...symptoms mostly were the feeling of loneliness and sadness. I also slept a lot. I felt like I just wanted to go deeper and deeper in my sleep and dream about my sweet home. I refused to go out and talk to native people. All I did was sitting in front of my laptop and watched Vietnamese movies or read Vietnamese magazines. It was all for the purpose of killing time and forgetting the emptiness in my heart. There are a lot of different theories about the phases of culture shock. The differences mostly depend on each individual’s personality. The most common theory is identified by Kalvero Oberg. He discovered the five distinct stages of culture shock in 1958, the five stages of culture shock. The first stage is called “honeymoon stage”. When entering to a new country, you may feel excited and eager to experiences new things. You’re in awe of the differences you see. Just looking at everything in the new place reminds you of sweet home during this stage. Desi Downey, an author of the article Culture Shock: It's the Little Things That Count in the Biggest Ways, lived in China for six years, and taught English there for much of that time. She narrated her own story when she first moved to China since her husband was offered a chance to work there. Before she ever left...
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...Culture Shock has been defined as “a feeling of uncertainty, confusion, or anxiety that people experience when visiting, doing business, or living in a society that is different from their own. Culture shock can arise from a person’s unfamiliarity with local customs, language and acceptable behavior, since norms can vary significantly across cultures.” (INVESTOPEDIA) While this definition pertains more to individuals than institutions, culture shock can doom foreign businesses from the start. There are four main areas in which culture shock can affect business: consumer behavior, local demand, buying decisions, and brand image (Maitah, 2011). Regardless of whether a company is opening on domestic soil or overseas, consumer behavior plays a significant role in its success or failure. When investing internationally, the amount of time a company has to react to markets is limited due to increased investment costs. As a result, the corporation must offer a product of high quality at an affordable price in order to introduce and establish itself. Researchers from Butler University, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign theorize, “We reason that cultural factors are a part of the fundamental factors contributing to the formation of a person’s general perceptual lens. Specifically, we reason that cultural factors may influence customer behavioral intentions through perceived service quality which in turn is...
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...Through the evaluation of early literatures by Oberg (1958) and Pedersen (1995) culture shock was only looked on as a personal construct rather than a reaction developed as a response to an unfamiliar culture.They both identified it as a way to understand how individuals feel when unaccustomed to a new environment or culture and how they cope successfully with it. However in much clearer research by(Murdoch & Kaciak,2011),it was defined as abandoning the guidance of normal social cues and finding oneself in unexplainable signs of denial of the host country and celebratory of the home country which they called “regression”.However, nothing about how an individual can adapt to the culture or environment and find a way to steer a way out of it was given. Culture Shock and Effects (Adler, 1975) from examining foreign students was able to note the fact that culture shock subjective symptoms differs from one person to another in terms of severity and span but still this research can be floored due to disparity in the methodology of this research.There are instances where sojourners lose all their former pre-existing signs of social normality and have to adapt to the new environment eventually causing anxiety and depression, for example smiling is seen in different countries as being friendly or happy but in most Asian countries smiling is viewed as a sign of weakness (Ferraro, 2006).However (Eschbach, 2001) stressed the effects on only stress and anxiety...
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...The word ‘CULTURE’ has been derived from the Latin word ‘CULTURA’ which means to cultivate, to grow.(1) Anthropologist Edward B Taylor, defines culture as “That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits.” (2) This is the basic premise that beliefs, morals, and customs are all based on one’s culture. In the essay, “No Place Like Home” by Neil Bissoondath, the author describes how multiculturalism creates uneasiness on different levels to immigrants in Canada. The author points that Canada’s Multicultural Act, focuses on cultural uniqueness rather than cultural integration that has provided for stereotypes and other problems for ethnic minorities in the country. Bissoondath is describing people of different cultures are put into different genres regardless of where they come from. Any disorientation, uneasiness, and insecurity they feel when they encounter cultures radically different from their own such as religion, skin colour, language, lifestyle, is considered to be culture shock. Living in a new country can have its share of difficulties, but at the same time provide insights into a whole new culture. India is known as the melting point of different cultures, each one unique in its own respect from the art, food, religion, language, lifestyle and politics. When I was 15 years old, my father, who is an accountant by profession, accepted a job offer to work for KPMG India. The KPMG branch was located...
