A culture shock is basically the kind of experience that a person gets once they move to a new location or environment which very different from his/her environment of origin. This new environment could be totally a very different cultural setting that requires a person to adjust fast enough.
My movement from my home country in the Middle East the United States of America presented such an experience for me as I got to experience a sudden shift of culture due to my new environment. I moved to the United to pursue my post graduate education and that is how my culture shock came to be. Coming from a pre-dominantly Muslim country with different dressing codes, a different diet and a very big difference in almost every aspect of life, I was initially not ready for what was coming my way. The first symptoms of my culture shock began with the weather patterns and my desire to want to sleep more every time. it was pretty cold here unlike where I came from. I became preoccupied and very sensitive about my well-being at all times. I also noticed that I became irritated so fast unlike my usual me. I felt so sad and lonely and I really hated the fact that I was obligated to make new friends.
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Culture shock has four stages and I happen to have experienced them all. They are; the honeymoon stage which is optimism and positivity towards one’s new surroundings. The frustration stage, which happened to be my most difficult stage due to the emotional difficulties. The adjustment stage, in which I started making new friends and coping well with the new environment. The final stage is the acceptance stage in which I settled down fully after all the problems and got fully acquainted with my new environment.
Making new friends and visiting the numerous scenic sites helped me adjust fully. The help from people with origins from my country was also immense. If I ever get to experience a new culture again, I believe that I will be well equipped with the right attitude to accept other people’s way of life and living comfortably with it.
