Reverse Culture Shock

This is overdue, but I was lazy, and sick for the week. Also, this was heavily inspired by Teresa Wu's entry on her return from studying abroad in Cyprus/Europe.

http://byteresawu.com/2009/05/30/reverse-culture-shock/

Check it out.

So basically, last weekend was Memorial Day Weekend, and I traveled to San Jose with some friends, for an Anime Convention, aptly called "FanimeCon".

Now, for those that know me, I'm not really into anime, like, at all. The only reason I really went was to spend a weekend doing something different from my monotonous life, and to just chill in a hotel room with some old friends I hadn't seen in a while.
(Emo sidenote: And also to get my mind off a few things that I hadn't been able to shake for a while.)

We got a commission from "Artist's Alley", seen at the top by the awesome Mike Yeh. I'm the one in the middle. Wish I had gelled (technically waxed?) my hair that day. Doesn't really look like me, but hey, it was free.

My first impression was that, for a non-anime fan like myself, there wouldn't be much to do at a 4-day-long Animefest with tons of "Otaku" running around in elaborate cosplay. (whoo, see how I use that vocabulary flawlessly? haha. Urbandictionary it if you have no idea what i'm saying.)

But I was pleasantly surprised. There were so many different events, rooms, tables going on, Just wandering around the San Jose McEnery Convention Center is enough to keep you entertained. I even cosplayed a little, as Bruce Lee!

It was actually pretty fun, having random people come up to you asking for pictures. I felt like a bit of a dork posing so much, but hey, when in Rome...

I got the costume as a gift for my birthday. (Actually, it was an amazon giftcard, and I couldn't think of anything better to spend it on. haha.)

I even met the Green Ranger! (he's a bit shorter in person. haha.) I heard the White Ranger was there too. I wish I'd seen him.

And this is the greatest costume I've ever seen. Bumblebee from Transformers. I was in Awe.

And almost an event in itself, these radical "Christian" protesters showed up. I hear they showed up other years too. I lol'd at the sign.

And as quickly as we hit the road for SJ, arriving in our hotel, and making our first entrance into Fanime, it was monday, and it was over, and we had to go back to regular life.

I don't even know why, but I missed it. A lot more than I thought I would. Me. Someone who knows and cares little to nothing about anime.

But it wasn't the anime at all. It was the whole atmosphere of it. For the entire four days, the convention center never closed, because Fanime had events going all night. They had workshops, screenings, a dance, a rave, and even a formal ball. I loved the fact that, if I couldn't sleep (which happens a lot), I could just walk out of the hotel, at 4-in-the-morning, and walk over to the arcade for some Initial D. Or just enjoy the sights of downtown San Jose at night.

“Suddenly you find yourself out-of-sync with ‘your own culture,’” it said. “A very common reaction to this subtle disorientation may come in the form of confusion, anxiety, disillusionment, depression, and perhaps even irritation or anger.”

But that wasn’t going to affect me. I mean, I wasn’t looking forward to going home, but I wasn’t dreading it, either....

Yet since coming home a week ago, it’s been exactly that. Subtle disorientation in the form of confusion, anxiety, disillusionment, depression, and yes… a little irritation and anger. I couldn’t have put it in better words myself.

...But far too quickly the rush of nostalgia came… ’cause my bed just wasn’t the same...

As one friend put it, “How can we be homesick when we’re already home?”

As much as I hated waking up to Derricks hacking coughs at 9am, and then pulling open the curtains to let in the painfully blinding sunlight in, or how sore my feet were from walking around nearly all day and night, only to wake up, sleep-deprived, to do it all over again...

Yeah I missed it. Post-con depression. Reverse Culture shock. Whatever you call it. I had it.

But even with all those distractions Fanime had to offer, my mind still couldn't help wandering back to familiar, wallowing thoughts...
It's funny, cause that was one of the things I thought Fanime would help me avoid.

One of the nights, was apparently the night of 3 High School proms in our hotel, and as I walked through the lobby, it felt like I'd traveled through time, if only for a moment.

And going back to the aforementioned dances/raves/ball. More to the formal Ball, I actually wanted to go. I know I'm not alone in that I really like events where I can get dressed up nicely, for a night, and go to something as elegant as a Ball. Fanime even offered ballroom dance lessons in the days leading up to it. Wow. But these are things that aren't fun to go to alone. And something tells me that Derrick or Ray wouldn't be ideal dance partners...

Part of me thinks I should have gone to something, and maybe just asked a girl to dance. I'd heard most of the guys there are nerdy and awkward anyways, (no offense!) who just kind of stand off to the side, so I didn't really have much to lose. But I guess i'm not really that kind of guy.

Then again, I don't really know how to dance. Unless it's slow dancing, which is really the easiest thing to do. You don't even really move, you just sway.

I think I'd like to learn a waltz or something. Something that takes a little skill. I don't know. Something different.

This cute clip from Final Fantasy VIII just makes me want to learn it even more. That would basically be me, a bumbling Squall. haha.

…and I’m back to square one.