Culture ShockI. The definition of culture shock1.

Culture Shock
    Good morning, everyone. In today’s lecture, I’d like to talk about culture shock. Perhaps you think that studying in a different country is something that sounds very exciting. It is a new experience, which brings the opportunity of discovering fascinating things and a feeling of freedom. In spite of these advantages, however, there are also some challenges you will encounter. You may have difficulty adjusting to a new culture and to those parts of the culture not familiar to you. This is culture shock.
    To be exact, culture shock is the anxiety and feelings of surprise, disorientation, uncertainty, confusion, etc. felt when people have to operate within a different and unknown culture such as one may encounter in a foreign country. It grows out of the difficulties in assimilating the new culture, causing difficulty in knowing what is appropriate and what is not. This is often combined with a dislike for or even disgust with certain aspects of the new or different culture. The shock often consists of four distinct stages, though not everyone passes through these stages.
    The first stage of culture shock is often overwhelmingly positive and far from bewildering. This is often called the "honeymoon stage" — when you’re so fascinated with the language, the people and the food seem like the greatest thing you’ve ever met. Also, the amusement of life in a new culture seems as though it will have no ending.
    Eventually, however, the second stage of culture shock appears. This is the "hostility stage". You begin to notice that not everything is as good as you had originally thought it was. People don’t treat you like a guest anymore. You get laughed at, you horribly offend a little old lady without knowing why. It is a basic emotion that permeates every part of the experience, from misunderstanding shopkeepers, to losing your keys or missing the bus. Frustration comes and goes, disillusion comes on like a monsoon and the pangs of homesickness can become debilitating.
    Usually at this point in your adjustment to a new culture, you devise some defense mechanisms to help you cope and to protect yourself against the effects of culture shock. One type of coping mechanism is called "repression". This happens when you pretend that everything is acceptable and that nothing bothers you. Another type of defense mechanism is called "regression". This occurs when you start to act as if you are younger than you actually are; you act like a child. You forget everything, and sometimes you become careless and irresponsible. The third kind of defense mechanism is called "isolation". You would rather be home alone, and you don’t want to communicate with anybody. With isolation, you try to avoid the effects of culture shock, or at least that’s what you think. Isolation is one of the worst coping mechanisms you can use because it separates you from those things that could really help you. The last type of defense mechanism is called "rejection". With this coping mechanism, you think you don’t need anybody. You feel you are coping fine alone, so you don’t try to ask for help.
    The defense mechanisms you utilize in the hostility stage are not helpful. If you only occasionally use one of these coping mechanisms to help yourself survive, that is acceptable. You must be cautious, however. These mechanisms can really hurt you because they prevent you from making necessary adjustments to the new culture. After you deal with your hostile feelings, recognition of the temporary nature of culture shock begins. Then you come to the third stage called "recovery". In this stage, you start feeling more positive, and you try to develop comprehension of everything you don’t understand. The whole situation starts to become more favorable; you recover from the symptoms of the first two stages, and you adjust yourself to the new norms, values, and even beliefs and traditions of the new country. You begin to see that even though the distinctions of the culture are different from your own, it has elements that you can learn to appreciate.
    The last stage of culture shock is called "adjustment". In this stage, you have reached a point where you actually feel good because you have learned enough to understand the new culture. The things that initially made you feel uncomfortable or strange are now things that you understand. This acquisition of understanding alleviates much of the stress. Now you feel comfortable; you have adjusted to the new culture.
    Evidently, culture shock is something you cannot avoid when living in a foreign country, but there are things you can do to make it easier on yourself.
    One of the ways that you can lessen the overall shock of the culture is to learn as much as you can beforehand. But this means that you need to do more than read books or learn a new language; you will want to immerse yourself in the new culture in some way. Look for local groups of emigrants from that country or others that have done what you are hoping to do. The point is to get inside to look into the culture that you want to become a part of. And that means taking the time to learn.
    Another good way is to slowly begin to dip your toes in the local goings on. Try out new foods and attend different local meetings to observe how people interact with each other. You’ll never learn about your new home if you never leave your new home. Meet your neighbors and try to learn about them. Take walks around your home and work place to see what you can observe.
    So far, we’ve discussed four stages of culture shock and how to deal with them. In our next lecture, we’ll mainly discuss how the immigrants influence the local culture.