Essay on Culture Shock: Phases and Ways of Overcoming

Introduction

Students are usually exposed to cultural, social and intellectual experiences when they move from their home country to a foreign country. Culture shock is therefore the anxiety and emotional disturbance experienced by people when two sets of realities meet. The term was first named by Kalervo Oberg in 1960 who described culture shock as, precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse (1960:177). The discussion below will broadly offer a theoretical definition of the concept of culture shock, considers the four phases of culture shock that a student may experience in the process of adaption in student sojourners, and finally offer practical advice for preventing and negotiating culture shock.

Definition of Culture Shock

Meaning comes from the use of shared symbols and depression is a loss of meaning (Atwood Gaines, personal communication). This depression is the soul of culture shock. The term was first named by Kalervo Oberg in 1960 who described it as ‘precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse (1960:177). That is, if one defines and negotiates reality through the symbolic representations of life, then one must question this reality when faced with alternative representations. When the symbols used to describe and contemplate the world are not understandable, this can lead to feelings of isolation or even a loss of identity. The self-esteem disappears and one feels ill at ease. In a sense, culture shock is an illness resulting from the loss of meaning brought about when people from one symbolic reality find themselves immersed in another, typically through immigration and traveling away from the home country.

Oberg (1960) creates an exhaustive symptoms list, including excessive hand washing, excessive concern over water and food safety, fear of physical contact with ‘natives’, a feeling of helplessness and dependence on long-term residents of one’s own nationality, anger over delays and otherwise minor frustrations, excessive fear of being robbed or injured, concern over minor pains and cuts and abrasions.

Finally, he describes that ‘…terrible longing to be back home, to be able to have a good cup of coffee and a piece of apple pie, to visit one’s relative, and, in general, to talk to people who really make sense.’ (ibid:178)

For example an American student traveling to a developing country might be disheartened or alarmed by the living conditions that are perfectly normal and acceptable to the local people like the use of chewing sticks instead of toothbrushes. The American student will feel uncomfortable using the chewing sticks, and this will lead to resentment to the local people as the tourist might view them as people who are unhygienic and not technologically savvy.

Phases of culture shock

Culture shock is about being out of place in a foreign country and time. Oberg (1960) states that the student will experience culture shock in four phases; namely the honeymoon phase, the frustration phase, the adjustment phase and the acceptance phase.

Honeymoon phase

When moving to a foreign country, the honeymoon phase is the first stage of culture shock that the student will experience after months of excitement, anticipation and preparation to travel to the host country. The student will be excited and full of enthusiasm about the move to the foreign country and also looking forward to all the new things he or she will experience and an overall positive feeling about the move. The honeymoon phase usually lasts from a few days to a few weeks.

It is during the honeymoon phase that the student will experience a sense of euphoria because all the problems and conflicts arising from missing cultural cues and cultural misunderstandings are seen as minor or amusing, or as part of the overall adventure.

The student will also receive a red carpet welcome, a new homestay and undergoes an exploration of shops and sights. The student will be curious about the host nationals and he or she will be a passive observer by avoiding of negative stereotypes. Verbally the responses from the student can include responses like, How ironic, this place and the people are a lot like home. Physically, the student will or might experience intestinal disturbances and minor insomnia because of a reaction to a change in weather or food.

During the honeymoon phase, the student meets useful and friendly work staff, makes the first social contact with members in the host country, sees and doing new things and enjoys the new world and also observes the new culture and familiarizes him/herself with the new environment. The student will be charmed by every difference rather than bothered and the student will be quick to recognize any cultural similarities to avoid feeling out of the comfort zone right away.

Frustration phase

When reality sets in and the initial excitement wears off, the student transitions from the honeymoon phase to the frustration phase. During the frustration phase the student will undergo many negative feelings, which include, frustration, confusion, hostility and depression. The student can also be judgemental towards others, sometimes with a sense of superiority. Language barriers and misunderstanding of cultural cues will cause significant difficulties for the student, who might develop a hostile and aggressive behavior. The student might try to seek out those who are similar to him or her instead of integrating with locals during this stage.

According to Oberg (1960:178) ,the student will experience frustration and this is when culture shock begins. The student will reminisce about their home culture and use stereotyping and may even leave, returning to their home culture without even overcoming culture shock(Furnham &Bochner 1982:161-198).

There will be uneven performance and confrontation with differences. Emotionally the student will be discouraged, lethargy, suspicious, bored and homesick. Behaviourally, the student will try by all means to avoid contact with host national, excessive sleep, loss of concentration and fits of weeping. Physically the student will experience minor illnesses, headaches, and preoccupation with personal cleanliness. The verbal responses from the student will include, This place is boring and these people are disorganized .

The student will make us of more stereotypes, chauvinism and nationalism. The student’s high expectations remain unmet, he or she blames the host culture for his or her problems, he or she spends most of his or her time with members of his or her home culture complaining about the host culture and the student also has a growing awareness that his or her cultures behavior may not be accepted in the host culture and therefore the student has to give up, suspend, or modify own behavior.

Adjustment phase

During the adjustment phase, the student will focus on things that really matter like family, friends, and hobbies. However, the student will still feel completely not accepted by the locals and might even miss that bond they have with people back home.

