I have been told by most people who hear me speak Spanish (my mother tongue is English) that I am fluent in it. That alone should be enough for me to call myself bilingual. However, I have encountered numerous situations over the years where I felt completely lost in Spanish. So, if I am so fluent, why would this happen to me? The answer is a simple but often overlooked one. Bilinguals usually acquire and use their second ( or third or fourth) language for specific purposes and when they get outside of this specific linguistic domain, their experience (and the language which represents that experience) is limited.

Much is made of the occurrence of culture shock for expatriates but little discussion occurs on the reverse but oftentimes more severe shock, that of returning to your home culture after a time away. In fact the majority of people who experience it are not even aware of its existence, even though it's occurrence can physically and emotionally disrupt your life. Like culture shock, reverse culture shock affects different individuals to a different degree. Being aware of the possibility of its occurrence upon your return home may not stop it, but will help you understand what is happening to you.

When actions are perceived through a cultural filter, actions which some perceive as unnatural, ignorant, or objectionable in one culture; may be perfectly normal in another. It is this type of cultural misunderstanding that creates so many misperceptions among disparate groups of peoples. Expatriates in particular are constantly bombarded by these cultural differences. The disparities between the perceived meanings of words and actions between cultural groups become greater to the degree that the cultures historically share little in common.

Our own cultural traditions influence us more than we wish to admit. We are not aware of many of our beliefs and customs and how they effect everything we do in life until we are confronted with a different set of beliefs and customs. Living in a expatriate cultural environment is one of the quickest ways to realize these differences.

One of the growing trends these days when it comes to dating is dating on the internet and eventually marrying someone from another part of the world, such as Western men hoping to find a Russian wife. The differences in their culture is one reason for this growing trend and the preferences of Western men for women who are more family-oriented than the career-oriented Western women.