It is clear that when you first enter a new country, you become truly fascinated by it. Everything seems to be different and unusual. At first, people are eager to accept all these changes and they are full of optimism and enthusiasm. They treat the process of adjusting to a new country as an amazing and adventurous journey. However, sooner or later the situation totally changes. People start to feel as outsiders and start to miss their native land. This period is called cultural shock. As Oberg states, “Culture shock tends to be an occupational disease of people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad” (Oberg). In general, thinking about the process of adjusting oneself to the life in a new country, it is possible to talk about three major stages of cultural shock. From my own experience they are the period of enchantment by a new culture, the period of home sickness and the period of adjustment.
So, it is possible to name the first stage of cultural shock as the enchantment by a new culture. Thus, when I first arrived at a new place of living, I received a whole spectrum of new and bright emotions. At a certain point, it is possible to state that in such a situation you feel yourself as an explorer in a new land. The people are very friendly and the atmosphere around is rather pleasant. Your task is simply to get acquainted with the language and learn how to orient in a new place. Oberg names this stage a “honeymoon”. It is a stage when you “stay in hotels and associate with nationals who speak their language and are polite and gracious to the foreigners” (Oberg). At this stage people rather study the country than try to adapt to it. They visit the country's most famous landmarks and learn a lot about the country’s history. They taste the country's national cuisine and visit local bars and cafés. At first, people are satisfied with everything and they don't have free time to think about their homes. They simply enjoy their staying and every day they are fully occupied. Al in all, this stage usually lasts for a month or a couple of months. Nevertheless, in a certain period of time people usually move to the second stage of cultural shock.
As soon as you come down from the first stage, you start to feel the differences between your culture and the culture of the host country. In a certain way this stage resembles home sickness when you miss your native land. At this stage people understand that they have to adjust to a totally different way of life. According to Xia, “when people are away from home and enter a new environment, they have to come into contact with many new values, new practices and ways of living” (Xia). It seems that at this stage people first realize all the differences that exist between their native country and the host country. At this stage people usually suffer from stress and numerous difficulties while doing their shopping, buying their food, finding workplace and many other things. Quite often they cannot do these things and face failure. They become more aggressive and are irritated with the new place of living. Thinking about this problem, Oberg supposes that “this hostility evidently grows out of the genuine difficulty which the visitor experiences in the process of adjustment. There is maid trouble, school trouble, language trouble, house trouble, transportation trouble, shopping trouble, and the fact that people in the host country are largely indifferent to all these troubles” (Oberg). People finally understand that they have to start a new life from the very beginning. Everything seems to be so difficult. As a result, people start to criticize the host country. They criticize the way the people from the host country live, their hobbies and their interests. At the second stage of cultural shock people are often not satisfied with what they have. At times, they even regret about their choice and want to return to their homes. They start to suffer from anxiety and depression. It is possible to say that at this stage people start to feel helpless. They don't want to talk to anyone and don't know whom they could ask for help. Indeed, most of the problems that appear at this stage happen on a psychological level. It is also worth considering that this stage of cultural shock is the most difficult and it may last for a rather long period of time. Furthermore, in some cases not all people are able to overcome this stage and to move on.
Finally, the third stage of cultural shock is the period of adjustment. According to Oberg, at this point people are on their way to recovery. They start to accept the host country. Thus, at this stage you better understand the language and have less problems in orienting and finding the needed places. At the third stage people usually find the place of work and make new friends. They also accept the country's customs and traditions. In a certain way, it is possible to state that people start to feel differently. In fact, at the third stage they do not only accept the country's customs but also start to enjoy them. The main benefit of this stage lies in the fact that people no longer compare their native country to their host country. They no longer try to find differences between the two countries. They simply enjoy their new place of living understanding its advantages and disadvantages. People don't feel themselves as outsiders any more. It is clear that at the third stage people are becoming accustomed to their new place of living and each day they show less and less signs of cultural shock.
Works cited
Oberg, Kalervo. “Cultural Shock: Adjustment to New Cultural Environments”. Academia. 2006. Web. 6 Mar. 2016
Xia, Junzi. “Analysis of Impact of Culture Shock on Individual Psychology”. International Journal of Psychological Studies. 1.2 (2009) : 97-101. Print
