Coming into Community
Part 1
Moving into Australia from a small nation such as Bhutan was a huge leap for me. Adjusting
into a different environment with different culture is not an easy task especially for an
international student. The Morduch community was very different from the old study and daily
environment I was used to. The study, living, social and financial environment of Perth and
Murdoch was very different from my home town Bhutan. Coming into this community was a
wonderful opportunity for not only pursuing my academic studies but also get exposure to the
diverse and distinct lifestyle at Murdoch and Perth.
While working as a Gewog (small district) administrative officer in Bhutan, life was slow and
people were quite easy- going. They did not hustle in daily life and the administration work
was done at a much easier and less aggressive pace. The culture of Bhutan demands strict
discipline which makes the people to act proper and restricts total freedom. Life at Australia,
particularly Perth on the other hand was more systematic yet free. People had their own
activities to carry out and were all immersed in their own daily hustle. Life is more systematic
and orderly here and individuals aren’t expected to behave in an orderly way. As for the
academic scenario, my previous institutes directed me to follow a fixed way of handling
questions and exercises. It demanded a more classroom-based approach to studying and
expected students to remember and use what the tutors taught them. Even research-based work
demanded a certain criteria and methodology to be followed in order to hit the satisfactory
mark. At Murdoch, learning is more incentive and spoon-feeding is discouraged. Students are
given the freedom to explore and learn about the subject matter through various exercises and
assignments. Since learning is individual-based, each course demands a considerable amount
of time and effort. Socially it was not difficult for me to adjust to the language people spoke
out here except for the accent. The university provides all necessary resources required for indepth learning of the courses provided and peer learning along with group activities and
assignments are helpful in dealing with other people and learning from the academic
frontrunners. The huge gap between my bachelors’ study and recent masters course created a
difficult situation for me to pursue studies effectively but with all the support from the
university, peers and self-determination I have been able to cope up with challenge. The life
and culture of Murdoch is advanced and organized but isn’t as fast-paced as I had expected.
The classes are short and efficient and the environment is relaxed. Around the city, most shops
close by 5pm which normally isn’t expected of an advanced city.
Financially, living a content life as a student at Perth is achievable with a few jobs. This
includes having a functioning car, living in a small apartment and able to pay for one’s tuitions
and living expenses. Back at my home town, this would not be possible. Small jobs would
hardly pay for rent and getting by would be rather difficult let alone paying for tuition so a
person would need. Besides the financial advantages, the freedom to pursue one’s beliefs and
interest are also open in Murdoch. The Murdoch community fosters growth through
individualism which is rather different from my old university. I was taught to function in a
group rather than as an individual and the hierarchical structure present restricted people from
voicing out opinion which I feel hinders growth. Now that it has been over a year of experience
here at Murdoch, I have some what institutionalized to its culture of getting busy in one’s own
experience while sharing personal ideas and respecting an individual’s freedom. However,
initially it took quite the effort to get used to the new environment. The difference in the way
of life of Bhutan and Australia gave me a cultural shock which was a hurdle to overcome. The
huge campus and diverse members at Murdoch also made me anxious about adapting and
learning. The form of education at Murdoch was another unconventional thing I felt nervous
about. Peer support and positive mentally was key to overcoming this anxious feeling
personally. However, the friendly faculty and members of Murdoch along with the freedom to
one’s individualism here also helped me adapt to this new environment. Adapting to a new
community with a very different culture from the one an individual is used to requires great
mental and physical fortitude and personally would be very helpful in adapting to any type of
situation in life. In my case, I reminded myself every time I felt anxious that this was what I
was here for. An opportunity that many others crave for is what I do not want to waste. Keeping
positive mindset and keeping oneself healthy through exercise and a good diet also goes a long
of staying strong and adapting.
The Murdoch community made me change my views on how an academic institute was a place
to only learn the bookish theories. Learning happens even away from classrooms and
personally I feel like I have been learning something new every day that I am here. The recent
COVID-19 pandemic has introduced how online learning takes place. Although it is a bit
trouble some for an individual from a not very developed nation to use IT-based tools, learning
about them and adapting to them has brought about new experiences that I can use. The
community being dynamic in its approaches have also brought about new perspectives to light
which has broaden my personal view. Exposure to a diverse environment such as Murdoch
helps an individual adapt to not only a new environment but also keep a positive mindset on
diversification and social attitude. As an international student moving in from a very different
social and cultural background, adapting to a new environment hasn’t been the easiest of tasks
but as my personal perspective and experience enhances, it is not only a pleasure but an honour
to be able to study into such a diverse and enriching community.
