What is Culture Shock and How To Deal With It?

The moment you land in your new study abroad country, you're occupied with taking in the originality around you. You're grinning at the road merchants selling organic products everywhere. You're enamored by the abrupt transparency of individuals around you. Or then again maybe you're seeing prudent isolation of sexes, ages, or befuddled by why your host mother avoids a portion of your inquiries. This courageous examination abroad understudy is called culture shock. You'll have to comprehend culture shock and how to adapt to it on your study abroad excursion.

What is Culture Shock?

At the point when you study abroad, your every day schedule, culture, and the perspectives of individuals around you are not, at this point, natural. The way toward perceiving, comprehension, and adjusting to these progressions is called culture shock. 

In our ordinary environment a lot of our conduct, similar gestures, manner of speaking, how we stand by in lines, and interact, depend on all in all comprehended social prompts. Nonetheless, we don't effectively focus on these - they're our implicit standard. 

In another country, we become more mindful of these social nuances since they are unique in relation to our standard. 

You may not in a real sense be shocked, yet this demonstration of feeling bewildered and preparing better approaches forever, perspectives, and social standards is by definition culture shock. There are four stages of culture shock:

Honeymoon

The first phase lasts an average of 1 week. It is exciting to observe a new place, a new environment and different lifestyles. There is no pessimism because there is no time to be bored and think. The excitement of the first day of school, meeting new people in the class, not knowing what to do can make you feel like an orphan, but this pessimism ends in the first week.

Anxiety

After the excitement of the first days passes, you start to ask yourself what you are looking for in this country that you have just started to know and why you made such a decision and came to this country. That is, the signs of regret begin. The education system of the school is very foreign to you. You probably start to think that with this education system, you can't learn a language in this school. You may want to change your school, the family that you stay with or at least your class to get rid of the boring situation that has arisen. When you think of your loved ones in your own country, you will display an introverted and mostly pessimistic mood with the distress of loneliness. Some, at this stage, are angry with those who caused them to go to this country. This phase, which takes 1-3 months on average, is really very important. If you don't make the mistake of returning, you have a very good chance of becoming a successful student. In this first 1-3 month phase, the student is struggling both with himself and with this new environment.

Acceptance

This phase lasts until 1-2 weeks before the return date. You are now well accustomed to your school, place of residence, class and new friends. You have new friends and your language is advancing rapidly. During this period, you started to feel as if you were born and raised in this country. This phase is the most productive phase of the student.

Coming Back

And it's time to return, you only have a few days left to spend in that country. Fear of coming back arises in you. Leaving and returning to these new places you are used to, friendships you have made, difficulties in finding a job in your own country, other factors operate the culture shock in reverse. On your return to your homeland, re-adjusting to your old habits will also give you another culture shock.

How Can I Get Over the Culture Shock?

- When you start living in a new country, first accept that you will have trouble for a while. Realize that this situation is temporary.

- Do not hesitate to communicate with people in the country you are going to, always ask what you do not understand. Before going to a new country, research the customs and traditions of that country. Movements or statements that seem very normal to you may not be welcomed in the country you are visiting.

- In your cultural adaptation process, your biggest enemy will be your prejudices. Put aside your prejudices and try to look at things objectively.

- Do not hesitate to share your troubles with the student affairs service and student counseling service at your school. If you experience culture shock, you may have the feeling of "I'm the only one experiencing this situation", but rest assured, many students share the same concerns as you.

- One of the biggest mistakes made in the country you go to for education is to contact people from your own country first. Remember, you want to get to know a new culture and meeting someone from your own language and nationality in a foreign country will make it difficult for you to get used to a new culture.