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Culture Shock: The Experience of a Semester Abroad |
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By
Lauren Kidd Photo Team Member |
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| “If it
feels a bit like a morgue, it will change rapidly,” explained
the British academic advisor as he stood before a group of anxious
exchange students who had recently arrived at The University College
Worcester in England.
His audience let out an array of scattered chuckles. Some were excited, curious, and eager to explore a country and culture different from their own. Others had already begun to experience the pains of being in an environment which was not recognizable and not yet comfortable. Prior to their departures, before any of the students had caught a glimpse of a red double-decker bus rounding a London street corner, gripped a true English pint of lager, or discovered that peas can be both mushy and minty, they were warned of the effects of culture shock. The seesaw feeling of seeming so out of place makes many want to tap their shoes together and beam themselves back to the familiarity that is home. According to The Council for International Education, “Culture shock describes the impact of moving from a familiar culture to one which is unfamiliar.” The shock of a new environment, new people and learning the ways of a different culture, combined with the separation from support networks of family and friends, proves a difficult adjustment for many who opt to spend time abroad. As an American exchange student in Great Britain, I did not want to be affected by this condition. I only had one semester to spend in Europe; I could not be inconvenienced by unexplainable emotions. But I quickly learned that to dodge the feelings of anxiety would be impossible. After listening to the British advisor’s welcoming speech, I returned to my empty room, decorated merely with two super-sized suitcases and a new rugged backpack straight out of the L.L. Bean catalog. I laid down on the freshly made bed in an attempt to sleep off some jet lag and already began to feel oddly out of place. Listening to the sounds outside my window, that I recognized only as the high-pitched voices of female witches from the movie “Hocus Pocus,” the fact that I was an ocean away from everything I had ever known hit me smack in my American face. These people sounded different, they used words that to me could have meant anything from shoelace to onion ring. I had no idea what bloke, bollocks, minion, queue or quid referred to. “Even though it may be something you have planned and prepared for, the extent of the change and the effects it has on you may take you by surprise,” explains The Council for International Education. While studying in Granada, Spain, Juliana Kling, a student at The Barrett Honors College of Arizona State University, experienced an overwhelming case of culture shock. “I think it showed up when I tried to order ice cream cones at McDonalds and the guy at the counter made fun of me and laughed in my face when I said something wrong in Spanish,” Kling recorded in her journal. “Or maybe it was the group of boys that were making fun of us Americans that spurred its arrival. It could have been those dudes on the street touching our faces and calling us ‘guires,’ slang for foreigners.” For Kling, as well as other adventurous individuals who uproot themselves from home cultures, it is often difficult and time consuming to become acquainted with even the most basic factors of living. Odd climates, unusual food, unrecognizable speech, varying dress and different social roles and rules of behavior make foreigners uncomfortable in an unfamiliar society. A task as simple as responding to a friendly greeting proved confusing to Anna Lindh, a Swedish student studying in England. “I had problems when people asked me ‘what's up?’ What am I supposed to answer?” wondered Lindh. “If someone said that in Swedish, you would start explaining what you were doing or what was happening, but that is not the answer that they expect to get from you. My answer was always nothing, but that was not true, there was always something. I simply don't understand that way of saying hello to people.” Overcoming culture shock is a process. If a traveler approaches his journey with an open mind and does not expect a perfectly smooth problem-free stay abroad he will adjust more rapidly to the new environment. It helps to talk about emotions that arise from living within an unfamiliar culture, to keep in contact with networks of family and friends at home and, of course, to have a humorous outlook on the adventures at hand. Nikolaus Mische, Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs for the Office of Global Programs at The College of New Jersey, recommends the best remedy for the feelings that come with being half a world away from home: socialize with the locals. Participating in affairs within the community will allow foreigners to truly experience life on a local level. “Let go of the cultural ideas that you grew
up with,” explains Rebecca Alimena, an American student who
spent four months in the United Kingdom. “I opened up to learning,
accepting and understanding the cultural ideas around me, and that
allowed me to become part of the culture I was living within.” |
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Lauren
Kidd is a junior journalism/professional writing major at The College
of New Jersey with a minor in political science. She spent her last
semester abroad, studying in Worcester, England. On campus, Lauren
is a sports writer for The Signal, and president of the TCNJ women’s
volleyball club. |
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