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...International Students Deal with Culture Shock The population of international students in foreign countries continues to surge in recent years with students coming from a range of nationalities. For instance, according to the Institute of International Education, “Over 723,270 international students intended [sic] U.S. Colleges, universities and institutes in the 2010 – 2011 school year” (Foreign Students). The number of foreign students in the United States has been increasing gradually over the past few years. “Numerous universities specifically take measures to attract international students for financial reasons as well as a measure to enrich the college environment and add diversity to the students’ population” (Hser 37). However, many international students have been facing many challenges and problems to adapt themselves to the new foods, activities, cultures, customs and languages in the foreign country. The process of adapting, understanding and recognizing these changes is called culture shock. The deep understanding of the meaning of culture shock, the stages of culture shock and the solutions to overcome culture shock can reduce the rate of culture shock problems. The phrase “culture shock” denotes the anxiety that can be experienced when people move from a familiar culture to a different culture. It can affect anyone who travels to a foreign country at any time, perhaps especially international students. According to Oberg, “Culture shock may be defined as the psychological...
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...Culture Shock Encountering a culture very different from the culture someone’s accustomed to is usually accompanied with a feeling of confusion and anxiety which is called a culture shock1. Culture shock is very common among students and immigrants in the US. It is very difficult to avoid even with extensive preparation because there are many things about each culture that cannot be found or reflected in books. There are three main causes to culture shock are the absence of familiar culture, presence of seemingly alien or irrational culture, and lacking the ability to overcome the barriers and adapt to new culture rapidly. The absence of the normal environment and everyday life can be a nightmare to many people. Change is not a very comfortable thing to do especially when it is at the cost of spirituality, clothing, and food. To some, the absence of prayer calls sounds calling out loudly alone is depressing. To others, the fact that they cannot wear the comfortable cloths they are used to is a burden. Clothing can be sometimes a religious duty which is very difficult to fulfill in many societies. In addition, many find it extremely difficult to adapt to local food and would do anything for a male prepared just the way they are used to. The presence of seemingly irrational, inscrutable, offensive or even hostile aspects of the new culture is another cause of culture shock. Some people find it irrational to have the driver seat on the left side. This caused a lot of confusion...
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...Culture Shock The first thing I would have done to prepare myself from the culture shock is study the Yanomamo. I would have studied their way of life, what they ate, how they dressed, their language, mannerisms, and every detail I can get. If however, I don’t have that information handy, I would have at least asked the guide a few questions before entering the area where the people are living. A culture shock is really hard to prepare for, unless one has studied about it beforehand or else it wouldn’t be a shock at all. Witnessing firsthand my ancestor culture, the Filipino culture, was a big deal when I was a young. Since I was raised in America at the age of two, and learned American culture and language through my schooling, I never associated with my Filipino culture other than through my parents, which even they are much “Americanized.” When my relatives from the Philippines, they seemed like normal people until they cooked food I personally found appalling. My relatives cooked and ate dinuguan and balut. Dinuguan is pig blood stew, and balut is a baby duck egg. I was very shocked they ate this food, which I never heard or eaten. My parents ate it before but have never cooked it and put it on my plate, so it was obviously something I assumed my parents didn’t particularly like eating. I learned my lesson that maybe I should research the Filipino culture before I judge. Just as they were shocked about my “Americanized” attitude, I was shocked with what they ate. I believe...
