Culture shock is a state of disorientation and frustration that results from entering a new culture where people’s fundamental values, beliefs, and ways of doing things are different from your own. Symptoms may include irritability, anxiety, excessive sleeping or reading, depression, increasing isolation, compulsive eating or drinking, resentment or bitterness, feelings of helplessness, and physical problems such as headaches, insomnia, and sickness.
Act 1: “The Honeymoon" period, during which everything new seems interesting and exciting.
Act 2: An increasing sense of disorientation, as deeper, more fundamental differences surface. This is the stage where many people become depressed and may be prone to stereotyping or venting about the host culture.
Act 3: As individuals learn how to survive in their new environment and develop coping mechanisms, their level of comfort and confidence will usually increase.
3 comments:
lol- I love the Culture Shock books; we give them to our students going abroad (well, to most locations). :)
It's funny though because we try not to use the phrase 'culture shock' anymore... we are trying to say either culture shocks (plural) or cultural adaptation. It's such a different experience for everyone and most people go through the cycles (we have 5 stages actually) several times; depending on how long they are abroad. :)
I see...so you all want to "flower it up" with cultural adaptation. Well...if you've ever moved to another country, a lot of times it's a shock. And, when you come to Saudi Arabia, it IS a shock to the system. I've gotten used to living here, and I'm okay with it 95% of the time. But, I know some women here who have been here for years, and they're still not over the shock.
Hehe- I don't think I've heard that phrase before; I like it!
I'm not saying that people DON'T go through shock; just that it's so different for everyone :) We have too many people say they didn't get culture shock during their semester/year abroad and then proceed to describe it to us... and it was culture shock...
So, that's why we changed the wording of it now in our pre-departure orienations- hehe
I actually enjoy culture shock to a degree. I was even so upset when I was in Jordan and didn't get anything too extreme! :( I kinda' like that feeling of "Oh- wow, that is so different." Of course, I'm also with extended family there which makes a huge difference! (but I think the last time I had shock was in Hungry... a great place, but just different!)
I find most of our students get more 'shock' in Europe than non-traditional sites, although I know KSA would be different if we sent students there because of the compounds (our students to the UAE have pretty much have very few lifestyle changes). My cousin is probably moving to KSA soon and my husband (who grew up there) has been giving her tips about the compounds and stuff. HE likes it, but he grew up there... (and is a guy, lol)
In my experience, the worst culture shock I had was moving from the West Coast of the U.S. to the East Coast! But, I think that experience really helped me adapt to the Middle East (Levant area) better because there are so many similar values when it comes to appearance.
Anyways, thanks for your comment back- I get so excited about this sort of thing and I'm sure I sound odd sometimes, but I love talking about cultural differences- the good, the bad and the ugly :)
Oh- another good Saudi blog is Susie's big adventure (http://susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com/) and American Bedu (http://americanbedu.com/)
Anyways- I'm so behind in your blog and so I look forward to catching up and hearing about your impressions of the KSA! :)
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