Dealing with Culture Shock

I found that I enjoyed reading the article, "Coping with Culture Shock." It is okay to experience culture shock. The anxiety that comes when trying to operate in a different environment is normal. As I read I was able to identify different symptoms I had experienced when in the Dominican Republic and China.

I believe that when I was in the Dominican Republic I felt myself stereotyping. I would make comparisons between our culture and theirs from time to time. There I also experienced a need for exaggerated cleanliness. When in China I actually became physically sick when I wasn’t able to sleep. The beds were really hard and for about a period of about a month I went through this phase where I wasn’t sleeping well. The lack of sleep finally caught up to me. I became physically ill and had to see the doctor. Now that I look back I think the lack of sleep was more to a mentality I created in my brain than the hardness of the bed.

I found that I even experienced culture shock when I come back into the country. Both times I when I returned back into the country I found myself experiences symptoms of culture shock. One symptom was this feeling of great guilt as I returned to live where I had so many material things. The other main symptom I felt was and alienation from those around me who were unaware, and unappreciative. I really struggled to connect with them.

Now that I have read the article and thought about it I’ve noticed these symptoms, both when I was going into a culture outside of my country and then again when I entered back into my countries culture. I think it is fair to say I will be experiencing possible symptoms of culture shock again. This time when I am in Mexico and then again when I return back to the states after being in Mexico.

I am grateful for this new insight into the symptoms on experiences when dealing with culture shock. I’m more aware of these so now when I experience them I will be able to more completely acknowledge and work through them. When I’m in Mexico I’m going to make it a point to review this article. I will probably just skim it, but I would like to do that on a weekly basis. I won’t have any other students with me and I will need to make sure I am keeping tabs on myself so that these symptoms can be worked through rather than letting them get increasingly more severe. If they get too out of control they would impact my experience and research while in Mexico.

The article has some great suggestions on how to reduce culture shock. I will try to implement some of these while I am there. For example, I will be sure to use physical exercise as a means to reducing stress. I will also spend time meditating on a weekly basis. I know these things help me reduce stress in regular day to day living. They will surly help me to reduce the negative effects of culture shock when I’m in Mexico. I’m taking my yoga cards!

I will also be writing a list of ideas of what I would like to do when I get back. This will help me to readjust to my own culture when I return from Mexico. In addition I will monitor myself by continuing to review this article. I do this for about a month following my return. This will again help me to acknowledge my symptoms and work through them in a proper manner.

Culture shock is very interesting to experience. It is not bad. It’s okay to experience these feelings. As the article says, “Give yourself permission to feel frustration, homesickness, or irritability. Eventually, you will work through these symptoms and emerge with a much richer appreciation of the host culture.” That is what I’m going to try to do!