Culture Shock
Culture shock
is defined as the loss of emotional balance, disorientation or confusion
that an individual feels when moving from a familiar environment to a new
environment." Common differences identified include: (a) language,
(b) climate, (c) religion, (d) food, (e) educational system, (f) absence
of family and close friends, (g) relationship of students to teachers,
(h) making decisions, (i) spending leisure time, (j) resolving conflicts,
and (k) expressing feelings and emotions, meanings of hand, face and body
movements. Culture shock is a state of disorientation, anxiety and
distress when a person is new to a culture much different than theirs and
is common for the newly immigrated students. Culture conflicts start
to happen when students come to school and learning new ways of living,
as well as when returning home to their own culture. They have to learn
to re-acclimate.
When an individual
enters a strange culture, all or most familiar signals are gone.
Further, these signs are the many ways in which we adjust our selves to
living every day life, including all our customs and values and social
protocol and social interaction. These signals which might involve
words, gestures, facial expressions, customs and norms are learned by all
of us in living and growing and are very much a part of our culture as
the languages we speak or the beliefs we accept. No matter how broad-minded
and full of good will they may be, a series of props have been knocked
from under and a feeling of frustration and anxiety may follow this.
Culture shock, which affects many people who have been transplanted abroad,
is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all familiar signs
and symbols of social norms, the ways in which we orient ourselves to the
situations of daily life, such as, when to shake hands and what to say
when we meet people, when and how to give tips, how to give orders to servants,
how to make purchases, when to accept and when to refuse invitations, when
to take statements seriously and when not.
List of symptoms
of culture shock include: (a) excessive concern over cleanliness
and the feeling that what is new is dirty (drinking water, food, dishes,
and bedding); (b) fear of physical contact with attendants or servants;
(c) a feeling of helplessness and a desire for dependence on long-term
residents of one's own nationality; (d) irritation over delays and other
minor frustrations out of proportion to their causes; (e) delay and outright
refusal to learn the language of the host country; (f) excessive fear of
being cheated, robbed, or injured; (g) great concern over minor pains and
eruptions of the skin; and a longing to be back home in familiar
surroundings. Various stages of culture shock are: (a) the honeymoon
stage, lasting a few days to six months, when the individual is fascinated
by the new, (b) the hostile and aggressive stage, when the individual becomes
hostile and aggressive, bands together with fellow countrymen, and criticize
the host country, its ways and its people before learning some of the language
and developing a sense of humor about the situation, and (c) the final
adjustment when the individual accepts the customs of the country as just
another way of living.
Then there is
the impact of reverse cultural shock for international travelers upon return
to their native country; returning participants may feel more like strangers
in their own country. The differences in cultures and the changes
the individual undergoes will affect the individual for the rest of his/her
life.
(Davis, 2000;
Asian American Students' Shock Culture Report, p. 1; WorldWide Classroom,
2000, p. 1-3, 7; Alghurab, Alkandari, Park, and Yabe, 1996, p. 5)
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