Cultural Shock: Adjustment to New Cultural Environment

Cultural Shock : Adjustment to New Cultural Environments

Short answer questions

1 How do we usually express the familiar signs and symbols of social interaction?

The familiar signs of social interaction are learnt quite naturally. We come to know how to initiate a talk, how to greet others, when to stop talking, how to deal in difficult situations, how to respond to invitations, when to invite others, how to make purchases, how to shake hands etc. There are cues which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, customs and norms which are specific to one’s culture. We learn them as a part of our growing up. They become a part of our culture. We do not carry them consciously; they become our life style.

2 How does the author define 'culture shock'? What are the symptoms according to him?

Culture shock is the anxiety that results from loss of familiar signs and symbols which we come across in our everyday life. The symptoms of culture shock are- excessive washing of hands; excessive concern over drinking water and food; fear of physical contact with attendants or servants; absent minded and far away stare; a feeling of helplessness; dependency on others; fits of anger over delays; frustration; refusal to learn new language; excessive fear of being cheated, robbed or injured; great concern over minor pains, cuts and injuries, longing to be back home; being nostalgic; to have a good cup of coffee at home; feeling to visit relatives and talk to people who make sense.

3 Why is the person who has a culture shock like 'a fish out of water'?

Every person gets used to a few familiar signs which become a part of his day to day life. When he misses them all of a sudden, he feels like a fish out water. He doesn't understand how to respond to them. So, he rejects everything and has a feeling of regression. He logs to go back to his home country.

4 Of the four stages described by the author, which one does the person undergoing a culture shock feel difficult and why?

There are four stages in culture shock. In the first stage, he gets fascinated by the host country and everything seems wonderful to him.

The second stage is the most difficult of all. In the process of adjustment, he comes across several problems like language trouble, house trouble, school trouble, transportation trouble, shopping trouble etc. Above all, he has this language problem which makes all these tasks tougher. People of the host country are used to them and hence are indifferent to all these troubles. It seems to the person with culture shock that the people of host country are not willing to help. As a result, he becomes aggressive towards host country and its people. He criticizes them and makes derogatory comments. He takes refuge in the colony of his countrymen and expresses his dissatisfaction for the host country and its people. This stage is like a crisis. If you overcome it, you stay; if not, you leave before you reach the stage of nervous breakdown.

In the third stage, he begins to get around. He still has difficulties, but he develops an attitude to bear them. He develops a sense of humour and cracks jokes on the host country and its people. He is now on the way of recovery and even starts to help people that are in the second stage of culture shock. It gives him confidence to speak and get around.

In the fourth stage, the visitor accepts the customs of host country. He starts learning the new language. He completely accepts everything about the host country like its foods, drinks, habits and customs. He also begins to enjoy them. When he goes back home, he starts missing the host country and its people.

5 Are the difficulties faced by a new comer real? If yes, give your own example to substantiate the statement.

The difficulties faced by a new comer are real. Individuals suffer from indigestion when they move from a temperate area to a tropical one. When people move to a place with high humidity, their skin gets damaged and they feel like taking bath at least 5 times a day. Hair fall is more when people move to a place of extreme climatic conditions. If visitors go to any Muslim country during the month of Ramjan, they have to face a lot of problem as they don’t find anything to eat or drink during the day time. But when the new comer adapts himself to these problems, they no longer trouble him. Change in attitude is the key for all difficulties.

6 How is the attitude of the local people towards a person who is under culture shock?

Local people become indifferent to the problems of visitors because they are used to them. They tend to help the new comers initially. But when the new comer starts depending too much and exhibits aggressive attitude, the local people try to avoid him. Their response moves from a pleasant state to aggressive state and then to avoidance.

7 Why does the author feel that women are more affected by culture shock than their husbands?

The husband has his professional duties to occupy him. His activities may not differ much. But, the wife has to face totally different environment, customs and lifestyle. So, the author feels that women are more affected by culture shock than their husbands.

8 "If you criticise my country you are criticising me. If you criticise me, you are criticising my country." What does the author want to convey through this statement?

This particular attitude is named 'ethnocentricism'. People accept their culture and nation as the best and the only way of doing things. Once you accept your culture, it becomes your way of living. When you totally accept your nation and culture, you don't let others criticise it. If someone criticises your country, you feel like you are being criticised. If someone criticises you, you feel like your country is being criticised. 

