Man : Adjustment (Culture Shock)

Culture shock

Culture shock is the feeling of 
a. personal disorientation, experienced in an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or visiting to a new country, 
b. moving from one social environments and type of life into a new one. 

One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign environment.

What Is It?

Culture shock isn't a clinical term or medical condition. 
i. A confusing and nervous feeling a person may have 
ii. after leaving a familiar culture to live in a new and different culture. 
When moving to a new place, you're bound to face a lot of changes. It can be exciting and stimulating, but it can also be overwhelming. You may feel sad, anxious, frustrated, and want to go home.

It's natural to have difficulty to adjusting to a new culture. People from other cultures may have with different values and beliefs from yours. The things they talk about, the ways they express themselves, and the importance of various ideas may be very different from what you are used to. But the good news is that culture shock is temporary.

Phases In Culture Shock

Culture shock consists of four distinct phases:

         i.   Honeymoon,

       ii.   Negotiation,

      iii.   Adjustment, and

     iv.   Mastery,  

a.    Honeymoon phase

During this period, the differences between the old and new culture are seen in a romantic light. For example, in moving to a new country, an individual might love the new food, the pace of life, and the locals' habits. During the first few weeks, most people are fascinated by the new culture. They associate with nationals who speak their language, and who are polite to the foreigners. This period is full of observations and new discoveries. Like most honeymoon periods, this stage eventually ends.

b.   Negotiation phase

After some time (usually around three months, depending on the individual), differences between the old and new culture become apparent and may create anxiety. Excitement may eventually give way to unpleasant feelings of frustration and anger as one continues to experience unfavorable events that may be perceived as strange and offensive to one's cultural attitude. Language barriers, stark differences in public hygiene, traffic safety, food accessibility and quality may heighten the sense of disconnection from the surroundings.

Enviroment
While being transferred into a different environment puts special pressure on communication skills, there are practical difficulties to overcome, such as circadian rhythm  disruption that often leads to  insomnia  and daylight drowsiness; adaptation of gut flora  to different bacteria  levels and concentrations in food and water; difficulty in seeking treatment for illness, as medicines may have different names from the native country's and the same active ingredients  might be hard to recognize.

Communication
Still, the most important change in the period is communication: People adjusting to a new culture often feel lonely and homesick because they are not yet used to the new environment and meet people with whom they are not familiar every day. The language barrier may become a major obstacle in creating new relationships: special attention must be paid to one's and others' culture-specific body language signs, linguistic faux pas , conversation tone, linguistic nuances and customs, and false friends.

Lifestyles
In the case of students studying abroad, some develop additional symptoms of loneliness that ultimately affect their lifestyles as a whole. Due to the strain of living in a different country without parental support, international students often feel anxious and feel more pressure while adjusting to new cultures—even more so when the cultural distances are wide, as patterns of logic  and speech  are different and a special emphasis is put on rhetoric .

c.    Adjustment phase

Again, after some time (usually 6 to 12 months), one grows accustomed to the new culture and develops routines. One knows what to expect in most situations and the host country no longer feels all that new. One becomes concerned with basic living again, and things become more "normal". One starts to develop problem-solving skills for dealing with the culture and begins to accept the culture's ways with a positive attitude. The culture begins to make sense, and negative reactions and responses to the culture are reduced.

d.    Mastery phase

In the mastery stage the person are able to participate fully and comfortably in the host culture. Mastery does not mean total conversion; people often keep many traits from their earlier culture, such as accents and languages. It is often referred to as the biculturalism  stage.

Reverse culture shock

Reverse Culture Shock (a.k.a. "Re-entry Shock", or "own culture shock") may take place — returning to one's home culture after growing accustomed to a new one can produce the same effects as described above. This results from the psychosomatic and psychological consequences of the readjustment process to the primary culture. The affected person often finds this more surprising and difficult to deal with than the original culture shock. This phenomenon, the reactions that members of the re-entered culture exhibit toward the re-entrant, and the inevitability of the two are encapsulated in the saying "you can't go home again," first coined by Thomas Wolfe.

