Studying Abroad At Regent 's University

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.

After fifteen months of living in Canada we found that we were suffering from culture shock and moved back to England in 2009. Culture shock was studied closely by a man named Kalervo Oberg. Trying to give a better understanding of this phenomenon he stated that, “culture shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse” (). It is known that when suffering from culture shock you can feel “disorientation, alienation, depression, and loneliness” (textbook). For my family and I, we found that we were not fitting in the way we expected to, my father could not find employment, my mother did not have a work permit so she also could not get a job, we were running out of money, and felt like we did not have any other choice but to move back home. Our decision to move back to England seems to be very common choice as Oberg also stated, “all the difficulties and problems are

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.’

Her eyes are a twinkling, light brown color and her dark, gorgeous hair was tied up, out of her face. She’s slim and has a straight posture. Many smiles were filled up on her young face, “I never really talk about myself.” I could hear the sound of the nervousness in her voice, she appeared to slightly stutter, but other than that she seemed thrilled. Aldina was born in Bosnia in the year of 1987. She had arrived in America at a very young age with life in a different perspective than her peers, throughout

Everything goes well for a while until frustration and anger surfaces and before you know it adaptation is something that comes naturally. Communication, respect, and the ability to stay open minded to other cultures is very important, it will only makes the transition easier.

I was very curious to know if learning english was difficult coming to America but to my surprise she had been learning English her whole life. According to authors P.J. Scholfield and C. Gitsaki, “Many countries around the world in which English is taught exhibit some kind of dual system of education” (Scholfield and Gitsaki). Betty explained she had watched English shows and movies her whole life. She also told me she was tutored in Greece on the English language since it is such a common language. “Greece attracts many tourists and therefore the ability to speak a foreign language, especially English, is of vital importance for people who work in the tourist industry” (Scholfield and Gitsaki). Consequently her parents wanted her to know English since so many people use it. Referring back to her social class she was able to get the one on one tutoring on

It is a sacrifice to move to a foreign country and have to change the principles and traditions that have been instilled in an individual since birth. For this reason, in order to adjust to a new culture immigrants not only have to be disposed to discard their original values to adapt to their new nation, but they have to deal with certain barrier in order to assimilate to their new lifestyle. Whether an immigrant is considered first or second generation, the obstacle of learning a new language or struggling with finding balance between the two distinct cultural worlds still remain a challenge.

A challenge is being a student, a bigger one challenge is being an international student. I believe that in my home country student life is easy, but being an international student that is a student of a different country can be hard. When I was 18 years old I landed to London .It’s been nine months now and I faced some tough experiences which I will remember throughout my life. The challenges which I have faced that most international student will experience. For all those who are planning to study in London, I would like to share some challenges that the student might have to face and suggest ways to tackle them.

However, given the difference between the cultural nature between Uzbekistan and Australia several problems will appear without doubt, starting with the ability of Uzbekistanis manager to adapt to the new environment and ending with the conflict between them and either Australians manager or staff. Cultural shock which describes the status that people face when they move into cultural different from their own cultural. It could be defined as a communication problem which includes the disability of communicating either verbal or non-verbal with the host culture, understanding its tradition and value (Samovar, Porter, and McDaniel, 2009). Before discussing the causes that help to make people suffer from cultural shock the stages that people go

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.

After reading Varner and Beamer’s explanation of culture shock I was able to analyze my intercultural experience and can see that I experienced all four stages, euphoria, disillusionment, adjustment and integration. I believe if I would have left Chicago in the disillusionment stage I would have said my experience was negative, but since I stayed well after my adjustment into my new culture I now look back on this time as positive. At the time of my move I didn’t give thought to different cultures, I thought everyone would be like me, I know realize there are so many more aspects to culture, I don’t know if I could have been totally prepared for this experience. I do know in the future I will no expect things to be the same and be a little

Moving from a place that we are so familiar with into the unknown is a terrifying feeling we could experience. It is a terrifying feeling because we get attached to the place that we come to know and love. We are familiar with the streets that we drive on, and the houses around the neighborhood. We are familiar with the people around our surroundings. We know how to get from one place to another. It is a daily routine that we come are comfortable with however, we should always welcome change since it is part of life to take risks. It pushes us to come out of our comfort zone and take a different outlook on life. Although, it is a hard thing to do sometimes since we are close-minded and frankly, we are never ready for change. We fear what the outcome will be. Anxiety plays a role that clouds up our thoughts and prevents us from seeing. We cannot always be held in our comfort zone because one day things can change and then we will be forced to enter into the unknown and that is when culture shock occurs. Culture shock can occur at any point in a person’s life. Whether it is moving from one country into another or a new school or even a new job. Adapting to new things seems to always be difficult. However, after a while things start to fall into place and one begins to adjust into their new culture and environment.

Globalisation has profound effects on culture. Tradition, customs, ideas and values from different countries all around the world can be experienced firsthand. However, writer Paul Pedersen suggests that “[e]xperiencing a new culture is a sudden and sometimes unpleasant feeling causing persons to reevaluate both the new host and their own home culture" (2) in his book The Five Stages of Culture Shock. This statement is applicable to Angela Carter's story “A Souvenir of Japan”, where the British female protagonist travels to Japan and has a relationship with a Japanese man. In this essay, I aspire to prove that in the environment of an unfamiliar culture, the protagonist undergoes unpleasant cultural shock, which makes her reassess the new

What really is a culture shock? According to Webster’s II 1994 Dictionary, Culture is a particular form of civilization, esp. the beliefs, customs, arts, and institutions of society at a given tome. In this essay I have to admit I will not be discussing how the world is going to be hit by some huge culture shock, but how Culture and Identity relate to situations in my life. For those that know me, know that I was a child exposed to many things while growing up. I moved to many different cities throughout my life and embraced all that I saw around me. These movements brought me to learn and understand cultures besides my own. The way I was raised and the transitions in my life have now brought

Adjusting to a new environment can be difficult for many people. Immigrants in "The Third and Final Continent" have hard times adjusting to different cultures, but they find a way to make it work. This chapter has lots of interesting details about what it's like to live in a different country with the everyday struggles that immigrants go through. They also describe how different their life is when they move somewhere with someone who they are strangers to.