules are different. It's easy to become frustrated with aspects of your homeland culture that no longer make sense to you. Try to keep things in perspective. Bear in mind that every country has its flaws and its strengths.

o Guard against the"grass is greener" syndrome
Returning home is wonderful in so many ways. You can talk to family and friends without a phenomenal fee, you can eat at your favourite restaurant, sleep in your own bed, and whatever else you were looking forward to doing. However, there is always the danger of falling victim to the "grass is greener" syndrome. Just as it is possible to dramatize the glory of your return home, it is also possible once you've returned home to over-romanticize your experience abroad. Life is never cookie-cutter perfect. Home is not the impenetrable haven you might remember at times, and life would still not be flawless, even if you are back in the host country you left behind.

o A few more things that might help
Talk to others who have studied abroad, keep in touch with those you met abroad, use the emotional momentum to continue cultural interactions (check out on-campus groups like Friends of International Students and Scholars), and be patient with yourself and others. Savour the rare privilege of having two "homes"!





June 12, 2008

one year since china (by abraheme)


从abraheme的facebook上转过来的



2 months of Solitude,10 months of Nostalgia(One year since China)


Today at 1:37am
One year ago, June 10 2007 at 3 a.m., I received a call. In themiddle of the night I wondered, "Who the hell could that be?" Iremember not sleeping well that night, it was my first flight overseasand I haven't been to Florida or Rhode Island yet, and here I am flyingto China. My father got up and stomped to the telephone. His gallopingapproached my direction. He handed me the phone with his eyes closed.
"It's China." he says mumbling in Arabic.
"What!!??" I said with one eye open. I grabbed the phone next to my sweaty ear
"Hello? Is this Ring?"
"No, it's Kari, hi, when are you getting here? It's so rural here"
"Kari?? Oh..hi hi! Rural? …What do you mean?
"Make sure you get some mosquito sprays, I've been bitten a lot already"
"Oh, ok,,,what do you mean by rural? Isn't Wuhan a city not countryside? I chuckled nervously.
"Yea, it is a city. Did you get Anthony's number?
"Yeah, I got it from Ring, my flight leaves at 6:30 today, and I'msupposed to be in Shanghai by 1. And I might be in Wuhan by 4 to 6."
"Ok, well, we're waiting for you here, have a safe trip, see you then"
A heart-warming voice with a cold and sharp tone. "She was something" Isaid to myself. Her voice chilled me enough to make me oblivious to mysweat for a while.

Fast forward to the flight.

One year ago, I discovered you all in the Wonderful World ofWuchang, Wuhan. My first time overseas and getting on a plane full ofWong's, Liu's and Xiang's was the biggest chocolate factory Willy Wonkacould give me. There was a five hour delay for my 6:30 departure, andthe pilot decided to keep his mouthful of noodles and told us about thedelay at around 10 o'clock,
"There seems to be traffic on the runway, we will be moving shortly,looks like we got a bad fortune cookie!" He never said the fortunecookie joke, but I laughed and imagined it going well at that moment.The guy on my right, let's call him Han for convenience sake, slept assoon as he laid his ass on the seat at 6. He woke up; stretched andprobably said to himself, "I'm one third of the way to Zhong Guo." Thenhe noticed the same smoggy JFK sky outside the window. This thenentitled him to give me this look--beyond translation. One of thegorgeous flight attendants with her red and white served by and thattook my mind off of everything. Seventeen hours with these people willbe, in the words of Ben, "AMAZING." And soon, the elderly white coupleon my left broke their croissants and my nose hairs were filled withbuttery bliss. The old woman looked like a cross between Maria Espositoand Julia Childs, she probably baked them herself I thought.

I have pages and pages more of this, but I'll just stick to thepoint. If you want the full story, I'll email it to ya, or put it up onfacebook.
Anthony, you were the biggest relief my ass could have after being on 3Chinese flights for 22 hours. After talking with you on the phone atShanghai then contacting you at Wuhan to pick me up, your damn goodEnglish was a God-send. I will always remember standing near theentrance in the polluted Wuhan acid rain waiting for an "Anthony."After our ride through the slums between Wuhan airport and Hankou, Iwas shitting on myself, "Did Kari mean what she really meant?"
And so, on my first car ride through ZhongShan Road, and never havingseen so much pollution in my life, I was hungry and damn ecstatic to beled through Wuhan by an Anthony in a tanktop.

