culture shock

CULTURESHOCK

CultureShock

Mostpeoplewholiveabroadforanextendedperiodexperiencedifficultiesinadjustingtothe

newculture;thisiscommonlycalled"cultureshock".Theterm"cultureshock"wasintroduced

forthefirsttimein1958todescribetheanxietyproducedwhenapersonmovestoacompletely

newenvironment.

Inordertounderstandcultureshock,onemustrememberthatourabilitytofunctionintheworld

dependsonourcapacitytoreadhundredsofsigns,respondtosubtlecues,andbehaveaccording

weknowhowtoreadstreetsigns,howtou

thetelephone,howmuchtotip,whatwedoinourdailylivesisautomaticand

,thereveristrueandsimpletasksbecomedifficultbecauwe

don'tknowhowtobehave,ouractionsandwordsdon'tgettheexpectedrespons,andwedon't

onfrontedcontinuouslywithnewwaysof

thinking,valuing,mes,

ately,cultureshockis

predictableandmanageableand,ifstudentsarepreparedforit,theycandoagreatdealto

mitigateitffects.

leismarkedby

fourbasicphas,andmostpeopleexperienceatleasttwolowperiodsduringtheirstayabroad.

However,thelengthandverityofthelowperiodsvarygreatlyfordifferentindividuals,and

cultureshockcanevenmakeonedevelopabetterunderstandingofonelfandstimulate

personalcreativity.

Symptoms:

Sadness,loneliness,melancholy,boredom

Preoccupationwithhealth

Aches,pains,andallergies(psychosomaticillness)

Insomnia,desiretosleeptoomuchortoolittle

Changesintemperament,depression,feelingvulnerable,feelingpowerless

Anger,irritability,rentment,unwillingnesstointeractwithothers

Identifyingwiththeoldcultureoridealizingtheoldcountry

Lossofidentity

Tryingtoohardtoabsorbeverythinginthenewcultureorcountry

Unabletosolvesimpleproblems

Lackofconfidence

Feelingsofinadequacyorincurity

Developingstereotypesaboutthenewcultureandpeople

Developingobssionssuchasover-cleanliness

Longingforfamily;homesickness

StagesofCultureShock

firststage,thenewarrivalmayfeeleuphoricandbe

meiscalledthe"honeymoon"stage,as

everythingencounteredisnewandexciting.

Afterwards,nmayencountersomedifficulttimesand

mple,communicationdifficultiesmayoccursuchasnotbeing

stage,theremaybefeelingsofdiscontent,impatience,anger,sadness,and

ppenswhenapersonistryingtoadapttoanewculturethatisvery

tionbetweentheoldmethodsandthoofthenew

thetransition,therecanbe

strongfeelingsofdissatisfaction.

Thethi

starttofeelacertain

arrivalmaynotfeelaslostandstartstohaveafeelingof

initiatesanevaluationoftheoldwaysversusthoofthenew.

Inthefourthstage,

stagecanbeoneofdoubleintegrationortripleintegrationdependingonthenumberofcultures

tegrationisaccompaniedbyamoresolidfeelingof

sonstartstodefinehim/herlfandestablishgoalsforliving.

Thefifthstageisthestagethatiscalledthe"re-entryshock."Thisoccurswhenareturntothe

mple,some

ofthenewlyacquiredcustomsarenotinuintheoldculture.

Thestagesareprentatdifferenttimesandeachpersonhastheirownwayofreactinginthe

quence,somestageswillbelongerandmoredifficultthan

mple,the

individual'sstateofmentalhealth,typeofpersonality,previouxperiences,socio-economic

conditions,familiaritywiththelanguage,familyand/orsocialsupportsystems,andlevelof

education.

HowtoFightCultureShock

Successfulsojournersfromothercountrieshavetheabilitytopositivelyconfronttheobstaclesof

ystocombatstressproducedbycultureshockare:

Don'tforgetthegoodthingsyoualreadyhave!

