Anytime you travel to a new country for an extended amount of time, it is normal to experience some culture shock. It isn’t always life-altering or something that is super hard to deal with, but it usually happens. However, what shocked me the most about the culture shock I’ve experienced in Thailand is that what I was mostly uncomfortable with was my own culture.

I am from the United States and have spent the entirety of my life living there. I have spent almost two decades immersed in the cultural trends of one country -- a country that creates a picture of how the rest of the world is, a picture that is skewed. So far, I have learned that the world is not always a terrible place. Living in a developing country comes with a different set of struggles than living in a developed one, but just because they are not the same struggles does not mean they are worse, or harder to deal with. I was shocked by the way I had been taught to perceive other cultures, and more importantly, poorer nations, by my own culture. Not one time have I encountered a mean-hearted person or had any unkind interactions.

I am living in a place where most of the people I am surrounded by have little money, and even less material goods, but they have some of the biggest hearts and the strongest desires to succeed. Everyone is always willing to help and to make sure I feel comfortable and safe. There are differences between my culture and the one I am currently living in, but they are not negative at all.

The culture shock that I have experienced was being shocked at how easy it was to adjust, and how welcomed I felt from day one.

I think that it is important to always question ideas and generalizations that are made about other societies and countries. The only way to really understand a different culture is to experience it for yourself, and know that sometimes the differences that you find are what makes a culture so beautiful.