Episode 3 - Stuart Campbell - Culture Shock

We’re like our own individual bubbles that float around and engage with other bubbles. Our own bubble determines the way we communicate with and perceive the world. Sometimes we’re forced to frequently be around other bubbles that we don’t necessarily jive with, either through work, school, or even family. When this happens, it’s a culture shock, and the way I see it, we deal with it in two different ways: either with resistance or with adaption. Given the diverse population of the military, culture shock happens frequently. Interestingly, there were so many people that I disliked in the military that I eventually came to appreciate after deployment. I often wonder what the mechanism was there that allowed that to happen? Was it because I eventually understood their “bubble”? Or is there something about sharing a commitment to a common goal that facilitates a shared understanding and rapport?

Culture shock happened to me all over again when I got out. I remember starting an Audio Engineering school in New York City two months after I discharged from the Army. I hulkingly sat down in my classroom chair and looked around the room feeling pretty dang disconnected from the rest of the class. That’s where I met Stu. We just so happen to sit next to each other and he was one of the other veterans in the class. Having him there was definitely a major help as I transitioned back to civilian life. I reached out to him to do this episode, and he describes his own cultural clash. 

Buffalo

MRAP (MaxxPro)

Route 1 from Balad to Baghdad