According to MacMillan dictionary, culture shock is defined as

"the nervous or confused feeling that people sometimes get when they arrive in a place that has a very different culture from their own"

In reality, from all these kind of experiences we can learn a lot. But it's not only the new culture we are learning about, it's more like ourselves. Having lived in 3 different continents, I have experienced it in many ways. Let me show you some examples: 

• Coming from and having lived in Europe, people from other continents often say, oh, the countries are very similar and share a lot of roots there. This is true, but I would say the food culture is very different. I tried raspberry pudding with milk back in Latvia, during my volunteering years, and it was anything but similar to my own culture and food. 
• Now, living in Asia, looking back at Europe definitely helps and I understand this statement: why people believe that we, Europeans are similar. We have some character traits that are common in most of us, but I've met Asians with similar character traits, as well. For example, everything that seems a bit disorganized in Thailand, I know it only seems to ME disorganized, because I come from a society which has bureaucracy. But is it really disorganized? I have to think that not really. When it comes to the infrastructure and public transportation, I would say, Bangkok has better connections (like any other big city, really), than a smaller place in Europe. I still have to change buses on a 3o-minute trip back in Europe when I want to visit my grandmother. But once you get to know yourself out in the maze of BTS and MRT in Bangkok, you're pretty much able to get anywhere! 
• I still miss and adore South America where I used to live for more than 4 years. And I think, one of the reasons for that is because of the colonialism. Unfortunately, the conquistadors marked their presence so deeply in the South American continent that cannot be wiped out. This, however, makes life there easier for us, Westerners. The culture, the food, the language, the religion - all are similar to the Southern European countries. If you're looking for culture shock though, don't worry! You can see people walk their llamas on the street and such, too - which you can definitely not see in Europe! 

I must say, my European view of things are definitely challenged while living in any other continent, and when I lived in Europe but not in my home country, those challenges are different. There is still some culture shock to some extent with living in another country, but not as wide compared to living in another continent. And now, having lived in Asia for almost 2 years, I've also experienced reversed culture shock upon returning home! What are your thoughts about that? 

(main photo: a nice rum with snake? Amazonas, Ecuador)

Cranberry sauce with milk. Simple dessert from Latvia. 

If you get hungry after returning from work, don't forget to grab some insects as snacks! (Loja, Ecuador)

Very delicious coconut cakes. This picture was taken in Ecuador, but very similar taste can be found in Thailand too! Isn't is amazing how different countries - regardless of each other - have similar recipes? Just because they have the same ingredients naturally. :-) 

Taro dessert in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Of course, culture shock is not always about food. It could be about people, traditions, national days or ways of life. Do you take off your shoes upon entering? Or do you enter with shoes? Do you play the national anthem every morning? Or only for special occasions? If you're keen on learning the answer to these and other questions, check out my brand new class about how to blend in to different cultures and many more about different traditions and lifestyles in my following course: