4. Culture takes time
Did you know you can experience culture shock just from going east coast to west coast?
Most people assume you only have the big adjustments when you’re going overseas for the first time, but that’s not true.
East coast sailors will tell you west coast sailors are a different breed.
Someone who spent their last duty station in New England will have a heck of a time adjusting to Louisiana humidity.
Washington may be west coast, but going from there to Hawaii requires learning a WHOLE different dialect of English and packing away the rain gear.
Be patient and try to embrace the change.
Don’t stick your nose up at the local cuisine, even if it does still have a face on it when they bring it to the table.
Find the great non-tourist spots that locals rave about.
Give the place a chance before you write it off as a horrible new duty station.
Before long, you might just find that people mistake you for a local and start asking where they need to go while they are in town.
5. Change is inevitable
When we get new sailors in my office, I have to cringe every time I hear the phrase “at my last command.” It’s no different than when the families say, “Well at our last duty station, we did it this way.”
I get it.
You were comfortable in your last place.
You had a routine.
You had a way of doing things that made life run smoothly for you and your family.
Your FRG was great (or awful) and you miss it.
However, if you sit there and dwell on how different the new place is, you will have a hard time seeing that different ISN’T bad.
Sure, bring up the great things that you and your friends and family did at the last place.
Start neighborhood block parties if that was something you did as a community to meet new people before.
Find out who in the neighborhood has the same hobbies and start a club or a group to keep each other motivated and active in whatever way you all enjoy.
Help kick start the FRG if the new command doesn’t have the best one and you have a constructive way to make changes.
Just don’t forget to sit back a little and see how the differences at this new duty stations make things work smoothly.
Find the positives that you want to carry onto the next place. Because as we all know, there will be a next place.
