Culture Shock

Culture shock is not something to be ashamed of. It is not necessarily something to be proud of. But it is something you will experience every time you move somewhere new.

Culture shock can even happen within your own country. If you move from rural Cornwall to inner city London you are going to suffer as much, if not more, as if you moved from London to Paris

Instead of the buzz words 'Culture Shock,' the phrase, 'Physical and emotional stress due to unfamiliar surroundings,' can convey more of the reality. Culture shock can definitely be as much physical as emotional. Climate, clothing, altitude, food and personal comfort are as much components of culture shock as language, traditions, attitudes and religion.

Culture shock can sometimes be seen as something to be beaten, faced head-on and trampled over, but in many cases this can actually make the stress worse. By insisting that you only eat your traditional foods you are going to cause yourself problems just about everywhere you go. Trying to change the work rate of employees in some countries is as bad as trying to extend, or shorten, the working day in others. Learning to understand why, or how, a task is accomplished the way it is, can often be a more successful way to diffuse your frustrations, than trying to change the method.

Learning the local language can save you a lot of problems, even if you are moving from the US to the UK, there are variations in the usage of English you could do with learning. By learning the language you can begin to understand your unfamiliar surroundings and realise that the person who you think is trying to stop you taking a short cut is actually trying to tell you that he will give a you lift in his car if you wait a minute.

One way to mitigate the seriousness of your culture shock is to learn as much about your destination country as possible before you go. Read books, visit travel agents, watch movies and listen to the major news programmes to gain as full a picture as you can. Trawl the Internet for websites and chat groups where you can read about the country and ask questions of people already there. And try to learn some of the language so you can at least buy a drink in a restaurant. If you can generate some enthusiasm and a sense of excitement about your move you are much more likely to enjoy the destination once you get there.

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