Culture shock

I didn’t believe culture shock would be an issue for me. In all my travels I’ve never had much of a problem. But this time is different. For the first time I believe I am experiencing true culture shock. I think the crutial difference this time around is that I am trying to actually live and function within the society. I’m not just as a visitor. This time I really care to do things correctly, and need to understand and be understood. That was not so necessary in my past travels. I realized I was really in it when I cursed at the bicycle shop lady for not knowing English, my friend Yuri suggested I was having culture shock. Her comment was like a slap in the face. It woke me up. At first I couldn’t take her seriously. I felt like I was too worldly to experience culture shock. But as it rolled around in the back of my mind for the next few days I realized that I honestly I didn’t know what exactly culture shock was. So like the good little monkey I am I looked it up. Below is a good synopsis of what I have been experiencing, it is hauntingly accurate. I have been experiencing it all.

The term, culture shock, was introduced for the first time in 1958 to describe the anxiety produced when a person moves to a completely new environment. This term expresses the lack of direction, the feeling of not knowing what to do or how to do things in a new environment, and not knowing what is appropriate or inappropriate. The feeling of culture shock generally sets in after the first few weeks of coming to a new place.

We can describe culture shock as the physical and emotional discomfort one suffers when coming to live in another country or a place different from the place of origin. Often, the way that we lived before is not accepted as or considered as normal in the new place. Everything is different, for example, not speaking the language, not knowing how to use banking machines, not knowing how to use the telephone and so forth.

The symptoms of cultural shock can appear at different times. Although, one can experience real pain from culture shock; it is also an opportunity for redefining one’s life objectives. It is a great opportunity for leaning and acquiring new perspectives. Culture shock can make one develop a better understanding of oneself and stimulate personal creativity.

Symptoms:
Sadness, loneliness, melancholy
Preoccupation with health
Aches, pains, and allergies
Insomnia, desire to sleep too much or too little
Changes in temperament, depression, feeling vulnerable, feeling powerless
Anger, irritability, resentment, unwillingness to interact with others
Identifying with the old culture or idealizing the old country
Loss of identity
Trying too hard to absorb everything in the new culture or country
Unable to solve simple problems
Lack of confidence
Feelings of inadequacy or insecurity
Developing stereotypes about the new culture
Developing obsessions such as over-cleanliness
Longing for family
Feelings of being lost, overlooked, exploited or abused
Stages of Culture Shock
Culture shock has many stages. Each stage can be ongoing or appear only at certain times. The first stage is the incubation stage. In this first stage, the new arrival may feel euphoric and be pleased by all of the new things encountered. This time is called the “honeymoon” stage, as everything encountered is new and exciting.

Afterwards, the second stage presents itself. A person may encounter some difficult times and crises in daily life. For example, communication difficulties may occur such as not being understood. In this stage, there may be feelings of discontent, impatience, anger, sadness, and feeling incompetence. This happens when a person is trying to adapt to a new culture that is very different from the culture of origin. Transition between the old methods and those of the new country is a difficult process and takes time to complete. During the transition, there can be strong feelings of dissatisfaction.

The third stage is characterized by gaining some understanding of the new culture. A new feeling of pleasure and sense of humor may be experienced. One may start to feel a certain psychological balance. The new arrival may not feel as lost and starts to have a feeling of direction. The individual is more familiar with the environment and wants to belong. This initiates an evaluation of the old ways versus those of the new.

In the fourth stage, the person realizes that the new culture has good and bad things to offer. This stage can be one of double integration or triple integration depending on the number of cultures that the person has to process. This integration is accompanied by a more solid feeling of belonging. The person starts to define him/herself and establish goals for living.

The fifth stage is the stage that is called the “re-entry shock.” This occurs when a return to the country of origin is made. One may find that things are no longer the same. For example, some of the newly acquired customs are not in use in the old culture.

These stages are present at different times and each person has their own way of reacting in the stages of culture shock. As a consequence, some stages will be longer and more difficult than others. Many factors contribute to the duration and effects of culture shock. For example, the individual’s state of mental health, type of personality, previous experiences, socio-economic conditions, familiarity with the language, family and/or social support systems, and level of education.

My experience at the bicycle shop hadn’t come out of nowhere. It had been building and growing for awhile.

Somehow the term culture shock doesn’t get to the heart of the experience. The term makes it sound so sudden and traumatic. In truth it is more insidious and sealthy. It really comes in waves. To process the enormous amounts of information is just not possible.

Even more problematic is that on the surface Japan looks something like America. However, on the inside japanese life is a very different landscape. But you can’t see it, but you can feel it. I can only judge it from my American frame of reference. Layer onto this the Japanese way of strongly separating their true internal world from the one they present to the public and one can wind up feeling like you are living on the surface of things.

I will continue to add and develop this thread…