Culture shock is the term we use to describe the feelings of confusion and uncertainty that are experienced when you come into contact with a culture that is vastly different from your own. Culture shock can be commonly seen in foreign students, immigrants and refugees. Even students who stay in their home countries suffer from culture shock as they make the transition into the foreign environment known as college.
There are five stages of culture shock. Each stage has its own unique characteristics. The length of each stage varies depending on the individual. You may find that it is easier and quicker to move through some stages than others. There are several factors that can affect how fast you move through the stages, including:
• Mental health
• Personality type
• Previous experiences with other cultures
• How familiar you are with the language
• Support systems you have in place
• Education level
The first thing to realize about culture shock is that it’s perfectly natural to experience it. Despite how often culture shock occurs, though, a lot of people are resistant to talk about it, and that’s one of the biggest mistakes you can make. If you feel yourself going through culture shock, take some time to reach out to others, especially other travelers, for help in adjusting to your new culture.
One of the other things you can do is force yourself to engage more in the culture that you’re immersed in. This can be difficult to do, because part of culture shock is feeling unhappy with the culture. But, as Robert Frost once said, “The best way out is always through.” Going out and interacting with the culture that surrounds you is going to help you overcome some of the difficulties you’ll be encountering.
Another thing that many people don’t think about is making sure to stay healthy while in their new home. One of the things that people with culture shock are tempted to do is stay home and eat junk food. It’s understandable, but it’s also unfortunate, because eating well and staying physically active can play an important role in not only staying physically healthy, but mentally healthy as well.
Staying in touch with your family and friends back home can be an important tool to help you avoid culture shock. Luckily, today it’s easier to do this than ever before – in addition to making long-distance phone calls and writing letters or postcards, you also have the option of using tools like webcams, email, and social networks to take part in more immersive conversations with people. Family and friends are often the foundation that we build our sense of self upon, so keeping the foundation strong can be essential in working through your feelings of culture shock.
Lastly, make sure to keep a realistic perspective. The honeymoon stage of culture shock involves you getting an unrealistically positive idea of the culture you’re immersed in, but the next stage involves an unrealistically negative idea of it, coupled with an unrealistically positive idea of your culture at home. Like they say, “the grass is often greener on the other side” – it’s important to keep a level head about your experience and remember that neither side is full of green grass and roses. Saving Changes...
You have made good points here on culture shock. As you have put it very well - "the grass is often greener on the other side", one feels this quite often at the time of a change. Situation can be helped if one is mentally prepared with a 'realistic' idea of the things to come and has a backup plan in place to account for the culture shock. Saving Changes...
Ahmed Fouad SedkySenior Claims Consultant | Systech CanadaToronto, Ontario, Canada
Excellent Post :) been through it a couple of times so far Saving Changes...
Brian MukoyiProjects Manager| J R Goddard ContractingBulawayo, Zimbabwe
Great article. One of project management challenge you may face on an international project is the "culture" that indigenous skills should have been engaged in your place. The aspects you raised are very valid when fitting into a new society. Maybe we can also look at the PM specific issues such as 1. dealing with stereo types. 2. leadership style. in some countries leaders can not too friendly with staff whilst in some collaborative style is accepted. 3. appreciating time. some countries accept flexible working whilst some are strict with time. 4.some culture are strict that a leader cannot accept making a mistake whilst in some its easier to be honest in acknowledging a mistake. 5. you also need to deal with the practicalities of time zones.
Reminded TV series Outsourced where "Todd Dempsy, an American manager is sent to run a call center in India. The show grasps the reality of life right from the recession, global outsourcing and the differences in culture". Saving Changes...
Ruben B ThanarubanHead of Information Technology| Ontario Real Estate AssociationMarkham, Ontario, Canada
Good points. Thank you Saving Changes...
Gina AbudiPresident| Abudi Consulting LLCAmherst, Nh, United States
In today's world, interacting with others from different cultures is a given - even if you are in the US and never travel internationally. Taking time to understand the other culture is essential as well as keeping an open mind. The learning opportunities in interacting with others is fantastic! Saving Changes...
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