Part 2
In earlier times, a community used to refer to a segment of people who lived eye-to-eye with
each other (Goel, 2014). Tonnies (as cited in Goel, 2014) described a community as a
‘Gemeinschaft’ where only people who had close ties were referred to as a community but later
felt that a community could be termed a ‘Gesellschaft’ meaning a relation based on impersonal
ties. With the changing times and development of technologies which helped people interact
in a lot of different ways, the definition of a community has also changed. According to Cobigo
et al. (2016) a community is defined as a group of people that socialise and interact with each
other sharing physical or mental aspects along with a sense of attachment, often bound by
physical proximity due to geography or belief. There may be various definitions to a
community but they all jointly refer to a group of individuals socially feeling bound together.
Each community has its own way of life which is called as its culture. A community can have
its own ideas, beliefs, understanding, language and custom. Even the way that people in a
community dress, the food they eat, the way their education system works and other distinct
activities is included in its culture (Routamaa & Hautala, 2008). Gil (2013) also holds a similar
definition of a community’s culture and states that every community has its own culture. Each
culture is therefore different from another and represent the difference in the way of living that
a community can have from another due to geography, social beliefs or norms, religion etc. A
culture of a community is therefore a very important part of it and plays a vital role in the
functioning of the daily activities in the community (Tjarve & Zemīte, 2016). Since every
culture is different, Hofstede framed a model to roughly measure exactly how much a culture
is different from another. It comprises of six dimensions namely: the power distance relation,
uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, long-term orientation and indulgence.
These dimensions bring into light how a community treats an individual and the social beliefs
it possesses (Wu, 2006). According to Hofstede’s Insight (2019) Bhutan and Australia differ a
lot in terms of the Hofstede’s model. The main differences are in terms of power distance
relation where Bhutan has a strong hierarchical order compared to Australia which believes in
equal rights at birth, masculinity where Australia is a competitive masculine society compared
to Bhutan’s GNH policy that makes it less competitive and more feminine, the long-term
orientation condition as Bhutan has strong belief in old tradition and the high indulgence value
of Bhutan compared to Australia as freedom is rather restricted and discipline is expected of
all individuals in Bhutan. Given the difference in the two societies of Bhutan and Australia,
moving in from one to another would require great mental and physical fortitude.
Communities with the help of modern development in traveling, IT and communication
technology have permitted people to interact and build relationships that are not totally based
on physical proximity and shared experience. This expansion in interactional prospects have
made it possible for one to adapt to new communities (Bridger, Luloff, & Krannich, 2002).
However, moving in from a community to a new one is not an easy task without proper mind
set and experience. Leaving behind comfort and security takes a lot of courage and also
demands vigilance towards the new environment. When moving into a different community,
new relationships have to be formed, adaptation to new social norms and customs have to be
followed and language barriers have to be overcome quickly. The difference in the culture of
the communities may sometimes lead to cultural shock that could have various effects on an
individual for different duration. Cultural shock can be defined as an experience which includes
several strenuous effects on an individual when coming in contact with a different culture (Xia,
2009). Adapting to a new community and managing cultural shock requires committing to
cultural relativism in order to become more tolerant to the new culture without necessarily
losing one’s own identity. One can adapt personality functioning for emotional ease, change
reference group to get a sense of belonging, learn new skills which can help blending into the
new environment, create a wider perspective to understand the new culture and adapt to a new
defined role to allow functional integration (Winkelman, 1994). Rhine smith (as cited in
Winkelman, 1994) suggests a three step process to adapt to a new culture and avoid cultural
shock which are cause diagnosis which means to understand the different aspect of culture,
reaction analysis which shows the impact it has on an individual and how difficult it is to adapt
and intercultural adjustment which demands an individual to draw steps to overcome the
cultural difference through possible steps. Black and Mendenhall (1990) however, suggest that
adapting to a different culture becomes much easier with cross-cultural training which imparts
training, develops skills, improves performance and increases effectiveness for a new
community. They pointed out that an individual develops better understanding and learns new
skills while avoiding misconceptions to the new culture which helps him or her ready for the
new cultural destination.
Adjusting into a new community might demand social and cultural adaptation but can also be
viewed as an adventurous challenge. With the experience gained in adjusting into different
communities, one may also gain empathy and better understanding of how various individuals
feel in different scenarios. Working out of one’s comfort also brings out capabilities that one
might not achieve otherwise. Bridger et al. (2002) similarly believes that through cultural
exchange and experience communities can learn new ideas while broadening their mind sets
allowing them to grow. Coming into a new community has changed from being a herculean
task to being an ordinary work with the help of modern technology and international relations.
Culture is an important part of a community and acknowledging it maybe the first step to
adapting into it. A human being has the power to endure and adapt to even the hellish forms of
life and hence coming into a new community should be possible and rather enjoyed.
References
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