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Monday, May 12, 2003
Culture shock
By Dianne Y. Fermin
Northern exposure
I once was Harrison Ford’s dog-sitter. For a cool US$100 a day, I walked, fed and played with his yellow labrador Bos (short for Bosley, the character from the hit TV show and film Charlie’s Angels) while the actor and his family flew from New York to their Wyoming ranch during a long weekend. While they were away, I called their tony 101 Central Park West duplex my temporary home and was allotted a guestroom. Mrs. Ford even told me to “feel free to invite a few friends over.”
Hardly backbreaking work. Oblivious of his exalted status as a superstar’s pampered pooch, Bos was a pleasant if somewhat overly exuberant dog who just happened to have a bottomless stomach.
As far as odd jobs went, being Harrison Ford’s dog-sitter was as good as it gets. As a struggling graduate student in one of the world’s most expensive cities, I’ve certainly had my share of interesting odd jobs. One of these was being a “global resource consultant.”
One day, I got an email from the Dutch guy heading my school’s international students’ society. A New York company was looking for international students who could brief Americans who were about to be expatriated.
Ka-ching! Extra cash was music to my ears. I promptly applied and was accepted as a “consultant” for the Philippines and Hong Kong.
My clients were predominantly middle-aged couples, the husband usually in senior management for one of the big, solid Midwestern firms (e.g. Procter & Gamble) or one of the East Coast finance giants (e.g. New York Life). The company’s curriculum for these would-be expats was comprehensive, covering history, geography, politics, economy, religion and language. My modules consisted of two main areas:
l Local culture, business practices and social etiquette
l Practical tips for relocating (e.g. locating/renting property, international schools for the kids, hiring domestic help, expat clubs, banking, healthcare, typhoon survival guide, etc.)
The objective of the entire exercise was to minimize the impact of culture shock which, my relatively limited experience indicates, lasts for approximately six months.
Imagine the irony when after 10 years of living abroad, I returned home and encountered culture shock right on my native soil!
I was in Manila being interviewed for a job by the senior Filipino executives of an American conglomerate. Mindful of the depressed world economy and the soft job market, I had rigorously prepped prior to the interview, expecting difficult questions testing my intelligence, qualifications and work experience.
Instead, I was by turns surprised, amused and somewhat shocked at the interview content, with questions such as,
“ Do you have a boyfriend?” or “At your age, how come you’re not yet married?” The absolute kicker was: “Actually, we wanted a man for this position.”
“They could get sued for statements like that!” I yelled to my best friend afterwards. She sighed deeply: “You’re experiencing culture shock.”
“I am a Filipino! How can I experience culture shock in my own country?” I cried with indignation.
How indeed? Was I simply in denial or does reverse culture shock really exist? Go figure.
(May 12, 2003 issue)
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