Adjusting to London
Students, your time abroad can be exciting, rewarding and unforgettable. While we can prepare you for your arrival, once there, the experience belongs to you. We strongly encourage you to review the information below on culture shock, and to take advantage of our extra-curricular and immersion opportunities to broaden the scope of your study abroad experience.
Culture Shock
As you prepare, you are undoubtedly feeling a variety of emotions: excitement, curiosity, anxiety or even bewilderment. Generally speaking, American students going to England do not anticipate feeling culture shock because they speak the same language as the British. Students and travelers going to non-English speaking countries are often better prepared to experience difficulties in communication and interpret cultural clues because of the language barrier. Students studying in English-speaking countries are faced with subtle, more disguised differences that can take them by surprise.
What is Culture Shock?
1) A term used to describe the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within a different cultural or social environment, such as a different country or a different state. (Wikipedia)
2) Occurs “when all the cues and underlying assumptions that we have about how the world works suddenly don’t work anymore.” (International Herald Tribune)
Stage 1: The Honeymoon Stage
Characterized by exhilaration, anticipation and excitement. The individual is fascinated with everything that is new. An individual in this stage will often demonstrate an eagerness to please, a spirit of cooperation, and an active interest in new things. They will gloss over misunderstandings and frustration. When these emotions build, they often enter stage 2.
Stage 2: The Hostility Stage
Characterized by frustration, anger, anxiety, and sometimes depression. Following the initial excitement is a frustration with the bureaucracy. Sleeping and eating patterns may be disrupted. Sometimes individuals react to this frustration by rejecting the new environment in which they feel discomfort. The internal reasoning might be, “If I feel bad, it’s because of them,” thus blaming the external environment for the bad internal feelings.
Stage 3: The Humor Stage
When the individual of another culture begins to relax in a new situation and begins to laugh at minor mistakes and misunderstandings that previously would have caused major headaches. This more relaxed stage occurs after the individual has made some friends and is able to manage the complexity of the new environment, understand the work, and experience successes.
Stage 4: The Home Stage
Occurs when the individual not only retains allegiance to his or her home culture, but also ‘feels at home’ in his or her newly acquired one. This student has successfully adjusted to the norms and standards of the new environment and should be commended for the ability to live successfully in two cultures.