Culture Shock

by Yuko

Everyone who goes to a foreign country goes through culture shock, and the words culture shock means the feeling of being confused or anxious that you get when you visit a foreign country or a place that is very different from the one you are used to. The time when people start to feel a culture shock is different. Some people feel culture shock at the first part of their stay in a foreign country; on the other hand, the other feels culture shock some days pass after they arrive in a foreign country.

There are four stages of culture shock, and we can adapt our situation to each stage. The four stages of culture shock are honeymoon, culture shock, acceptance, and integration. At the stage of honeymoon, people feel happy, excited, and wonderful about being in a foreign country. When people move to the second stage of culture shock, it becomes a situation which people call culture shock. When people are in the situation of culture shock, people feel unhappy, depressed, and angry to stay in another country. When it comes to the third stage of culture shock which is called acceptance, people feel comfortable about being in a cultural situation which is different from the one people had in their home countries. Lastly, the name of the final stage of culture shock is integration. People act natural in a foreign country, and are able to feel very comfortable staying in a foreign country.

I’m in the stage of acceptance now because I went through the stage of culture shock and started to digest American culture. I can’t say I’m in the stage of integration yet because I cannot spend my daily life without being disturbed by the wall of the language and I need some help to live in America. But I hope someday I could reach the stage of integration and feel really comfortable about being in America.

The ways I can help people who are suffering from culture shock is to listen to what they feel in a foreign country, tell them good points of being in a foreign country, or tell them that they can get over culture shock someday. People who are going through culture shock feel lonely, sad, or depressed, so it’s a really hard experience for them, but if people could get over the experience, people can realize fantastic points about staying in a foreign country. Therefore, I hope people who are suffering from culture shock could get themselves out of the culture shock, and have great experiences in a foreign country.

The meaning of the words culture shock is a quotation from Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.