Turillo, Shawn, M.
Keiser University
Cultural Shock far and near.
My first time into Kuwait was a massive culture shock, as there were no trees as far as you could see. I stepped off the plane it was like stepping from a refrigerator into an oven. The extreme heat just took your breath away. The next thing I noticed was the smell. It was the most horrid, rancid smell I have ever experienced. It was so bad that I can’t even begin to explain what it was comparable too. This being my first trip to the Middle East I took in all the sights and let my brain fill with more information. When I left Kuwait and arrived in Afghanistan I thought, that was it for culture shock. I was wrong! When I stepped off the plane this …show more content…
We talked for a good 2 hours and we both found a respect for each other. We both wanted peace and did not want to be there but at the same time we both knew it was our job that tied our hands. Many days thereafter we started to develop a friendship. I later came to find out that his entire family was murdered by the Taliban. And after I confronted him about it he replied that he didn’t like to talk about it much and he felt that it was his duty to avenge his family by killing as many Taliban as he could. We stayed talking night after night playing card games the remainder of my time there. On my departure I remember what he said. “You are my friend, and I will miss you.” As I arrived back in the United States I realized that the experiences I had faced while I was in Afghanistan had changed me and had made me an outsider in our great country. All the American people I would see smiling and cheering that supported us while we were out there seemed like ignorant strangers that had no idea what they were smiling and cheering for. I for years felt like a stranger in my own country. The Fact is, war changes people. Years of therapy later, I am starting to deal with all my feelings. All the smells and sights I had witnessed overseas and the culture shock I had been