Culture Shock Essay examples

A sudden change in one’s surroundings can result in culture shock. Culture shock refers to the anxiety and surprise a person feels when he or she is discontented with an unfamiliar setting. The majority of practices or customs are different from what a person is used to. One may experience withdrawal, homesickness, or a desire for old friends. For example, when a person goes to live in a different place with unfamiliar surroundings, they may experience culture shock. Sometimes it is the result of losing their identity. In the article “The Phases of Culture Shock”, Pamela J. Brink and Judith Saunders describe four phases of culture shock. They are: Honeymoon Phase, Disenchantment Phase, Beginning Resolution Phase, and Effective

Cultural shock is a common feeling a person experiences when transitioning into a completely different environment and living situation. Throughout the world, immigrants experience many difficulties when assimilating into a new culture.

The chapter continued to discuss how people experience other cultures when they are removed from their area to a different place. This occurs in the form of culture shock people experience new traditions that are unfamiliar to them when the come to a place that is home to another culture. Human development may also include joining the ideas of various cultures and forming it into a new concept. It puts heavy emphasis on learning other cultures in an unbiased form in order to compare and make observations. This chapter also studies of culture have been able to advance over time and how change is an essential aspect of

As an international student, it is often very hard for people from different culture to fit into another culture and get adapted to how the new culture works. Something that I have significantly

I tried to imagine the home life some of them came from. As I attempted to look deeper, I wondered which

Culture shock is the feelings of alienation, hostility, heightened ethnocentrism, sense of loss, depression and/or self doubt that may result from immersion in a new culture.

Eckermann (2010), defines culture shock as segregation of two communities, creating conflict, inequality of rights, and inhuman treatment. Due to the divide, and Aboriginals being the minor group, they lost their identities and experienced tremendous stress and anxiety due to culture shock.

Pederson (7) explains that there are stages of culture shock, which he identifies as the honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment, and adaptation. In the honeymoon phase, a person is likely to get excited about being in a new place, meeting new people, tasting new foods, and acquiring new habits. However, as time passes by, they get into a phase of negotiation, where the differences between the culture one is used to and the one they find themselves in start to become apparent. Feelings of anxiety, anger, and frustrations start to take shape as unfavorable events perceived as strange come in the way of the person 's life, especially if a person does not feel accepted in the new culture (Mukherjee 273). Loneliness may set in, and the urge to go back to the familiar culture strongly comes into play. However, as time goes by, adjustment sets in, usually within six to twelve months, and one gets accustomed to the culture and also comes up with a routine. By this phase, one knows what is expected of them, and life once again becomes ‘normal.’

Culture shock is influenced by ethnocentrism, which I will explain how it is taking one’s culture as a superior base to judge other cultures. The longer I lived in Louisiana, the concept cultural relativism began to apply to my situation when I befriended a girl that had lived in that town from birth, and it gave me a new perception on cultural differences. Culture shock is a two way street after all, they were affected by my outside presence- especially at times where they needed to forgive my adjustment of catering to their norms. The non-material culture I can list as an example would be a moral holiday celebrated highly in the south, Mardi Gras. Having parades march through my street for seven days with floats, jazz musicians, horses, and people in costumes throwing out beaded necklaces- was quite a celebration that traced back historically and

The key school culture issue in scenario #1 is that the team is an interdisciplinary team that is not function as such. They have been together for six years and works like a “well-oiled machine. It is obvious that the team has worked through the four stages of group development because they have addressed the social, emotional, and developmental needs of their students. The team has the cornerstones for effective collaboration and teamwork People, Task and Process (Conzemius and O’Neill, 2002). They have the leadership, commitment, knowledge, and skills. The team has

Peter L. Berger once said, “The sociologist routinely experiences culture shock in his own home.” The definition of cultural shock is when someone finds himself or herself in an environment that’s unfamiliar and someone doesn’t really know how to act or do. It is out of the person’s comfort zone and to try to fit and feel included in society, once must first face the uncertainty of how the unknown culture acts like. When the sociologist looks closely at these things, he finds unexpected motives, outcomes, things that might have not been realized. Therefore, culture shock can occur frequently every day due to the fact that everywhere in the world, including America has distinguishable outcomes that belong to other cultures.

In 2010, as my sisters-in-law and their families prepared to immigrate to the United States (U.S.), my husband and I did all we can to advise and assist them in getting ready for their long journey from Nigeria to the U.S. To our surprise, contrary to every advice we gave them, in preparation for life in the US, they started out with trying American fast foods of different kinds. Culture shock is expected for anyone who immigrates to the US, regardless of where they come from. The type(s) of help the person(s) gets on how to overcome it and their adherence, most often, determines the future outcome of life in their new country of residence.

Adjusting to a new government, similar to adjusting to a new culture requires learning and adapting to new rules and norms. Dealing with this kind of change comes with new lessons, new understandings of life and new perspectives. Individuals have to learn things from scratch, learn to understand the culture and most importantly, people have to stop making assumptions. Moreover, a new culture requires a new level of open-mindedness. This is not always an easy process to go through. However, through education, creating valuable relationships and a positive attitude, it is possible to gradually get used to the new environment.

Culture Shock has played a tremendous role in the growth of cultural ecology because it is an issue that is constantly growing all over the world. In the United States, it may not seem like things are changing involving culture shock, but it is not any different then the changes in places like Africa and China for example. It is developing equally across the world because there are now more ways to travel. So, what exactly is culture shock anyways? Well, it is known as going to a foreign or unfamiliar territory that one is not used to, so they may feel symptoms of anxiety such as nervousness or shock because the customs, actions, beliefs, etc of those people may not seem familiar to them, so one may feel ill-prepared for the changing environment. Also, for example, if one was to go to school in the U.S. but came from China, they would feel culture shock because the rules in China are not the same as rules in the U.S. and so it may make one feel uneasy about the situation because they are not use to change and maybe the move was to quick for them to adjust properly. The United States is very different from foreign areas because the culture is very different. Where have people of Africa seen movie productions, music, sports, universities, iPhones, computers, etc? The answer is not where they live but in the United States if they traveled there before. This is exactly the issue with culture shock in ecology. Culture is what people behave like, feel, and do. Shock is a symptom

Cultural differences effect many aspects of our daily lives. With the many different cultures embedded in the United States, it is important that everyone has an understanding and respect for the melting pot that is encountered daily in our communities, workplaces and schools.