Yolima Barbosa
Grammar/Writing
06/04/01
ESSAY 1: CULTURE SHOCK
Any person who has lived in a foreign country as a student may
experience differences in what the new culture considers important, values,
and differences in the way that the new culture gets things done.
Sometimes this conflict in values provokes physical and mental responses in a
person living abroad. The reaction or response to unfamiliar situations is
called Culture Shock. The term of “Culture Shock” was first introduced by
Kalvero Oberg (1960) to describe the anxiety resulting from not knowing
what to do in a new culture. As culture shock is a profoundly personal
experience, it does not affect all people in the same way. Culture shock is a
normal part of living in a foreign cultural environment, for it is one of the
biggest problems that students face coming to the U.S. As the reaction
changes in unexpected directions, it is necessary to identify what situations
cause culture shock, and in what moments students experience the problem
in order to teach individual new coping strategies.
First of all, as culture shock happens inside each international student
who encounters unfamiliar events and unexpected circumstances, it’s
possible to identify what situations may cause culture shock. Ten
international students were surveyed and their opinions about what
situations caused culture shock are shown on graph 1.
Yolima Barbosa
Grammar/Writing
06/04/01
Graph 1: Reasons that international students are uncomfortable in the U.S.
Graph 1 shows the most common reasons that international students are
uncomfortable here. As can be seen, most of the students interviewed
addressed the issue of homesickness as an important factor to their
discomfort (80%). The result suggests that the sadness of being away from
family and friends creates an emotional state of depression in some
international students, for they experience changes in sleeping habits and
impatience; also they increase phone calls to their native country. However,
only 10% of the students considered the new ways of doing things as a minor
problem. This result suggests that some international students become able
to observe with impartiality the new society; therefore, they can adjust the
way of doing things easily.
The second issue that needs to be identified is when international
students
experience
culture
shock.
The
feelings
of
inadequacy,
disappointment, disillusion, and alienation emerge within a few days to a year.
Yolima Barbosa
Grammar/Writing
06/04/01
Graph 2 illustrates the results of ten international students related to their
length of time in the U.S., while Graph 3 shows the results related to their
ages.
Graph 2: Culture shock related to the
length of time in the U.S.
Graph 3: Culture Shock related to Age
Under 25
Over 26
0%
20%
40%
60%
Graph 2 illustrates that ninety percent of the students who faced culture
shock had from one to sixty days in the U.S. Some students with sixty-one
through hundred twenty days also experienced culture shock (80%). And
those students with more than 120 days didn’t face culture shock. Graph 2
suggests that international students may face culture shock within a 120
days after arriving in the U.S. On the other hand, Graph 3 shows that out of
the total number of the international students surveyed who were under 25
years old, seventy percent of them faced culture shock whereas only ten
percent of the students more than 26 years old experienced culture shock.
Graph 3 indicates age is directly related to culture shock because younger
students face it. In short, the length of time in the U.S. and the age are
important factors in international students who face culture shock. The less
time that a student has spent in the U.S. and the younger the students are
the more culture shock they face.
Finally, culture shock teaches individuals new coping strategies; that
means culture shock results in learning. It’s not easy to measure the learning
80%
100%
Yolima Barbosa
Grammar/Writing
06/04/01
resulting from culture shock, but international students will have detailed
memories of their experiences. Some positives effects of culture shock help
international students become interdependent, so they will feel comfortable
making friends, exchanging what they have for what they need from others.
The
international
experience
will
protect
students
against
cultural
encapsulation because they will be challenged by persons, ideas, experiences,
and they will be forced to deal with those challenges by going outside their
cultural shell.
To conclude, culture shock is a reaction to unfamiliar situations faced
by some international students. Some students were surveyed and their
results suggest that the sadness of being away from family and friends is
one the reason that international students are uncomfortable in the U.S.
Also, the less time that a student has spent in the U.S. and the younger the
students are the more culture shock they face. Here are a few tips some of
the international students surveyed wrote to help subsequent students
through culture shock:1) Students must talk about their feelings with an
older friend who has gone away from home. 2) Students should bring familiar
items from home to their location such as photos and clothes. 3) Students
should make friends to alleviate homesickness and to improve communication.
Students must examine their expectations and laugh at their mistakes
because they are learning. Students facing culture shock must be relax
because the international experience will give them the chance to know and
understand a different culture, and also will enrich their development as a
future professional.