Culture Shock Of The United States Essay

Many people come to the United States for freedom and to live out the American dream.What is happening is many people are trying to “fit” in with the American ways that they lose a lot of their own culture by assimilating into the American society.By losing your culture you lose a part of yourself.Knowing about your history and learning about other people’s history can give you a greater understanding of other ethnic groups and in some ways enrich your life.By preserving your culture and learning about others, it will help you to understand people better.If more people did this communication would be better between the vast ethnic groups.And by learning all of this you learn a lot about yourself and who

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.

I would best describe Culture Shock as a roller coaster ride- fun and exciting, yet a little scary and daunting. It happens from Country to Country, from state to state, city to city and within neighborhoods. Not everybody experiences it in the exact same way. Culture Shock occurs when one enters an unfamiliar place where cultural traits, social norms, beliefs and customs may not be in line with what they are familiar with. Wikipedia best describes Culture Shock in four phases; the Honeymoon, Negotiation, Adjustment and the Mastery Phase, and I've experienced them all firsthand and can attest to their importance from an Anthropological standpoint.

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

Doss, E. (2002, April). Oxford History of Art: Twentieth-Century American Art. Cary, NC, USA: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from ebrary, 289

I have a new coworker at my office named Jorge who is from Central America. He is unfamiliar with American customs and claims that he is undergoing culture shock and needs my help with the adjustment. In this paper, I will define assimilation and present the pros and cons of Jorge assimilating fully into US culture. Also, I will explain the relationship between language and culture and list some ways that Jorge can viably communicate with others in a multicultural society to help his integration into American society go smoothly.

Culture shock comes in many forms, unfortunately, I have not been able to go out of the country due to financial reasons. However, I have had many opportunities with church ministry and local outreach's to reach people for Christ. One thing I have realized is that you can experience culture shock even in the United States. When visiting Richmond, Virginia in the summer of 2012 for a conference, I experienced culture shock after seeing the different ways that people live. Being homeschooled all my life, I did not really experience what the secular world is really like. Therefore, my knowledge of society and culture was conformed to my own little world.

Having experienced culture shock is really interesting but difficult to me. I remember very clearly the first moment that I have arrived in the US, I felt very excited about everything as the American is friendly and they are willing to help me in any situation, which differs from people in Vietnam. Also, I love the fresh environment and the cool weather here because my country has hot and tough weather making me get a lot of acnes. However, I suddenly fell in anxiety, since I could not adapt with the friendly environment when I'm quite introvert and there was a big language barriers, which prevent me from communication as well as interaction with friends and teachers. I have been in Seattle for nearly two months, so I think that I'm in the

I’ve been blessed to go to 14 countries, and I’m going planning on going to another one over spring break. I think one of the most important things about I’ve noticed while traveling is how it changes my awareness of cultural difference around the world, and how I personally am affected by events happening in other countries. I have lived in the same small town for 13 years, been in the same school district 12 years, and most of the kids I was in kindergarten with, I’m now in my senior English class with.

I do not think that I have really experienced full-blown culture shock as was described in this week’s PowerPoint (Zeiglemann). However, I have an idea as to how I might deal with being immersed in a different culture than my own. One way I would deal with being in a different culture would be to make sure that I have people around me who understand what I would be going through. This provides me with someone who could coach me through the tough periods and experiences while in the different culture. Second, I would make sure to go out and experience as much of the culture as possible. By doing this, I would keep my mind occupied on the events I am experiencing rather than the contrasts between cultures that would be effecting me. Lastly,

According to the Merriam-webster dictionary, culture shock is defined as “a sense of confusion and uncertainty sometimes with feelings of anxiety that may affect people exposed to an alien culture or environment with adequate preparation”. In the article 6 Challenges for International Students in College by Katy Hopkins, she discusses different effects of culture shock that international students have affect them. With a new culture comes many different changes, both in education and in social life. In regards to education, there are two distinct points that Hopkins makes. First, she points out that many universities require students to take a variety of courses, or what is referred to as ‘general study’. Hopkins says that, “this can come as a surprise for international students who expect only to take, for example, business or engineering courses”. (Hopkins. 2012) The second aspect of cultural shock that Hopkins points out is the change in the dynamic between professors and students. In other countries, academic environments are more of a hands-off experience, with a distinct role for students and instructors. Whereas in education in the culture they may be entering, as Hopkins states, “professors…want learning to be a collaborative experience, and encourage participation from students both in class and during their office hours”.

The time that I experience culture shock was when I first came to the United States. One of the first thing that was totally different from where I’m from was the language. Speaking a certain language for my whole life and then coming to another country with a different language was a huge change for me. Going to school and not knowing the language made me feel out of place for a long time. Another factor that was different was the food. Also the people were different they had different lifestyles from what I was used to..

The term culture stock was first presented by anthropologist Kalervo Oberg in the late 1950s. Oberg characterized it as a disease endured by people living in another social condition. Oberg also say’s, culture stock came about because of the loss of surely understood cultural signs and symbols, making people encounter tension, disappointment, and weakness.(Citation 1) culture shock also has impacted the on values we have from our native culture we lived so long, by coming to Canada we are exposed to another culture that we have not been touched by. Communication skills are different as we in can have to look in the eyes of the elder we talk to, as in back home in pakistan, where i'm from we cannot look in the eye of elder as it is disrespectful. As for our beliefs are transmitted from generation to generation through of being taught or observed. Loss of identity is an problem for international student as it can loss due to adaptation to a new place to live in or they have to adopted the new identity. The financial crisis for international students is very related to culture shock because we need to get a job in new culture requires to same communication skills, values and adaptation of identity.

Having to do new thing an embracing what may came with such are a pivotal issue in all of our lives. The umbrella in which all of these experiences fall can be described as culture shock. Culture Shock can be anything from things like being in a new person’s house to trying a new food. An experience where I personally went through culture shock was when I got my dog Peanut. Coming from a family unit with just me and my grandparents even a small dog was a huge change for me. There were I remember some ups and the downs that came with having a new pet. Generally there are four stages of culture shock That I and most will encounter which are the honeymoon,disenchantment,beginning resolution and the effective function stages.

What is culture shock? It is a phenomenon that all types of expatriates experience, no matter if they work abroad for