| Culture shock is the emotional and sometimes even | | | | being unsure of yourself, feeling less competent than in |
| physical discomfort people feel when they have to | | | | your home country, feeling overwhelmed, and feeling |
| leave everything familiar behind and have to find their | | | | angry for being in this situation. |
| way in a new culture that has a different way of life | | | | Please remember - this is a stage and you will get |
| and a different mindset. Overcoming culture shock | | | | through it! It's helpful to first acknowledge your feeling |
| takes time and can't happen over night. It is helpful to | | | | and then become pro-active. Participate in your new |
| know, that adjusting to a new culture occurs in stages | | | | environment. Start out with small steps, as you feel |
| and everybody, even the most seasoned traveler, has | | | | comfortable. Read a local newspaper to get informed, |
| to go through them to varying degrees. I believe, being | | | | find others in the same situation, and see what help is |
| aware of the different stages and what you might | | | | available to you. Slowly but surely you will build a new |
| experience can help you to move through them more | | | | support system and move into the next stage. |
| quickly and with less stress. Even though you might | | | | The Adjustment or Recovery Stage |
| feel like you are on an emotional roller coaster at | | | | After having been in the new country for a while a |
| times, this can also be a valuable time for personal | | | | daily routine sets in. Children have settled into their |
| growth. | | | | school, your new neighborhood becomes more familiar, |
| The author and psychiatrist M. Scott Peck says: | | | | you know where to get all your basic things, and you |
| "The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to | | | | are able to communicate better. Your sense of self |
| occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, | | | | comes back and you even return to the excitement of |
| unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, | | | | the "Honeymoon Stage" more often. This stage could |
| propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step | | | | be described as an oscillation between the two first |
| out of our ruts and start searching for different ways | | | | stages, from feeling excited to being down. Be patient |
| or truer answers." | | | | with yourself. Acknowledge how far you have come, |
| I hope these words will give you courage and energy | | | | from feeling out of place to being an active participant |
| when you need them most in your adjustment period | | | | in your new environment. This is quite an |
| to your new surroundings. | | | | accomplishment! Continue to seek support, as you |
| Four Stages of Culture Shock | | | | need it. Community service centers or adult education |
| The anthropologist Kalervo Oberg (1901-1973) gets | | | | programs are good place to find courses on language |
| credited with naming this adjustment period "Culture | | | | or local culture. Search for support groups to connect |
| Shock". He identified four stages: | | | | with people with same interests. Join or start a |
| The Honeymoon Stage | | | | playgroup if you have small children. Get involved in |
| As you can already guess from the name, in this | | | | school activities of your school-aged children. |
| stage you feel excited about your adventure. The | | | | The Adaptation Stage |
| newness and differences are still a novelty. The | | | | Congratulations, you've made it! Your life resumes with |
| day-to-day difficulties haven't set in yet. Most people | | | | a familiar pattern but now has a different background |
| feel energetic and enthusiastic during this stage. | | | | component from the new culture. You're ready to |
| The Crisis or Cultural Shock Stage | | | | develop a realistic understanding of the similarities and |
| In this stage, reality sets in as you try to make a new | | | | differences between your own culture and the new |
| home for yourself and your family. You become | | | | culture. By comparing both, you have the unique |
| aware of the differences between your own culture | | | | opportunity to learn about two different approaches |
| and the new culture. You try to communicate in a new | | | | and can decide what fits best for you. Remember, it's |
| language you might not know yet. You're not sure how | | | | not about one approach being right and the other being |
| to interact with people, where to find things, and how | | | | wrong. It's about acknowledging that there are cultural |
| to help your children settle in. In this stage many | | | | differences and that we can learn from each other. |
| different feelings and emotions may arise, from | | | | Copyright © 2009 All Rights Reserved. |
| confusion, anxiety, homesickness, and loneliness, to | | | | |