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Understanding and Preventing It - Part 1 - By Elizabeth Gregory
We've all heard the term "culture shock," but how many of us have really taken an in-depth look at it? This article will attempt to familiarize you with what exactly culture shock is and how you can prevent it. Although you may not necessarily be able to avoid it altogether, it will make your study abroad trip that much easier if you are able to understand what it is and how to best adapt to your new surroundings.
What is culture shock?
According to Wikipedia culture shock is a term used to describe the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within an entirely different cultural or social environment, such as a different country or a different state than where they live (e.g. urban southern California vs. rural North Carolina).
So you can see that it is not limited to an overseas experience. Even college campuses realize that students may experience culture shock if they are away from home for the first time. This is especially true for international students coming to study in the Sates. The University of Richmond has a great section on their site about culture shock, how to best deal with it and its symptoms which include:
* Psychosomatic illnesses (i.e., headaches, back pain, digestive problems, insomnia)
* Inability to work well
* Feelings of anger toward members of this culture
* Profound homesickness
* Lack of desire to be with members of the new culture
* Glorification of the home culture
* Inability to handle even small problems
SOURCE: Richmond Edu.
Next time we'll look at the stages of culture shock and how best to prevent and cope with culture shock
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