9 How does a person become a cultural entity?

An individual is not born with culture. He is born with the capacity to learn it and use it. A child learns how to eat, which language to speak etc from the culture. It is not passed on by their parents. Culture of any people is the product of history and is built up over time. We learn and adapt it to our lives. Once learned, culture becomes a way of life. It becomes our value system. We embrace it and it becomes our existence. That is how a person becomes a cultural entity.

10 Why does the author call a modern nation a complex society? Do you agree with him? Why/ why not?

Any modern nation is a complex society. There are variations in culture. There are different ethnic groups; many classes; various regions; urban and rural settlements, each having distinctive cultural characteristics. But, the common elements like official language, institutions and customs knit a nation together. If we take India as an example, the culture varies in North and South, East and West. We have our own mother tongues for every state. We have differing dressing styles and food habits. But on a larger arena, we have one official language, Hindi. The culture, moral and ethics followed by Indians are more or less the same. The author’s point that a modern nation is a complex society is agreeable.

11 How is an American described in the text with regard to his culture?

Americans tend to become impersonal. It is the organization that matters there. Individuals, though capable, are just the resources. They are like replaceable parts. So, Americans have less interpersonal relationships. They find it strange when people are respected or given importance individually. Personalism which emphasises a special individual, like a political leader or a business leader or a religious leader, as solely responsible for the existence and success of an institution is somewhat strange.

12 What is the role of local language in helping us to recover from the culture shock?

When local language is learnt, it helps us in socializing. We come to know the interests of people, their culture and habits. Then, it becomes easy to get people to talk and to be interested in us. When we have people to talk and share feeling with, it becomes easy for us to recover from culture shock.

Long answer questions

1 Describe how culture shock is caused. What are the feelings of a person who is affected by culture shock?

Every individual learns certain signs and symbols as a part of growing up. He learns how to behave in the society. He learns how to talk, what to talk, when to stop talking, how to respond to others, how to greet, how to shake hands, how to give orders, so on and so forth. There are cues which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, customs, and norms which are specific to one’s culture. He learns them naturally, without being specially taught. They become a part of his day–to-day life. Culture shock is the anxiety that results from loss of these familiar signs and symbols which we come across in our everyday life.

When a person enters a strange culture, he gets affected by culture shock. He feels like a fish out of water. no matter how broad minded he is, he suffers with frustration and anxiety. As a result, he rejects everything. The host country makes him feel uncomfortable, so he dislikes everything about it—its environment, culture, language, habits, customs. He feels like the host country is bad as it makes him feel bad.

He then longs to go back to him home country. It attains great importance now. Everything about his country seems so glorious to him. He forgets all the difficulties and problems back home and only the good things are remembered.

2 Explain with examples how a local person can help a new comer in overcoming culture shock.

Culture shock is the terrible feeling one gets when one is in a host country. It is the anxiety that results from loss of familiar signs and symbols which we come across in our everyday life. When a person is under culture shock, he becomes aggressive, refuses to learn the local language, develops hostile behavior, depends on others and criticises the host country and its people.

A local can help the visitor in learning their language; accompany him to shopping and outings; help him find good school and house; share their culture and habits and let him know about their value system and beliefs.

Visitors tend to depend too much on the locals and long term residents. It might be irritating to locals, but they need to be patient and help them come over culture shock. They need to be sympathetic and understanding. Talking doesn’t remove pain, but sparing one’s time is soothing to the other person. Pain explained lessens the pain. Listening to one’s problems is a great healer and on gains confidence which results in setting things right.

3 Give stage wise description of how one can recover from culture shock.

Culture shock is the terrible feeling one gets when one is in a host country. It is the anxiety that results from loss of familiar signs and symbols which we come across in our everyday life. When a person is under culture shock, he becomes aggressive, refuses to learn the local language, develops hostile behavior, depends on others and criticises the host country and its people. But, recovery is possible.

To recover from culture shock, first the person has to get to know the people of the host country. For this, language is essential. Learning new language is a bit difficult for adults. But it can be learnt by starting friendly conversation with maids, neighbours etc. Going on shopping trips alone gives confidence and the visitor gets a sense of power with this.

There is a need to learn what things people do there and how they do it. Also, one should come to know the interests of people. It makes the conversation interesting and easy. It also gets the attention of people and they show interest in talking to this person.

It is god to join the activities of the people, be it a religious rite or a carnival or some economic activity. It is good to share their responses but it is also important to remain as an outsider. This participation should be like a role playing.

Understanding the ways of people is essential, but it does not mean that one should give up one’s own ways. Visitors in a host country develop two patterns of behaviour. They embrace both cultures, their own and the host country’s.