Culture Shock

Culture Shock
Do you think studying in a different country is something that sounds very exciting? Are you like many young people who leave home to study in another country thinking you will have lots of fun? Certainly, it is a new experience, which brings the opportunity to discover fasting things and a feeling of freedom. In spite of these advantages, however, there are also some challenges you will encounter. Because your views may clash with the different beliefs, norms, values and traditions that exist in different countries, you may have difficulty adjusting to a new culture and to those parts of the culture not familiar to you. This is called "culture shock". At least four essential stages of adjustment occur during culture shock.
The first stage is called "the honeymoon". In this stage, you are excited about living in a different place, and everything seems to be marvelous. You like everything, and everybody seems to be so nice to you. Also, the amusement of life in a new culture seems to 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. You become tired of many things about the new culture. Moreover, people don't treat you like a guest anymore. Everything that seemed to be so wonderful at first is now awful, and everything makes you feel distressed and tired.
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.