Understanding culture stress
Coping with culture shock
Globalization: Survival skills for missionaries, foreign exchange students and others working to bridge cultural differences
This animated diagram illustrates two paths people take during the four phases of long-term cross-cultural encounters. The term "culture shock" was coined by Kalvero Oberg in a 1954 report published by Bobbs-Merrill.
The confusion and anxiety brought on by culture stress or shock may cause us to think, do or say things that are contrary to what you normally would do.
Symptoms of culture shock:
 | Unwarranted criticism of the culture and people |
| Heightened irritability |
| Constant complaints about the climate |
| Continual offering of excuses for staying indoors |
| Utopian ideas concerning one's previous culture |
| Continuous concern about the purity of water and food |
| Fear of touching local people |
| Refusal to learn the language |
| Preoccupation about being robbed or cheated |
| Pressing desire to talk with people who "really make sense." |
| Preoccupation with returning home |
Coping strategy for culture shock: Survival techniques
How can we cope with culture shock? Having some information about culture shock is a first important step. Then, to successfully cope, make sure your attitudes mirror those suggested in green and red in the top half of the diagram. Follow these tips on surviving situations with unfamiliar verbal and non-verbal codes:
Focus on what you can control
People in culture shock often feel out of control. So, don't worry about things you cannot change.
Don't invest major energy in minor problems
People make "mountains out of molehills" even more quickly in cross-cultural situations than they do in their own culture
Tackle major stressors head on
Don't avoid things
Ask for help
Create a wide support network as quickly as you can in your target culture
Write it down
Record your thoughts and frustrations in a journal. This will give you a healthy outlet for expressing your feelings.
Culture Shock
It's not right or wrong. It's just different. When faced with a new way of life, everybody experiences some form of culture shock. Culture shock is really the transition where one changes from a visitor to part of the local culture.
The reason for culture shock is mostly the fantastic views travelers imagine of where they plan to travel. Whether it is a fantasy of being the local town hero, the American everybody loves, or visions of exotic destinations on the front of brochures, once bad weather hits, language barriers arise, and different cultures confuse, the shock therapy knocks travelers off their feet. According to Shackword, "It's not a homecoming party when you arrive to Africa... culture shock usually happens right away on our program."
This sudden change is a mixture of depression, homesickness and/or irritability. It is important to know that it is natural to experience such feelings. The best way to overcome it is to realize what you're feeling, to use the support networks you have (letters home, other volunteers, new friends), and to know it will pass. It's almost like a rite of passage. Once you're over it, you've actually become closer to the local culture.
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Culture Shock Adapted from an article by Arthur Gordon |
Culture Shock is the loss of emotional equilibrium that people suffer when moved from an environment where they have learned to function easily and successfully to an unfamiliar one that is less easily negotiated. The effects of culture shock may range from mild uneasiness or temporary homesickness to acute unhappiness or even, in extreme cases, psychological panic. Irritability, hyper-sensitivity and loss of perspective are common symptoms.
Most experts in intercultural communication agree that the basic cause of culture shock is the abrupt loss of the familiar, which in turn causes a sense of isolation and diminished self-importance. It is brought on by the loss of understood signs of social intercourse. These signs include numerous ways in which we orient ourselves to the situation of daily life: when to shake hands, what to say when we meet people, when to take statements seriously, how to know someone is joking, and how to interpret facial expressions and body language.
Often when a person takes up residence in a foreign country there is a period of excitement and exhilaration when everything seems new and challenging and fascinating. There may appear to be more similarities than differences. When this emotional high tapers off, a downward trend may be experienced. The newcomer may be greatly affected by subtle differences in language, housing, money, transportation, food, and recreation, just to name a few. The result may be problems, including and physical ailments, not usually experienced back home.
A natural defense mechanism common to study abroad students is spending time exclusively with Americans. An anxiety prone newcomer may cling to the need for predictability. This phenomena leads to the observation of natives in terms of stereotypes and results in an unfair appraisal of the new culture. It also prevents real immersion and learning of the new culture.