Remember,therearealwaysresourcesthatyoucanu

Speakthelanguageofthenewcultureasoftenaspossible.

Maintainregularlivingpatterns--eatandsleepatregularintervals.

Ifyouhavecertainhobbiesorareinvolvedinsportsathome,trytodothesameabroad.

Thisisagreatwaytomakefriends.

Keepajournalaboutyourexperiencesandemotionsabroad.

Talktofriendsorcounlorsifyoufeelyouhaveproblemscoping;trytolookatyour

problemsoneatatime,andtouttosolvethemthesameway.

Avoidhangingoutwithotherpeoplefromyourownculturewhoaredisgruntledwiththe

hostcultureandspendtheirtimecomplaining.

ncounteranunfavorableenvironment,don'tputyourlf

onyourlf.

llhelpcombat

,swim,takeanaerobics

class,etc.

Relaxationandmeditationareproventobeverypositiveforpeoplewhoarepassing

throughperiodsofstress

eerincommunity

llhelpyou

feellessstressaboutlanguageandufulatthesametime.

Establishsimplegoalsandevaluateyourprogress.

Findwaystolivewiththethingsthatdon'tsatisfyyou100%.

yourambitionsandcontinueyourplansforthe

future.

Ifyoufeelstresd,salwayssomeoneorsomerviceavailableto

helpyou.

ReverCultureShock

(adaptedfromRobertKohls,SurvivalKitForOverasLiving)

Whenyoureturntoyourcountryyoumayexperiencesomedegreeofwhatiscalled"rever

cultureshock"or"re-entryshock".Althoughrevercultureshockmaynotbeassignificantas

theinitialcultureshockyouexperiencedupongoingoveras,itcanbemoreupttingasitis

oftenunexpected.(Afterall,youarereturningtoyour"own"culture.)

Uponreturninghome,youwillbegladtoeyourfriendsandfamily,andhappytobebackin

omepointyouwillprobablyfeelfrustratedatnotbeingableto

communicateallofyourthoughtsandfeelingsaboutyourstudyabroadexperience.

Youmaynoticethat,althoughyourfriendsarehappytoeyou,theyarenotinterestedin

feelsomewhatalienated,findingthatwhileyou

havegrownandexpandedyourhorizons,yemsomewhat

provincialandnotinterestedinanythinginternational.

Duringthistransitionperiod,itispeciallyimportanttokeepincontactwithyourfellowstudy

abroadstudents—llbeinterestedinyour

experiencesandwillwanttoshareyourfeelingsaboutbeingbackhome.

Aswithinitialcultureshock,itrequirestimeandeffortforyoutomakeasuccessful

aybesomefrustratingmomentsatfirst,y

willyouhavelearnedaboutanotherculture,butyouwillalsohavegainedagreater

understandingofyourlfandyourownculture.

Suggestionsforovercomingrevercultureshockare:

Keepincontactwithfellowstudyabroadstudents,youwillallwanttoshareyourre-

entryexperiences.

Getinvolvedingroupsoractivitiesbothonandoffcampusthatareinternationalinfocus

(likevolunteeringorworkstudyintheOfficeofInternationalStudyPrograms)or

continueanewinterestthatyouacquiredwhileoveras.

Askatrustedfriendtomakealistoffads,vocabulary,TVshows,what's"in",

llhelpyoufeelintunewithwhat's

goingonathomenow.

Ifyoulearnedanewlanguagewhilestudyingabroad,

conversationgrouporekoutinternationalstudentswithwhomyoucanspeakthe

llwelcometheopportunitytospeaktheirnativetongueand,asfellow

internationalstudents,willenjoysharingcommonexperiences.

Adaptedfrom

"CultureShock"Guanipa,

lingandSchoolPsychology,

SanDiegoStateUniversity.

Copyright©Guanipa

andfrom

Kohls