- •Unit 2 Foreign cultures Culture shock
- •Things that can contribute to culture shock Language
- •Climate
- •Social Roles
- •Rules of Behavior
- •Effects of Culture Shock
- •How to help yourself
- •I. Honeymoon II. Initial Culture Shock / rejection phase III. Initial Adjustment / regression/ at ease phase IV. Further Culture Shock V. Further Adjustment / reverse culture shock
Social Roles
The way that people interact with each other may surprise, confuse or even offend you. For example, you may find that people are always in a hurry, or seem cold or distant. You may find that relationships between men and women appear more or less formal than what you are used to in your culture, as well as differences in same sex social contacts and relationships.
One helpful suggestion is: "Don’t take it personally.” Listen, observe, and ask questions. Find out what the normal or expected ways of interaction are, and respect those, even if you disagree with them or find them strange.
Rules of Behavior
Every society or culture has its unspoken rules of behavior which help determine the way that people treat each other. These rules may not be obvious at first, but sooner or later you will probably run into them and you may find those experiences disorienting. For example, there will be differences in the ways people decide what is important, how tasks are allocated and how time is respected. Be a careful observer, and ask others to help you understand what these unspoken but expected rules of behavior are.
Culture shock can be broken into five stages
11. |
When you first arrive in a new culture, differences are intriguing and you may feel excited, stimulated and curious. At this stage you are still protected by the memories of your home country Everything is exciting and new. You might think that the new culture is ideal, and you might think that it is much better than your own. If you are sometimes frustrated or have problems, you quickly recover. Everything is quite positive, the people in the new culture are very nice. This stage can last for months, or maybe only a couple of days. It is called the tourist stage because tourists generally do not stay in a different place long enough to have culture shock. |
22. |
A little later, differences create an impact and you may feel confused, isolated or inadequate as cultural differences intrude and familiar supports are not available. In this stage, all the little problems and frustrations appear much bigger! You may be very preoccupied with cleanliness (you think everything is dirty and unhealthy); you may be worried that other people want to rob you or cheat you; you feel confused and lonely. During this stage, if you find someone from your own country who has lived in the new culture for a long time, you may become dependent on them. You may find other expatriates and complain together about the new culture, making stereotypes of the people from that culture. You miss your own country and culture a lot. If it is possible, you might try to go home. |
33. |
Next you may reject the differences you encounter. You may feel angry or frustrated or hostile to the new culture. At this point you may be conscious of how much you dislike it compared it to home. Don’t worry, as this is a healthy reaction. You are reconnecting with what you value about yourself and your own culture. If the shock was very hard, you will not get to this stage. If you do decide to stay, you eventually learn to deal with the differences. You may try to integrate the new culture with your own beliefs. You begin to learn the language and make more friends. You have the occasional crisis, but you develop a positive attitude towards it. Maybe you can even laugh about your difficulties! This period of adjustment can be slow, and it is always possible to go back a stage into shock again. |
44. |
Differences and similarities are accepted. You may feel relaxed and confident, as you become more familiar with situations and feel better able to cope with new situations based on your growing experience. You can now live with the new culture. Although it is difficult to be completely assimilated, you go through important personal changes and growth as you become integrated into the new culture. You develop a bicultural identity. |
55. |
This is the shock of coming back home. You return from your time in another country and everybody is happy to see you again. The only problem is that you have changed a lot in ways that they haven’t. And they don’t understand that you have changed. Nobody wants to relive those fascinating, cultural memories. You almost feel like a stranger in your own culture. Differences and similarities are valued and important. You may feel full of potential and ready to trust yourself in all kinds of situations. Most situations become enjoyable and you are able to make choices according to your preferences and values. |