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How To Lessen The Impact

Before leaving home, you may do the following:

1. Find out as much as you can about your new country beforehand. One of the best antidotes to culture shock is knowing as much as possible about where you are. Read books, talk to people who have been there, explore this Web site.

2. Find out about the living conditions of local people, the political situation, the currency, climate and what the cuisine is like. Pick up a phrase book and start practicing counting and simple greetings.

3. Familiarize yourself with the phases of culture shock. Like a forecast of rough weather ahead, you’ll still have to weather the storm but you’ll be better equipped to cope well.

The Different Stages of Culture Shock

Stage 1: Honeymoon Phase

Most people begin with great expectations and a positive mindset. Anything new is fascinating, and even early problems are seen as quaint—all part of the experience of newness. The first few hurdles of settling in (such as opening bank accounts, getting a driver’s license, finding schools, doctors, or shopping centers) are successfully overcome. You’re in control, and feel fortunate for having the opportunity to move overseas.

• Be a tourist; try to spend some time visiting the local attractions, send some postcards and photos back home.
• Make some new contacts by joining clubs and associations, sign up for activities
• Join a language course
• Book/plan a holiday a few months ahead to give you something to look forward to

Stage 2: Rejection Phase

The honeymoon phase comes to an end, and the newcomer has to struggle with normal, everyday problems e.g. trains don’t come or leave on time, can’t buy their favorite food or brand of shampoo, can’t understand the local accent or idioms. Daily frustrations build up into disillusionment and self-doubt, leading one to “reject” the host country and think that he is not welcome.

• Look after yourself: exercise, treat yourself to a massage. Avoid excessive alcohol and over-eating. If you take care of your physical well-being, you feel better about yourself overall and this will help curb the number of negative thoughts that could get into your head from day to day
• Try to record your thoughts and feelings in a journal or a blog. This gives you a healthy outlet for expressing your frustrations
• Continue language study
• Don’t give in to the urge to criticize the new country and culture; resist making snide comments and jokes which are intended to illustrate the “stupidity of the locals“
• Try not to associate with other expats who do make them—they will only reinforce your unhappiness and aggravate the culture shock that you are already experiencing

Stage 3: Regression Phase

In the regression phase, you find yourself “moving backward“: you spend much of your time speaking your own language, eating food from home, and moving in social circles that are comprised almost entirely of people from your own culture and background. You may only remember the good things about your home country that suddenly seem wonderful now. You wonder why you ever left your home, where it seemed nothing ever went wrong for you. This is, of course, not true, but an illusion created by your culture shock crisis.

• Identify a local national (e.g. a neighbor, a parent of someone in class with your children) who is sympathetic and understanding, and talk to that person about specific situations and your feelings related to them. Talking with other expats can be helpful but only to a limited extent — you should concentrate more on your relationship to your new country
• Keep yourself busy; set daily targets and make the effort to achieve them
• Re-evaluate and reinforce the goals you had in going overseas

Stage 4: Recovery Phase

In this stage, you become more comfortable with the language and customs of your new country, and can move around without a feeling of anxiety. You may still have problems with some social cues and things that people say or do, but you know to take it easy on yourself and you are more self-understanding and tolerant of others. You even start preferring some things in your new country to those at home. You may also find that you’re now the one helping others in the same situation you were with adjusting to the new culture. Best of all, you find that you’ve regained your sense of humor.

• Explore the new culture and don’t be afraid to try new things—food, sports, shows, etc.
• Buy some local tokens and furnishings for your home
• Branch out a little more from your current social network. This is also a fantastic opportunity to practice speaking in the local language.
• Take that holiday that you booked earlier!

Stage 4: Reverse Culture Shock

The last stage of culture shock, called Reverse Culture Shock, occurs when you return home after a long stay abroad. Strategies in coping with reverse culture shock are similar to the ones we’ve learned above, and one more important tip is to realize that no one country is really that much better than another—it is just different lifestyles and different ways of dealing with problems in life.

Not everyone experiences all the different stages of culture shock. Moreover, you can experience all stages at different times; for example, you may go through the regression phase before rejection.

How long will culture shock last? That varies depending on where you came from, how different the cultures are, the support systems available to you, and so on, but it also depends to some extent on you and your resiliency. Don’t forget to have faith—in yourself, in the essential good will of your new countrymen, and in the positive outcome of this exciting experience.

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This is the second part of Katlyn Batuigas’s article on Culture Shock. (In case you missed it, Part 1 is here.) In Part 2, Katlyn offers insightful tips on really understanding Culture Shock and how you can cope up with it’s devastating impact.

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