Outcomes

There are three basic outcomes of the Adjustment Phase:
    Isolation

• Some people find it impossible to accept the foreign culture and integrate. They isolate themselves from the host country's environment, which they come to perceive as hostile, withdraw into a "ghetto" and see return to their own culture as the only way out. These "Rejectors" also have the greatest problems re-integrating back home after return
• Intergration.
• Some people integrate fully and take on all parts of the host culture while losing their original identity. They normally remain in the host country forever. This group is sometimes known as "Adopters". 
• Blending
• Some people manage to adapt to the aspects of the host culture they see as positive, while keeping some of their own and creating their unique blend. They have no major problems returning home or relocating elsewhere. This group can be thought to be somewhat cosmopolitan.

Culture shock has many different effects, time spans, and degrees of severity. Many people are handicapped by its presence and do not recognize what is bothering them.

Transition shock

Culture shock is a subcategory of a more universal construct called transition shock. Transition shock is a state of loss and disorientation predicated by a change in one's familiar environment which requires adjustment. There are many symptoms of transition shock, some which include:

• Excessive concern over cleanliness and health
• Feelings of helplessness and withdrawal
• Irritability
• Anger
• Glazed stare
• Desire for home and old friends
• Physiological stress reactions
• Homesickness
• Boredom
• Withdrawal
• Getting "stuck" on one thing
• Suicidal or fatalistic thoughts
• Excessive sleep
• Compulsive eating/drinking/weight gain
• Stereotyping host nationals
• Hostility towards host nationals

What causes culture shock?

        i.      Unfamiliar ‘rules’ for social interaction

A sense of culture shock may initially be triggered by differences in social interaction, such as:

• greetings between people
• facial expressions
• body language
• spoken language
• general attitudes
• dining schedules

      ii.      Strange environment and climate

Feelings of culture shock are often reinforced by the traveler’s physical environment, including:

• the cleanliness of their lodgings
• the design and adequacy of the toilets
• the operability of appliances like clothes washers and heating systems
• the level of noise
• the quality and availability of food and water
• the type of dress
• the climate, altitude, and weather

    iii.      Different attitudes and expectations

A traveler is also likely to face different attitudes and expectations that can worsen their culture shock, such as:

• whether appointments start on time or on a more flexible schedule
• whether the people they encounter exhibit a cheery, positive attitude or a negative one
• whether stores, banks, museums and other places are open at hours that coincide with the traveler’s needs or not
• whether local people appear to be helpful to foreigners or distrustful of them

 Examples

Western

Asian

§ In India, "rubber" means the piece of rubber you use to erase pencil writings, usually known as "eraser" in the US. Unfortunately, "rubber" usually refers to condoms in the US. § We went to university in England for a while, and one day a fellow student came into my husband's lab and said he saw a professor running down the hall with a Winchester. My husband was ready to hit the deck, but no one else seemed concerned. It turned out that a Winchester is a large flask in England, not a rifle as it is here in America! §  To me, greeting people with a warm handshake is both friendly and polite. The first time I met some clients from California (I think they are Italian descent), they came up to me, hugged me hard and kissed both cheeks (the ones on my face, not the ones I sit with ;p ). I really was momentarily paralyzed. Not only was my personal space invaded, they also TOUCHED me!!! But my boss told me that's their way of expressing friendliness, and it only happens for the first time when people met, so that's okay. § In Paris, when out for a morning walk you say "Bonjour!" to everyone you pass and get a cheery "Bonjour!" in return. Do that in New York and people will scurry away from you lest they be shot, importuned or molested. Not surprising - saying "Bonjour!" in New York marks you as a foreigner The same if you translate it; there are places where it is strange to talk to strangers, even for a simple "happy day" or similar, and there are places where it's common to address a "Bonjour" to stranger you meet walking around, and the effect is not a speed up because of the fear the person who is saying "good morning" is a mad, or someone who wants to ask for money...

o  Asians consider it rude to meet gazes too long (longer than a second), however, it is just the opposite in some western countries. So when a westerner meets an Asian, the Asian thinks the westerner is rude, the westerner thinks the Asian is sneaky. o  person sitting in front of you is a Muslim, and you risk to expose to him/her the soles of your shoes, an extremely rude action because, to Muslims, they are very impure objects (not to mention looking like you're not listening enough, not agreeing, shifted opinions without saying it in words, or looked too causal for diplomacy. It all depends on the culture of the other person). In India, sitting with legs crossed is considered as a sign of disrespect to others. My Mom pinches my leg when I sit in such a posture. o  I'm living in rural Japan now. I think a lot of the culture shock here has more to do with the ways that Japan seems so close to American culture, yet so far. So, it's a modern country with electric lights - but the light switches are a different style than US ones. Finding that everywhere you go in the United States the light switches are all installed upside down. You walk in, reach to the side in the dark (at least the switch is still in the right place) and brush it downwards at it to turn it on - only to find that it is already in the "on" position. It's more distracting than finding that people drive on the other side of the road.