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...noticed a lot of changes in my life. The lifestyles in Canada are different from my own country. Most work is based on practical work in Canada. For example, the teachers will give you a lot of assignments, projects, and internships. but in Pakistan, most work is based on paper work. For example, the Pakistani education system relies on memorization whereas; in Canada more analysis is required. I am more active in Canada if I compare it to my own country. Also, my relationship with friends is so better than Pakistan in Canada. In addition, the culture is totally different from Pakistan. In Canada there are a lot of religions and a lot of foods as compare to Pakistan. Thus, the changes in my life have come in three ways: educational, personal, and cultural. The first, change in my life is educational change. How has this change occurred for me in Canada? My education in Pakistan is completely different from Canada. According to Culture shock (n.d), for instance, in moving to a new country an individual might love teaching style in his life. For example, Pakistan teachers deliver their lectures on a white board. They do not use the projector and document camera. But the Canadian teachers deliver their lecture on a document camera and use a projector. In Pakistan most work is based on paper work; they do not suggest you take an internship and...
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...Leonora Christopher ENG1020 23 July 2012 Impact of Culture Shock . (rough draft) Immigration has changed many aspects of American society and has been influenced in return. People migrate around the world due to a multitude of reasons. Some adjust while others are lost in cultural shock and discrimination; many others form and join ethnic groups in an attempt to assimilate, while others resort to crime. These rapid changes direct American society in a new cultural direction. This research paper will attempt to define and explore the term culture shock, identify different stages in the process, share first-hand experiences and provide some personal remedies for dealing with culture shock as it relates to International travel. Modern technology allows an increasing amount of people to travel easily and quickly more often. Though man has always been mobile and has throughout history interacted with other units, tribes, nations and peoples, never before has the position of the individual been so favorable. Traveling and living abroad is more the standard than an exception among young students nowadays. With the flow of people also flow new ideas, concepts, ideologies and views. Through school and educational background, the media and arts, new views are continually being introduced to the public. However, only through traveling and living abroad can one get the actual experience of the things...
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...Culture shock Every country has its own culture, and culture of a country is somewhat different from others. It is not so surprising that every country has its own culture which is different from others since even a family has its own culture which is different from other families. I have experienced cultural differences whenever I traveled outside of my country. I noticed that the Western culture is very different in some ways compared to the Asian culture. It was 1992 when I first came to the United States for learning English. I went to University of California at Santa Barbara which is well known as a party school (I did not know about this when I first came to the states). I had stayed at a dorm, shared a room with a university student, and shared a bathroom with 3 other university students who were all Americans. First thing that I noticed was that they did not study as hard as I thought. At that time when I was in that dorm, marijuana was popular among the students. Every night, I could smell marijuana and witnessed my American friends smoking it. Almost everyone in the dorm got high every night, and some people ran hallways, banged the door, and screamed. That was a culture shock for me because smoking marijuana is against law in my country. Three days after, I went to Nebraska to visit one of my friends. I planned to go to Colorado for skiing with other friends from New York and Kansas. On the airplane to Nebraska, I found all stewardesses were very old ladies....
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...Examine the problem of culture shock experienced by international students coming to study in the UK and suggest solutions to this problem. Culture shock is a major problem for students from all over the world, it is the anxiety that a person goes through when he or she moves from a familiar place to an entirely new environment. It normally occurs when you stop hearing the language and seeing the environment that you are used too and beforehand helped you to make such of your encompassing all of a sudden have no which means or have new implications. The most annoying is the loss of social emotional supportive network (family and friends) and the need of starting from the very beginning again in a new place (merriam-webster.com). International students are the people who travel abroad for educational, work and other proposes. This essay is going to clarify the problems international students face when they travel abroad for studies and also some recommendations on how these problems can be resolved. Below are some of the problems faced by international students when they travel abroad are food, language and weather. A major problem faced my most international students when they arrive in the UK is the food, the food can be a major problem as students may discover the food can taste unique, or be cooked in an a way they are not used too, or it may appear to be dull or overwhelming contrasted with what you are utilized too as British food can be diverse in its own way. If you...