Nina! You were the first American face I saw in Wuchang, at LuXiangPlaza. And trust me, I wanted to hug you so hard and say "I'm alive!...Now feed me!" But our handshake was ok. Later on, I remember meetingother people from AIESEC, but I'm don't remember who.

And in another taxi we went, and short ride from LuXiang Plaza, waswhat Robert Pauley would say, HOONNNGGG FU JIA YUAN!! And getting onthat elevator one floor up to the second floor to our apartment, I wasgreeted by the most scrumptious and shimmering faces and smiles I'veseen for the past 2 days, Kari and Olga. But to my surprise, they weredrinking hot ass tea in that hot ass day, or I think Kari was drinkingcoffee, "What's the matter with these women? Am I gonna live with themfor 2 months?"

And so, after not sleeping and starving for 22 hours, Nina, Olga andKari took me out through a deserted HuaZhong KeJi Daxue the same nightI got to the apartment. The sights, the smells, the sorrow, and allthat good stuff invaded my senses and I was half conscious to talkabout myself whenever they asked me about anything.


And so I slept safely that night, but I got sick. Why? Because myroommate, decided to blast the A.C. on my face. And so, in my firstChinese morning, the first sight I saw was my white-ass roommate Ethan,across the room, in his blue boxers. And Z.O.Z. came to the rescue andgave me the funkiest Chinese medicine and food I've ever had.

I just want to say, those two months were as cheesy as it sounds, adream come true. Everybody in our apartment was perfectly handpicked byGod himself. The laughs, the worries, the starvation, the sweat, thedancing (crazy times at Queens), the singing( 36 hour marathon with NewOriental), the climbing(LuShan with Matt and Angie), the running, theskipping, the biking(Anthony, Rachel, Ben, Tim), and all thatpsychedelic Chinese goodness(Kari and Ben in GuiLin and Yingshuo) thatonly our crew(especially my apartment) had together, ( until added onby everybody else who came a week later, Rachel, both Roberts, Tim,Kelsey, Erin, Angie, Matt, Charlie, Jaclyn) Everything was priceless, Iwould say, the only, ONLY, "bad thing" about it all was me starving andyou all eating my food, especially Ben!

And AIESEC Wuhan, you guys took care of us despite having a mean andtender loving caring mother like Olga to handle things for us interns.Anthony, Z.O.Z., Ring, Sunny, Maggie, thank you all! I know it was abit hectic, but since it was your first exchange program, you took itpretty well.
And Doria, those 3 days that you stayed over were one of my last goodmemories of Wuhan, I'm glad we had them together when we snuck in theneighboring apartment buildings to get on their rooftops.
I know I wont have the same experience with you guys, but I hope to seeyou guys again in July and sometime soon afterwards. And if God wills,to see you all in China again.

I love you all!


May 4, 2008

ep preparation package for poland@china

下载地址
  http://pickup.mofile.com/3608024557552558

提取码

  3608024557552558


monica呕心沥血大作=.=       大家有兴趣可以下载看看。。。。





        ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                         本package归Monica版权所有,欢迎翻录补充

 

 

    07年7月,开始了在波兰@ Lodz为期半年的MT实习

    08年1月,回到了中国,回到了熟悉的武汉,熟悉的@HUST

    08年5月,终于把Poland EP Preparation Package编写+美工搞定

    每个人都有自己生活的轨迹,没有AIESEC,也许我还是循着预计的路线走下去。我很庆幸在自己20岁的时候呼吸到了新的空气,描绘了新的色彩,感受了不一样的瑰丽文化。 AIESEC带给我的,不仅仅是专业上的提升,更多的是学会对自己负责、认真地思考将来的漫漫人生。

    回忆就像是剥桔子,把那层结实的果皮剥掉以后还有一层层的瓤,一缕缕地粘在果肉上面,永远都剥不完,永远都忘不了。

    我在实习之前写过一篇《Monica版波兰签证攻略》,这本package除了针对波兰的签证准备,还有一些出行准备以及波兰生活的tip。部分内容参考了Kelvin的《MENA& Africa SN Preparation Package》,以及我老大Jason Nie的《Japan Program. Series EP Preparation Document》。我希望这本preparation Package能够对CEE的签证和出行有一定帮助吧!


