There is no doubt that I feel the difference in culture just as soon as I come back to this country.
It happens every single time.
I live and work overseas as part of a team that helps developing countries build their economies. I’ve always had a knack for finances even in high school. Back then I would rather stay inside the central air conditioning of my parents house studying those finances been doing much else. It was much the same in college and in grad school as well. I just really felt like I had something to offer. I had no clue though that my life’s work would keep me out of my home country for more than two decades. Where I live, it’s hot and humid to a degree that was stunning when I first got there. And really, there’s no such thing as residential HVAC. The office where I spend most of my days doesn’t come with commercial HVAC like every office building in this country. We have ceiling fans and there is an evaporative cooler which is a big deal. But still it’s far from central air conditioning. Yeah, it’s pretty amazing how adaptive we can become. I acclimated to this sort of climate over the first year or so of living abroad. But as soon as I get off the plane in this country, I’m hit with a blast of HVAC. It’s always a bit of a shocking thing to me. This country uses so much residential HVAC and commercial HVAC that it blows my mind. I wonder if it’ll take me a full year to get used to it once I’m back here for good.