Culture shock is one of the most grueling experience an individual has to go through when moving to a new location. In this week´s journal I will talk about my experience with culture shocks, how I overcame them and compare my journey with the model of the Expatriate Adjustment.
I had to endure this feeling multiple times before coming to London and to Hult. As we moved a lot as a family, I had to get comfortable with new surroundings very often. Every time I encountered a new environment, mixed feelings came up. Someone could call these experiences “mini culture shocks”, as they were not caused because of a change in culture. The differences were only of subcultural nature, since we moved inside of Bavaria. The real culture shock with all its effects came when I moved to the United States and also most recently, London.
The symptoms I can relate to most are isolation, irritability and homesickness. I had to undergo each of those on a weekly, if not daily basis. Being irritated is one of the most common symptoms for me. It comes as no surprise, since the norms and behaviors of people change not only from country to country, but also from region to region. This creates confusion, as the people approach many aspects of life differently. It did not take long to make friends, after arriving to the United States; neither did it take long to also realize major differences. I was invited to a Thanksgiving get-together. I met a lot of kind people and got along with them quite well. Before leaving their house, I was invited to go ice fishing with them in the winter. They promised me to call me as soon as possible. Needless to say, the people never contacted me and thus I never went ice fishing. This experience left me irritated. If a Germa...
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... expected of me before. The weather did not help with my culture shock phase, either. Funnily enough, the weather in Germany is even worse, as it is even colder. The most significant factor contributing to that phase was the fact that I miss my family and friends. Two weeks ago, I noticed betterment of my whole situation. I am now almost completely settled, knowing the ins and outs of London a tad better and thus started to like my new circumstances. This is why I would put myself at the start of the Gradual Adjustment phase.
I realize that these stages have to be dealt with more than once. They will certainly come and go again and again. In my opinion it is important to have symptoms of Culture Shock. It not only helps you to appreciate the little things you were always taking for granted, but also serves as a reminder of the love for your family and your culture.
Justin Matos Reasoning and Analysis Paper When you come from a different country do you have trouble communicating with others? Is it hard to adapt to the new culture or stay within your own culture? Around the world, many people are rewarded for been direct and independent. Been able to take care of yourself and work well with others who are not in your culture can help you achieve great things.
Culture is all about an individual knowledge based on belief ,art,morals customs.Therefore culture shock occurs when people have different values and beliefs and are not tolerant of each others differences(Eckermann,Dowd,Chong,Nixon,Gray and Johnson,2006.).The separation of important people in our lives such as family, friends and colleagues that we would often talk to at times in our certainity can affect our physical social emotional and mental health(Eckermann,Dowd,Chong,Nixon,Gray and Johnson,2006.).Jenny in this case has to fly to a hospital in a town to give birth,she is separated from her husband and her kids,another example of culture shock is when Isabel is fed through Naso-gastric tube whereas Jenny is used to breast feeding.
New country means new language, new culture, new people and different lifestyle. I never thought of being somewhere where you don’t know the language and people. For my parent and me the difficult part was learning new language. Since, I and my sister were going to school, so we knew Basic English. But for my parents adopting new language after so many years was really tough. Since, my dad had his own business, he also had to take care that before we move to us.
Causes of depression in international students revolve around the number of friends one has, financial difficulties, language barriers, academic difficulties, perceived discrimination and cultural shock.
A sudden change in one’s surroundings can result in culture shock. Culture shock refers to the anxiety and surprise a person feels when he or she is discontented with an unfamiliar setting. The majority of practices or customs are different from what a person is used to. One may experience withdrawal, homesickness, or a desire for old friends. For example, when a person goes to live in a different place with unfamiliar surroundings, they may experience culture shock. Sometimes it is the result of losing their identity. In the article “The Phases of Culture Shock”, Pamela J. Brink and Judith Saunders describe four phases of culture shock. They are: Honeymoon Phase, Disenchantment Phase, Beginning Resolution Phase, and Effective Function Phase. These phases denote some of the stages that exemplify culture shock. The four phases are illustrated in the articles “New Immigrants: Portraits in Passage” by Thomas Bentz, “Immigrant America: A Portrait” by Alejandro Portes and Ruben G. Rumbaut, “When I Was Puerto Rican” by Esmeralda Santiago, “Today’s Immigrants, Their Stories” by Thomas Kessner and Betty Boyd Caroli, and lastly, “The New Americans: Immigrant Life in Southern California” by Ulli Steltzer, and are about the experiences of some immigrants. This essay will examine the four phases of culture shock and classify the experiences of these immigrants by the different phases of culture shock identified.