It is possible to shorten the duration of culture shock and/or minimize it impact. The following suggestions may help:
 | Be aware that such a things as culture shock exists, which will probably affect you one way or another, but it doesn't last forever. |
| Accept the idea that while it may be somewhat painful, culture shock can be a very valuable experience, a mind-stretching process that will leave you with broader perspectives, deeper insight into yourself and wider tolerance for other people. |
| Try to remember, if and when you become thoroughly disenchanted with your surroundings, that the problem isn't so much in them as it is in you. |
BEFORE LEAVING
| Become very familiar with the new culture. Information about social issues, politics, customs, geography, and history is easy to pick up from any number of sources: the Internet, guide books, foreign students at your institution and study-abroad students who have returned and are eager to share their experiences. Rosenthal suggests reading about the idiosyncrasies of the culture you are about to experience, even if you have to do it on the plane, like she did. She was glad to find out before she got to Hong Kong that sticking your chopsticks straight up in your food means death to the chef. Stern suggests watching current movies from the country you will be going to. Even if you can't understand the words, you'll notice nuances of humor and how people respond to each other. |
| Take advantage of the predeparture and orientation materials. Don't pass up the many creative ways study-abroad counselors have to prepare you for living and studying in a different culture. Unfortunately, many students in their eagerness to leave ignore the advice or take it lightly. Colleagues counseling outbound students in Martin's study-abroad office tell her they sometimes feel like they're flight attendants talking about safety while the passengers (or students) are more involved with eating peanuts. |
| Talk to returnees who can give you lots of practical information. "Don't be shy," says Rosenthal. They can offer firsthand advice about things like using ATM cards, what to pack, the cheapest way to call home, and where to get your laundry done. Get a returnee talking about the experience and you'll get a wealth of information you could never get from a guidebook. |
ONCE YOU'RE THERE
| Keep in regular touch with family and friends. E-mail has been a boon to study-abroad students. Not only can they let others know what's happening as events occur, but the interaction with folks back home prepares them for reentry. "I shared my experiences with my family and friends all the way through my time in Australia," says Page Felini, a civil engineering major at the University of Virginia. "There wasn't that six-month gap when I got back, because they knew what I had been through." |
| Get out and experience the culture. Make friends immediately--and not just with Americans. "The key to learning cultural differences is to make local friends," Rosenthal says. While in Hong Kong, she got away from the beaten path and saw foreign films and went to museums and festivals in order to quickly become familiar with the city and its people. |
| Keep a journal while you're abroad. "That helped me a lot," reflects Hoag. Though it was hard to verbalize to others what she experienced, her journal provided a concrete way to record her observations and, as a result, to contemplate her growth. |
ONCE YOU COME HOME
| Find an audience that will listen to you. |
| Use your experience to help others by tutoring and mentoring. |
Reverse Culture Shock
By Janis M. Leet
In some cases, particularly where a person
has adjusted exceptionally well to the host country, reverse culture shock
may cause greater distress than the original culture shock.
(Robert Kohls, Survival Kit For Overseas Living )
When you return to the US you may experience some degree of what is called "reverse culture shock" or "re-entry shock." Although reverse culture shock may not be as significant as the initial culture shock you experienced upon going overseas, it can be more upsetting as it is often unexpected. (After all, you are returning to your "own" culture.)
Upon returning home, you will be glad to see your friends and family, and happy to be back in familiar territory. But at some point you will probably feel frustrated at not being able to communicate all of your thoughts and feelings about your study abroad experience.
You may notice that, although your friends are happy to see you, they are not interested in hearing about all of your experiences. You may feel somewhat alienated, finding that while you have grown and expanded your horizons, your friends have not. They may seem somewhat provincial and not interested in anything international.
During this transition period, it is especially important to keep in contact with your fellow study abroad students-they can provide a great support system. They will be interested in your experiences and will want to share your feelings about being back home.
As with initial culture shock, it requires time and effort for you to make a successful readjustment. There may be some frustrating moments at first, but it will all be worth it. Not only will you have learned about another culture, but you will also have gained a greater understanding of yourself and your own culture.
Suggestions for overcoming reverse culture shock are:
| Keep in contact with fellow study abroad students, you will all want to share your re-entry experiences. |
| Get involved in groups or activities both on and off campus that are international in focus (like volunteering or work study in the Office of International Study Programs) or continue a new interest that you acquired while overseas. |
| Ask a trusted friend to make a list of fads, vocabulary, TV shows, what's "in", etc. that may be new since you left to study abroad. This will help you feel in tune with what's going on in America now. |
| If you learned a new language while studying abroad, try to keep it up. Join a conversation group or seek out international students with whom you can speak the language. They will welcome the opportunity to speak their native tongue and, as fellow international students, will enjoy sharing common experiences. |
Re-entry issues and reverse culture shock
Are you having mixed, perhaps conflicting, feelings about your return? Don't worry, you are not alone! You are probably experiencing what is known as re-entry or reverse culture shock. People generally expect to have to adjust when they go abroad, but they don't expect that returning home will also involve an adjustment.
Common reactions to re-entry include:
| Boredom and Restlessness: After an exciting and stimulating time abroad, returning to family, friends, and old routines can seem dull. It is natural to miss the excitement and challenges which characterize the study abroad experience. Challenge yourself academically and socially, and gradually strike a balance between your life at Cornell and your international interests. |
| Reverse Homesickness: Home is supposed to be familiar and comfortable. However, after spending a substantial amount of time in another country, coming home may not be as easy as you thought it might be. It is natural to miss the people, places, attitudes or lifestyles that you grew accustomed to in your host country. Try to alleviate these feelings of loss by keeping in contact with people you have met abroad and keeping your international interests alive at Cornell. |
| No One Wants to Hear: Your family and friends may not be interested in hearing about all of your adventures and observations abroad. Remember that they are not rejecting you or your achievements. You just need to be realistic in your expectations of how fascinating your journey is going to be for anyone, and remember that they may not be able to relate to your experiences. |
| Relationships Have Changed: After a long period of separation, people often need to renegotiate relationships and adjust to being together again. Just as you have altered some of your ideas and attitudes while abroad, the people at home are likely to have experienced some changes, too. Flexibility and openness are important qualities in successfully developing "new" relationships with relatives and old friends. |
| Identity Issues: Some students feel unsure of how to integrate their "old" and "new" selves. Feeling frustrated about the lack of opportunities to apply recently acquired social, linguistic and practical coping skills is also common. Be creative, be patient and above all use cross-cultural adjustment skills to assist in your own re-entry. |
| Compartmentalization of Experience: Returnees often worry that they will "lose" their international experiences. Memories and experiences are not souvenir objects that you take out occasionally and look at. Keep your study abroad experience alive by maintaining contacts with friends and host families abroad, talking to people who have experiences similar to yours, pursuing the interests and using the skills you developed when you were abroad. |