By Tobore Edema
International Graduate Team Lead, GradSWE
Bioengineering MS Candidate, 2020
New York Institute of Technology
Credit: Gwanju News
We all have had adventures, milestones and experiences that started off as entirely new to us -- beginning classes at a new school, moving to a new city, starting a new job or having a new roommate. With that, it is safe to say that we all may have experienced culture shock at least once in our lives.
Wikipedia defines culture shock as an experience that a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one's own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, a move between social environments, or simply transition to another type of life.
Although culture shock may be caused by different reasons, the most common of them all is moving to a city or country with a foreign culture, norms or way of life. As negative as it may sound, culture shock can have positive outcomes if managed with the right mindset and available resources towards finding a balance between acceptance, adjustment and your own authenticity.
Here are seven ways through which you can manage culture shock and ride on the waves of unfamiliar norms towards community integration and confidence during social interactions.
In all, stay true to yourself, make the best out of the circumstances and acknowledge that there are some things you may never get used to, and that’s okay! Stay awesome!
Wikipedia defines culture shock as an experience that a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one's own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, a move between social environments, or simply transition to another type of life.
Although culture shock may be caused by different reasons, the most common of them all is moving to a city or country with a foreign culture, norms or way of life. As negative as it may sound, culture shock can have positive outcomes if managed with the right mindset and available resources towards finding a balance between acceptance, adjustment and your own authenticity.
Here are seven ways through which you can manage culture shock and ride on the waves of unfamiliar norms towards community integration and confidence during social interactions.
- Acceptance - The first step towards effectively managing this is to acknowledge that you are experiencing culture shock, and then accepting that this is okay. It is perfectly normal to struggle in a new environment and it doesn’t take away from who you are. It’s just like learning how to ride a bike for the first time -- you can't expect to ride perfectly right away...and yes, you’re still awesome!
- Observe & compare the differences - One way to help ease into a new environment is to help identify what aspects of the new culture differs from the culture that you’re used to. For example, perhaps where you come from, people are usually more solemn in the morning but in your current environment, people tend to be more chatty and bubbly. It helps to make a mental note of these differing elements so that each time you encounter them, your mind has already resolved and compartmentalized it, thereby potentially reducing the shock.
- Avoid contempt - It could be that these differences in norms that you have observed may be of a lower standard to you or appalling perhaps for religious, moral or personal reasons, and so you find yourself looking down on these norms. This position can potentially cause problems as it may be unconsciously reflected into your attitude towards others in certain situations, which can hinder your integration into the community. It also helps to practice kindness and mindfulness while acknowledging and respecting the differing norms of others.
- Seek out things that most resemble what you’re used to - Be open minded, especially if you would be staying in this environment for a considerable period of time. Develop an interest in the culture and study the history of how things came to be. Learn something new and seek out any similarities between your own culture and that of your new community. You might just find some random familiarity in community traditions, delicacies, fashion, etc.
- Integrate, integrate, integrate - Getting acquainted with your new environment cannot be overemphasized. There are two ways to do this, active integration and passive integration. Active integration with your new community essentially means getting out there, meeting people and participating in activities that could help you acclimatize. Passive integration is more like doing your own research and educating yourself about your new environment, that is, reading relevant books, watching related movies, observing behaviors and understanding local pop culture. Either of both can be helpful but are most effective when done together. Eventually, interaction with people is inevitable, so why not get ahead?
- Ease into things with familiar faces and spaces - Everything takes time, and so does easing into a new culture. Adaptation is a gradual process, and no one ever goes from 0 to 100 in an instant, therefore you should take the process easy on yourself. One way that can help is to find people with whom you share a common background, i.e fellow individuals from your original country, city, etc. Such persons can make the process more fun, and even offer hacks that worked for them, or even better still, you can all learn new things together.
- Stay authentic & true to yourself - In your quest to adapt to a new culture and everyday life, the most important thing you can do is to stay authentic and true to yourself. Do not lose your identity, rather, take these new experiences, adventures and skills and add them to who you already are. Let all that new rich international exposure as an awesome global citizen enrich your knowledge and attitude towards life while taking on new things.
In all, stay true to yourself, make the best out of the circumstances and acknowledge that there are some things you may never get used to, and that’s okay! Stay awesome!