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...CULTURE SHOCK FOR STUDENTS IN THE U. K. Student’s Name Course Date Introduction The process of leaving one’s home and travelling to a foreign country to pursue further education can be a relatively stressful experience. The fact that most people plan and prepare for the journey notwithstanding, the magnitude of the change and its ramifications on the individual may be altogether overwhelming and will take most by surprise. It may of some comfort, albeit remote, to remember that it is a fairly common experience whenever one is taken aback by the effects and extent of the changes. Culture shock applies to almost every individual regardless of the country of origin, however, there some cultures that share some degree of similarity due to the shared historic, geographic, and demographic among other connections. Thesis Statement Culture shock is a natural experience for students travelling abroad to pursue education, students need to surround themselves with familiar environments to ease the transition into the new culture. Definitions Culture shock is a term that best describes the impact of changing from the comfort of a culture that is familiar to one that is unfamiliar (Wong & Wong, 2006, 581). This is an experience that is common to and best described by individuals who leave their home country to travel abroad for work, study or even read; in some cases this can be felt by individuals who travel for vacation purposes. The impact encompasses the shock experienced...
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...The term ‘culture shock’ has often being used nowadays. Most of us are already familiar with this term. When people have to live in a different and unknown environment or culture, they become anxious, surprises, disorientated, uncertain and even confused. This is what we defined as culture shock. People always tend to give negative opinion to this term. Why is that so? It is because they did not have much education of culture shock, thus they will always find themselves reacting negatively to this term. Believe me, if one is being asked about the effects of culture shock, one tends to give only bad or negative effects. What they have to know is culture shock need not be unpleasant. There are many times when people get to feel the rewarding effects of culture shock. We have to change our perception regarding this matter. To change this, we have to actually understand about the causes and effects of culture shock. The most importance cause of culture shock is the different language being used. As we know, there are more than 60 different languages in this world and each language has different dialect in difference place. To live in a new environment comfortably, one needs to have the ability of communicating easily with people around him. Language made it quite difficult to communicate. We may think that they can always use English to communicate around, but what will happen if one move to a country where the people there does not understand English. For example, countries like...
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...Culture shock Students in pursuit of a higher education abroad may face difficulties adjusting to their new environments, just as I had had during my first years at McMaster University in Canada. There is a huge change in responsibility when a student lives on his or her own for the first time. From my experience, the pressure of being one’s own care taker can be overwhelming and can cause feelings of homesickness, helplessness and displacement that can lead to depression. These feelings are symptoms of culture shock; a common issue that many international students face when arriving to a new country. Living all my life in Abu Dhabi in a smaller sized society, with a more family oriented view, then moving to a larger and more modern western society, with more focus on the individual, I definitely felt that culture shock was an issue I was going to have to deal with. However, I did not feel the culture shock until I left the dormitory I had moved into and actually had to fend for myself. The lessons I learnt while dealing with these feelings helped form my personality and made me grow as an individual. At first, moving into the dormitory on campus seemed like a lot of fun and I didn’t fully grasp the seriousness of what lies ahead. One of the reasons that universities have dormitories is to gradually ease students into life away from their parents. This process slowly introduces students to more responsibility before they can truly be independent. It only took a couple of weeks...
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...Culture shock Culture shock which is means that when a person move to a different country for experience totally new life even without well-preparation, it maybe brings a huge of perception shock continually. Especially for international students who studied in abroad or also in terms of expat who want to settle in another country. If someone feels over pressure while come to a new country that they have never been, think about the environment surround you without any familiar life style, different language, diet habit, changeable weather, social interaction, values, routine behaviour and education systems. These problems will make you have no idea with it, because nothing familiar. Three weeks ago, most of students came to Swansea university, maybe they will focus on a lot of different culture between UK and their home countries but also they will experience that stages of adjustment experienced during cultural transition, it calls-The W curve theory. The W curve include the people’s emotion during the phase when they come to UK before, in the UK and come back to home country how dose they feeling. Stages of adjustment: first phase is honeymoon, because of insulated from their home countries, therefore they will feel extremely excited with these unfamiliar cultures and surroundings. Follow this phase is turn to disintegration, these things which are different between their lives before make them feel intruded. After that, they become re-integration when time past. in addition...
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