You know when you get here you just want to throw up Chinese. I don't mean in the literal sense, although I did that too the first few days I was here. Instead you want to throw up all the great stories about adjusting to China the things you see here. Everything seems like a new experience, or in our case sometimes a reminder of an old experience you had forgotten about.
They say in a lot of ways that is how Cultural shock works. The first phase is the honeymoon, where everything seems so new and exciting. Everything seems picture worthy, and everything looks like a great story.
Then comes the shock... Throwing up on day 3 didn't help it. This is where you find yourself stressed and irritable. You know you shouldn't be and yet you are. This is where I currently find myself, which is a much shorter honeymoon than I was hoping for. I am working on getting some things in place to help adjust better. They say the quicker you pick up the language the better. Also, finding a way to relieve some stress through exercise is good also. Then make sure you are still engaging the culture and not pulling back into just an expat community. (For us there aren't a lot here so that isn't as big of a problem.)
The good news is after that phase you start adjusting more and then the last stage is basically settling in.
-James
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