    最后要感谢——

Crystal Dong (India& CEE Program Head 08/09,@ MOC)

       谢谢从我开始match一直到现在给予我的帮助和鼓励。这本package早就说要做好发给你的,不好意思一直拖到现在。呵呵

EB of Lodz, @ Poland

       谢谢你们让我在波兰度过了充实而愉快的半年。

@ers of LC HUST,@ MOC!!!!

      不管是以前的@ Wuhan,还是现在的@ HUST,我都永远爱你们!

  

 HUST rock the house!

AIESEC rock the world!


 

                                                                                                        Monica Gao

                                                                                                      May 3rd, 2008

April 19, 2008

it\'s really a small world


it's really a small world
世界上的巧合太多

我认识daniel是在波兰
那次peter和kris邀我去华沙听演唱会
我因为没去成Poznan,也就乐颠乐颠地跑华沙去找他们了

演唱会结束以后
Kris告诉我,今天是vini的生日,我们一起去irish bar吧!大家已经在那里了
虽然我不是很见到vini,但是我得在kris家留宿一个晚上
于是就跟着去了

在vini的B-day Party上,我遇到了罗马尼亚的daniel
他也是在华沙实习
party人很多,我也没有怎么跟daniel说话
因为那天我跟kris都满累的,很早就离开了

过了几天,我发现他加我facebook了,
他居然是romania MCVP =___________________=
他说在vini的好友里看到我,就加我了
还在他的相册里把我tag出来了
他邀请我参加他的farewell party
我留言说,我不住在华沙啊,周四肯定过不来

后来他就离开波兰了

……

前几天点点从土耳其回来
她告诉我
她在@ conference上认识了一个叫daniel的男生
他说他在波兰实习过
然后点点问他
你认识monica吗?
他说,你说哪个monica?中国人吗?是Monica Gao吗?
点点当时就激动的不行了!

听到这个我也激动的跑去daniel的facebook留言了
他说他也很惊讶我跟点点居然是这么要好的朋友
还说ahmed,也是跟他一起在土耳其遇到了!

it's really a small world....

March 12, 2008

null

 

It’s more than 2 months since I was back toChina.Now everything goes well, even though new environment with so many new facescame into my life. I indeed appreciate people who helped me a lot, both @ersand non-@ers.

Couples of days ago, when I was checking myemail as usually, the email came from Aneta dropped in to my eyes-“hey, dear!How r u? R u alive? All of us miss u a lot!” So sweet! And the Romania girl,Ariana, also left me massage via facebook. She has told me her current issuesabout the application for B-school in US. It’s so great that she already receiveda lot of good news and was waiting for the offer from her dream school! I am sojealous….

Group AC of @ WH (@ HUST to be exact now…..)was held on last Sunday, I strongly feel that I belong to this organization andI do sincerely love it! When I joined the leader track of WinCo 2007, AIESEC Poland,I learned that there are three standards to measure the success of @LC: thequantity of EP, the quality of internship (expectation and feedback), thequantity of EP who still engage in @ daily work after internship. As I look atmyself, and I keep on ask me why I am still involving in this organization withhuge enthusiasm? What @ brought to me is not only the international traineeshipopportunity, but also broader points of view, expended understanding of multi-cultures,and friends who induced me lessons from which I will benefits through all mylife.

 

 


February 16, 2008

回忆像剥橘子

    最近的状态很不好。

    我不喜欢啤酒,可是昨天晚上在KTV里,一杯接一杯地喝,也不记得喝了多少杯了。只记得最后一杯是被付晨雨抢过去的,他要我不要再喝了,然后我就停下来了。其实挺感激他的,每次都在最需要的时候帮我。昨天我整个人特别烦躁。如果不是现在寒假在家里,必须要收敛一点,我肯定喝到烂醉才肯走。中途上洗手间的时候,看到镜子里面的自己满脸涨得通红突然好想哭,感觉连站起来的力气都没了。后来是来来把我接走的,一上车我就开始眼泪狂飙,妆也哭花了。想到从KTV出来的情景,我就越哭越凶。后来下了车到了家门口我跟来来说我没醉,然后他说你给我走条直线看看。。。。

