A culture shock is an experience to a person that usually happens when the individual lives in a strange culture. Everything looks different for that person, be it clothing, religion, religion, values, traditions and food. It thus takes time for the person to get acquainted with the new culture.
When I received a letter offering me a chance in the university, I was very excited by the fact that I could get a glimpse of the city since I had been born and brought up in a rural set up. My past life had been revolving around the rural environment where conservatism was the rule. It hardly hit me that the excitement would be short lived because from the day I reported in the University I felt like a lost sheep in the midst of goats. Everything seemed different from what I had been accustomed to. Religion was my first shock in the city. I had been used to my native church in the rural home but there was nothing similar to that in the city. Religion did not seem to have any restrictions like I had been taught. People here could be in the church during any week day, or any time of the day or night. These phenomena were really strange to me as I was used to one day in a week for church.
The ways of social living in the city also seemed strange and immoral. Ladies were in short skirts, hot pants, and skinny trousers. It was not a strange feature to see ladies and gentlemen kiss in the public and walk holding each other. These were seen as abomination in our rural culture since it was believed to breed immorality. I was really at crossroads because everyone else seemed to be okay with what my eyes could not watch and my soul consent. My traditional values had no room anymore in the new society: I had been taught for example to give my way if I was almost colliding with an elderly person. The city life here had nothing to do with such awkward courtesy and every man had to make their own way. I had never seen ladies drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes until the day I attended an evening party with my friends. I was really surprised by what my eyes were witnessing. Commercial sex work and gay behavior had never existed in my mind but they were not anything strange in the city; they made up the day in a way or another. Life in this new culture was guided by one principle, ``ethics and morality is what makes on comfortable regardless the effect of such on the other people” I really found this disgusting.
Despite all the shock and strange experiences, I had to stay in the university to see my dream come true. I had top rise up to the occasion and match the city life. Funny enough, today I do not see anything wrong in those things which I initially resented. I have become a part and parcel of the city life and I no longer see anything wrong with short skirts, tight trousers for ladies, drunkard ladies and the like. There is nothing immoral in gay behavior as long as the participants are in a consensus. My experience supports the argument that morality is culturally defined and it differs in every culture.
There are some morals which sound similar for different cultures. A good example is the general perception of incest among the people in all cultures.
The conflicts that could arise from different ethical principles as defined by different cultures could be solved by allowing and respecting any cultural definition of ethics, and give such a definition enough time for change as in my case of cultural shock.