Overcoming Culture Shock

a.   Managing

What’s to be done when one becomes aware of suffering from this difficulty?

There are three different areas in which you can take appropriate measures:

1. Analyze your difficulties

2. Manage your emotions

3. Develop a social and professional network of support.

1.  Analyze your difficulties

The more you can identify the problems that disturb you, the better you can respond to them. Examine the following issues:

·   Am I going to adapt easily?

·   What is likely to cause me problems in this context of work?

·   Will the style of my new work environment be “patriarchal” or more “democratic”?

·   Is the culture of the host country individualist or more collectivist? And how about my own culture?

·   What will be the dominant values of my own culture when faced with those of the host country? Materialistic or more human and spiritual?

2.  Manage your emotions better

Thinking ahead is the best way to protect yourself. You can prepare by anticipating certain scenarios and ask yourself the following questions:

·   How am I going to react and what am I going to feel in this new environment?

·   How am I going to face up to the stress of international humanitarian work?

·   What emotions am I likely to feel (e.g. fear, anger, distress, love, happiness, guilt etc.) and how can I recognize them?

3.  Develop your support system

And then finally, ponder over the following issues:

·         On what kind of support can I count? Ongoing or just when it is getting rough?

·         Have I been able to establish trusting relationships with one or two people in my team?

·         What is my relationship with my family in my home country?

b.  Support Group

You can do a lot to help yourself adjust to a new culture. But don't forget that you aren't alone — there are people you can go to who can help:

·      Family and friends.

Find someone who has experience with culture shock — maybe an older relative who moved to the area before you did. Find out how they handled the newness of their surroundings.

·      Counselors.

If you don't know someone who has been through what you're going through, try talking to counselors and teachers at your new school. They've been trained to help all students deal with a wide variety of concerns. Although they may not have personal experience with culture shock, they do have experience with helping people deal with rough times.

·      New friends.

Making friends who aren't new to the culture may help you understand the culture better and have someone to talk to when you're feeling down.

Rather than giving up your culture so you can fit in, keep your mind open to new ways of doing and thinking about things. Notice things that are the same and things that are different. Appreciating that variety is what makes people so interesting.

c.      Maintaining Your Culture

Everyone feels the pressure to fit in at one time or another — whether they've lived in the area for days or years. But don't feel like you need to change everything about yourself so you can stand out less. All of your experiences before you came to your new home are part of you, and what makes you special.

Here are a few tips for making sure your new culture doesn't overpower the old:

·      Educate people about your culture.

Just because you're the one entering the new culture doesn't mean you should be the one doing all the learning. Take the opportunity to teach classmates and new friends about your culture; they may know little about it. It will also help them to learn more about you in the process. Invite them over for traditional dishes from your culture, or show them how you celebrate your holidays.

·      Sharing experiences.

Find kids in your class or neighborhood who recently moved, too. You can share experiences, cheer each other up when things get rough, and introduce each other to the new friends you've made.

·      Keep in touch with home.

You probably left behind good friends and family when you moved. If it's going to be a long time until your next visit, keep in touch. Write letters, emails, and — if your parents are OK with it — make an occasional phone call so you can stay up-to-date on the things happening there, and talk about your new experiences. You've not only left behind people, but also other things — like your favorite spot to hang out. Keep pictures around to remind you of home.

Remember, the key to getting over your culture shock is understanding the new culture and finding a way to live comfortably within it while keeping true to the parts of your culture that you value.

It's important to be yourself. Try not to force yourself to change too fast or to change too many things all at once. You will have your own pace of adjusting. 
Everyone goes through changes in their life, and it may seem that you are going through more changes than the average person — but as long as you hold on to what's important to you and find a good combination between old and new, you'll be fine.

 Excerpt and extracts taken with thanks from :

Richard S. Kingsley, MD

http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?CultureShock

Dr. Lalervo Oberg; Anthropologist; Health, Welfare and Housing Division; United States Operations Mission to Brazil

Wikipedia