    到家的时候爸妈正好准备睡了,还好没有看到我邋遢的样子。

    早上4点多的时候被一连串的短信给闹醒了,然后翻来覆去睡不着。想找个人说说话,可是发给ugly,kelly的短信都没有信息报告,我都不知道我还能找谁了。觉得老天真是太可笑,在我这么多年注视着别人的时候还安排了个人在我身后。我突然感觉很愧疚,比别人在我脸上打一巴掌还难受。

    最近一直关注典典在土耳其的生活。每次看到她在校内上发的照片还有写的一大堆无厘头的日志,总是会勾起对在波兰的生活的怀念—— 一丝一缕地牵起。想起在办公室和Aneta,Edyda一起大聊gossip;想起每天下班后在宿舍的厨房一边做饭一边和朋友开心地聊天;想起有次philip趁我做饭的时候把一个大雪团从我后背的T恤领口塞下去,后来我用一包的面粉对付他作为“回礼”;想起自己揣着相机到处拍照,然后tomek告诉我应该用眼睛和心记录下来一切而不只是照片;想起在波兰的第一个月老跑marzena家里蹭吃蹭喝蹭玩;想起一个人第一次去krakow旅游在中心的火车站迷路一直找不到mariusz;还想起典典天天叫嚷着的艳遇经历。。。

    整理了一下在波兰的照片,1.43G。

    回忆就像是剥桔子,把那层结实的果皮剥掉以后还有一层层的瓤,一缕缕地粘在果肉上面,永远都剥不完,永远都忘不了。

    后来在facebook上面看到了下面Ben,Tim他们在武汉新东方实习时候的照片。多熟悉的感觉啊!AIESEC是个充满魔力的平台,将地球两端素不相识的人奇妙地连在了一起。

    突然觉得自己是不是该为未来好好去奋斗而不是拘泥于这些恼人的琐事上?!

    

 

December 18, 2007

我获奖啦!

废话不多说了~先贴图哈~





啦啦啦~大家鼓掌欢迎——

INTERN OF SEASON, AIESEC LODZ =>  MONICA GAO

今天以为只是单纯的Party的,赶过去才知道是一个颁奖的party,没想到的是居然有为intern设置的奖项,更出乎意料的是我居然获奖了~~哇

前阵子因为实习duration的事情弄得挺麻烦的,想不到可爱的EB居然把这个奖给我了,55。

感谢大家的支持与厚爱。。等我回武汉要好好地做人,好好做poland coordinator。。


ps,旁边那个帽子是奖品。好喜欢,哈哈




December 13, 2007

一波折又折

 

     都快要结束实习了,想不到还弄出这么多个鬼事情来。

 

     我跟老板说我想提前一个星期结束实习,但是他不肯。他说我当时签的合同是半年,一直到Jan 15th, 2008.

唉~这个是我的巨大失策!我的签证11号到期,当初签合同的时候就应该说清楚的,我怎么都不可能做到15号。因为很多@er的实习生提前走都没什么问题,我当初也以为没什么关系的,哪知道我老板这么计较。不过这个理亏在我自己,也没办法了。


 Aneta说老板这么计较是因为一月份刚过完新年会特别的忙,而且老板希望我能在新的实习生来了之后再走,面对面地教新来的实习生熟悉工作会比较有效率。然后我说我回去以后有什么问题都可以随时打电话找我,培训我也一定做好,我甚至可以回去以后再帮公司工作一段时间就当是补回来。Aneta说她会帮我跟老板说的

。

说到底还是上次那个大单子把老板给惹着了。唉~那个的确是我力所不能及的事情啊!Aneta自己联系了一段时间也终于发现了有多困难。所以她要我找有能力生产的供应商发一份正式的文档给我们,即使不能生产或者是得排到明年年底也可以。至少有东西可以给老板看,免得他又不信。她说她天天被老板催这个单子也要疯掉了。。


我真的是禁不住地叹气啊!本来想好好把实习做完的,谁知道最后这么一下弄得这么波折啊。我最怕的还是对这边aiesec分会的影响不好。他们没做错任何事情,都是我签合同的时候的疏忽造成的。如果老板找他们的话我就尴尬了。

如果没有S690QL的单子,我的实习还是挺圆满的。。。。。