Culture shock is a problem we face every day, particularly when we travel overseas. It is the behavioral and emotional reaction to working or living in another culture. Every person can experience culture shock in a different way based on his or her personality. Culture shock is mainly characterized by anxiety, disorientation and by paranoid or depressed behavior. Notably, there are three groups of people that are prone to culture shock; those experiencing a very different culture within their own countries, those outside of their own countries and former ex-patriots who are going back home. Arguably, culture shock is among the biggest hindrances to persons living in a new culture.
When people enter a new culture, there are numerous patent differences from their own culture. These differences cause people to fear, worry and sometimes withdraw. These are changes that people face in certain situations and some of them present opportunities. However, in order to grow professionally and personally, one should try to adapt to these changes and have a positive attitude towards them; some of the strong issues that cause culture shock include language, food, customs and lifestyle which have influence on people’s behavior. Therefore, in order to deal with this issue, people ought to find out reasons for it and also realize the role it plays in their lives (Ferrante 42).
Ethnocentrism is when a person believes that his or her culture is superior to another. It is also the way people feel about themselves as compared to others. It is a good way of understanding human differences and it is also an excellent lesson to relative values. For instance during colonialism, Europeans believed that they were better than Africans. Culture shock and ethnocentrism are a natural outcome of growing up in the society and failing to make value of judgment about another way of life. Normally, people identify themselves with their own ethnic group to an extent of only giving value to their culture (Ferrante 74). This notion is inborn, people growing up absorbing the beliefs, values and norms of their culture is what leads to a pattern of thought that their culture is the best. Secondly, conservativeness and failing to embrace diversity are major aspects that lead to culture shock and ethnocentrism.
Many people travelling to foreign countries have a hard time coping with the new environment. They act like “a fish out of water”. Like a fish, they have lived all their lives swimming in their own culture. They do not think about life in a different setting. People often think too much about the culture they are raised in. However, our culture helps to shape our identity. Different cultures have different cues of interpersonal communication such as: facial expressions, body language, words, tone of voice, slang and idioms. The main reason that prompt us to feel like a fish out of water particular when we are in a foreign nation or different culture is that we really do not understand all cues used in the new culture. Apparently, many people believe that the best place on earth is their motherland but there are more opportunities in developed countries such as America.
People who travel from West to East or from East to West are more likely to suffer culture shock because these two groups have very diverse cultures. They are likely to face real challenges because aspects such as, language, food, religions among others make them feel uncomfortable. Culture shock is a phenomenon that individuals create based on their origin, poor knowledge about other cultures and environment. The problem with culture shock is that it is difficult to overcome. Culture shock may not be felt at home, but it occurs in the lives of people on different occasions. It is like a disease, it has symptoms, cause and a cure. Culture shock affects people differently, for instance, it happens frequently for immigrants and international students who go to America. Conflicts of culture appear as these students live in the foreign nation and also when they go back home. It is normally a great challenge for them to cope with the new environment, language, food and the ways of life in the new setting. The time they take to adapt to these changes is what determines their lifestyle. Students are young and easy to change and they normally adopt faster compared to adults who find it an uphill task to adapt to the new situation (McInnes 111).
Most people who go to America from other nations are usually not prepared to live there. In most cases, they suffer stress that is caused by culture shock. An example of this is the teacher student relationships. In North America for instance, students relate very well with their teachers unlike China students. In China, students have a high regard for their teachers and they never call them by their first name, because it is not courteous. In addition to that, they have a tendency of hesitating to answer or ask questions in class because it humiliates them. This culture is quite different from the one in America. Once students from China go to North America, they face many challenges trying to adapt to the new environment.
In conclusion, culture shock is a phenomenon people create, although it is a lot more difficult to overcome, it can be avoided by studying different cultures which would help increase cultural exchange. In addition to that, culture shock should be studied carefully so that people from all walks of life feel easier to adjust to new a environment.
Works Cited
Ferrante-Wallace, Joan. Sociology: A Global Perspective. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
McInnes, Will. Culture Shock: A Handbook for 21 St Century Business. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2012. Print.