Such drastic change, some referred to as “ culture shock”, does not necessary only apply to adults, but also dependent children. Just as an adult immigrant, a child faces similar problems in his new life in this brand new environment. The challenges arise not only because of these difficulties
Culture, where and how a person is raised, affects a person no matter how much they dislike the way they are being taught the ways of life. However, moving to different places as a child and coun...
My brother knowing that I will definitely experience culture shock, started giving me tidbits of what I would expect. I remember him saying “This is America my sister, they speak different here, many things have different names from home”. He then told me “open the trunk and offload y...
However, the collision starts when the challenges and problems face them in the host country even less joy of some or fade! Some of them suffer many of the problems that might hinder their studies. It is often the problems occur in the first year of traveling to the study, which represents the real beginning for a new life in a society that is different in terms of religion, customs, traditions and the way of life. Eva Hoffman is the author of “Lost in Translation” was happy when she moved to Canada but, she had never thought that the life is not easy there if she didn’t prepare herself for it. She faced many things that made her uncomfortable. According to Eva Hoffman “It was Saturday when she went with Canadian friends to McDonalds. They got their orders from the drive-in and they sat and eat in the car and that made her finicky distaste.” She didn’t feel comfortable because their cultures are different. When I came to the United States, I felt as Eva Hoffman’s feeling. I was studying English Language at TLC with my Colombian friend. Our religions are different and he was my best friend. One day, we were studying together then he went to order dinner for us. He didn’t asked me what I want! So, he brought a
Thomas, D. C., and Ravlin, E. C.,1995. Responses of employees to cultural adaptation by a foreign manager. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80(1),pp.133–146.
Everyone reacts differently to new environments.While some are excited others are upset to have to leave important people behind. Culture shock comes in many different forms and sizes, some may find it harder to adjust than others. The difficulties to adjusting don’t always show up right away (TeensHealth). Culture shock is experienced in many different ways some common feelings are; sadness, loneliness, anxiety, trouble concentrating, feeling left out, negative feelings towards the new culture and frustration (TeensHealth). These feelings are temporary, eventually people get used to their surroundings. Although, many have been planning on the change for a long time, many still experience the impact of culture shock (International Students and Culture Shock). A huge majority of the cultures norms are based on language.
There was one incident in my life that I can remember when I was moving from one cultural environment to another and it wasn‘t easy to get use to the new way of life. Ever since I was born until the age of seven I lived my life in Poland which was a fairly small country located in Europe. Living there was a complete different thing when compared to life here.First of all there was a different language spoken which was Polish,there were different holidays, for example we didn’t celebrate your birthday but instead we celebrated the time when your name was give to you which was considered more important.The means of transportationused by the people were the train or the bus and not everyone had cars because many people weren’t able to afford them because of their cost.Today it is much harder to find jobs in Poland then it use to be, even when someone is fresh out of college with lots of degrees and time in ...
Living in another country is always accompanied by change. It would illogical to deny the fact that living in another country-in another language and culture, principally leads to personal development. The different aspects of personality suspend and one takes on the mannerisms, qualities and opinions that define the people in a foreign country (Kohls 9). Nothing is wrong with the change. In the first place, it is a major reason why the individual moved to the new country-they wanted to evolve by putting...
In the present day organisations are expanding their operations to different countries of the world. They therefore need people to work there “expatriates”. Once the international assignment is completed, the expatriates have got to go back home, the process of repatriation begins. Even though most expatriates and managers presuppose that the repatriation process will be easy seeing as the employee is just returning home, research has substantiated that this is a tricky process. There is indication that it could be more difficult to adjust to the home environment as opposed to adjusting to life in a foreign nation. Therefore, repatriation process ought to be considered keenly (Baruch et al 2002).
In addition, these developmental changes have been produced by culture and beliefs of each person. For example, Mexican culture is more collectivist culture, where Mexican families tend to stay together and not separate from their relatives. Consequently, a child has been more stimulated to be more independent with family support if a mother stays with a baby that is part of the culture. Even so, a person has changed for different factors not only, but also for culture or society. For example, the environment makes a person not feel comfortable in a particular place