The student also tries to come up with coping strategies to deal with previously difficult day-to-day situations, though difficulties will persist at times. The student might also develop a sense of routine, develop new relationships and there is more open-mindedness about the new culture. A relationship will be developed with people from the host country.

The student can choose either adjustment without adaption, such as taking a flight back home or isolation. The student can use isolation and avoid substantial learning about the new culture. However, the student can also choose to adjust and adapt through developing problem-solving skills for dealing with different cultures and therefore the student will be in a better position to accept the cultures way with a positive position.

It is at this stage that the learner will begin appreciating the other culture and learning about it becomes a fun challenge. The problems that the student encounters do not end but the student develops a positive attitude towards meeting the challenge of resolving the issues necessary to function in the new culture.

The student at this stage, adapts to the new environment and develops routines, meets new people who can help in interpretation situations that may not be completely understood, and have linguistic abilities are improved. The student gets to know the city much better. Although the student is conscious and knows the differences between the culture of origin and the host culture but the student at this stage understands that the host culture is not that bad, it just needs to be interpreted with different patterns and therefore the student will develop a better understanding about why she likes or hates some things and the reason why.

Things will get better for the student and the student will be able to resolve many of their conflicts and problems and the student begins to appreciate the way things are done in this new environment and their feelings become more balanced. Life may not be perfect for the student and there might still be some surprises but the student begins to feel competent in their ability to function and handle themselves in the foreign country. The only problem with this phase the student undergoes in the foreign country is that the student may be somewhat superficial and may change yet again.

Therefore, at this stage, the student chooses to be an explorer in the new culture, accepts the challenge of self-reflection and also assumes responsibility for his or her own culture adjustment. Examples of Common thoughts from the student might include: We say that too, but differently .Meaning that the student has also accepted the culture of the host country and the similarities to the culture to the home culture.

Acceptance phase

This is the final phase that the student will go through in the transformation. During the acceptance phase the student will set up a schedule for doing work or study; make friends from the new culture and also show an interest in learning even more about the host country, beyond what is needed to survive. The student will accept the new culture while maintaining the native culture and language.

It is also during this stage that the student experiences minimal negative reactions to the new culture and there is also an improved understanding of why things work the way that they do. Acceptance of the beliefs and values of the new culture as a valid and acceptable way of life is also noted by the student. The students work performance will improve at this phase, and the student will have the ability to interpret cultural clues. The health of the student is normal and he or she has the ability to see things from the perspective of host nationals. This is the stag when the student becomes an adoptive cultural native.

An example of a common thought that the student can have include: You dont understand them like I do. Im beginning to like this. Basically, at this stage, the student becomes a mediator between the two cultures and also feels proud that he or she can make herself understood in the target language and that he or she can understand native speakers. Since full assimilation is almost impossible, people respond constructively to culture shock and develop a bicultural identity, which allows them to operate successfully in the new culture as well as in the cultural setting of their home country (Oberg, 1960).

Ways of overcoming Culture Shock

The student can overcome culture shock by reflecting. Reflection is an essential part of the cultural adaptation process whereby the student is advised to reflect on whats happening to him and around him. The student has to ask questions like, how does reality compare to my expectations, and, how is the experience preparing me to meet my goals for the future?. By spending time on reflection, the student gets to reflect on daily experiences in order to better understand and contextualize them.
The student can also learn from mistakes and apply the knowledge acquired through them in future situations.
The student should analyze the situations that are not understood before judging or criticizing them just for being different to what the student is used to. By so doing the student leaves stereotypes and preconceived ideas aside and has an open mind to new culture.
The student should also practise pre-departure preparation. The student must learn as much as she or he can about the new location. This means knowing the good and the bad, and the simply different time zones, foods, political systems, customs and religions.
The student must also apply conflict resolution and intercultural effectiveness skills. Harris and Morris (1987) suggested cultural shock can be eased through describing, analyzing, and identifying the problem from both cultures point of view, developing a synergistic strategy, and performing a multicultural assessment of effectiveness.
The student should also build new friendships by associating with positive people. Managing cultural shock requires that the student maintains or establishes a network of primary relationships that will provide interpersonal relations for the improvement of self-esteem and also for meeting the personal and social needs of the student. Emotional life can be maintained through writing letters or keeping a personal diary of feelings and experiences.
The student must also learn cultural and social rules. Successful adaption requires learning the host cultures styles of relating, communicating, reasoning, managing and negotiating(Casse&Deol,1985; Harris&Moran,1987; Samovar&Porter,1991). The student needs to be flexible in interpersonal styles and relations (Dodd,1987). The student can do this by understanding and manifesting behaviors in the host culture.
The student can also learn the language that is spoken in the host or foreign country. This will help the student to communicate and reduce the effects of culture shock and misunderstanding. Being able to communicate with the locals will reduce the stress of the students move to the foreign country
The student has to be patient. Adapting to a new culture takes time. The student has to give him or herself time to allow for mistakes and learn from them instead of taking the next flight back home.
The student also has to set SMART goals which are Specific, Manageable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-based. The student must set realistic, short-term goals, and realize that periodic failures are inevitable.
The student should also cultivate the habit of listening and observing, rather than merely seeing and hearing.
The student has to be aware of the feelings of the local people to prevent what might be offensive behavior. For example, a student visiting South Africa might laugh at the traditional clothing of the people who stay in Kwazulu- Natal who go out with their breasts out, this can be offensive.