(Although this article is directed to student of Thunderbird University, it still very interesting for anyone experiencing culture shock.)
When you come to Thunderbird, you will encounter a multitude of changes - different people, customs, buildings, physical environments and food. These changes may confuse you or make you unsure of yourself and your decision to attend Thunderbird. Referred to as culture shock, this feeling of disorientation is common for people who leave a familiar place and move to a new environment.
Symptoms Of Culture Shock
Those who are most affected by culture shock may exhibit certain behaviors:
• Nervousness.
• Fatigue.
• Depression.
• Hostility toward host country.
• Emotional outbursts caused by minor irritations.
• Dependency on fellow nationals who are also in the new country.
While such feelings may make it difficult to deal with Americans and to use English, other students are stimulated by these new experiences. Learn more about dealing with culture shock below.
Tips For Dealing With Cultural Change
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Maintain Your Perspective
Try to remember that thousands of people have come to Thunderbird from other countries and have survived (even when they arrived in the heat of summer).
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Evaluate Your Expectations
If you find yourself feeling confused or disappointed about something, ask yourself, "What did I expect?" "Why?" "Was my expectation reasonable?" If you determine that your expectations were unreasonable, you can do much to reduce the amount of dissatisfaction you feel.
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Keep An Open Mind
People in Glendale might do or say things that people at home would not do or say. But the people here are acting according to their own set of values, not yours. Try to find out what their perceptions are, and try to avoid evaluating their behavior using the standards you would use in your own country.
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Learn From Your Experiences
Moving into a new culture can be the most fascinating and educational experience of your life. It gives you the opportunity to explore an entirely new way of living and compare it to your own. There is no better way to become aware of your own values and attitudes and to broaden your point of view.
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Adapt your support systems
The use of social support is very important to individuals undergoing a great change. Try asking yourself the following questions: What social activities do I participate in at home? What social activities do I plan to participate in while at school? What are my hobbies? How do I plan to be involved with these hobbies while in the U.S.? What other social, professional, sports, or religious activities that I practice at home, can I do or adapt to do while at school? Review Thunderbird'sclub list.
Tips for dealing with local attitudes & perceptions
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Realize that you will often be treated as a stereotype. Foreigners anywhere are often treated as representatives of groups to which they are perceived to belong, rather than as individuals. Your interaction with local people will depend a lot on their previous experiences and prejudices and may have little to do with you personally. Try not to let this discourage you. Avoid becoming angry with people who are, after all, just acting like people
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Try to understand other people's situations. If, for example, a person treats you in an apparently unfriendly way by not taking time to talk with you on the street, you may assume the person is unfriendly. However, if you knew more about the person's situation (and his/her cultural priorities), you might realize that the apparently unfriendly behavior was actually the result of the person's situation-being late for an appointment, having an exam for which to study, or some personal preoccupation not related to you.
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Learn how to get things done in organizations. It is helpful to learn how organizations - academic departments, student clubs, other units of Thunderbird, businesses and government agencies - operate since you will interact with them frequently. When working with such an organization, it is helpful to know who will be most likely to assist you, who makes the decisions, and how best to approach the intended individual. Secretaries are often very good sources of information on this topic, but experienced students can also help.
Helpful cultural exercises
Consider the following when meeting local people:
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How do they make friends? How do friends treat each other?
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Who respects whom? How is respect shown?
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What attitudes do they have about their families?
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What is the relationship between men and women?
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Why do people spend their time the way they do?
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How do they deal with conflicts or disagreements?
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What do they talk about? When and with whom?
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How often do they take turns during a conversation?
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How loud do they talk?
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What do they do with their hands and arms while talking, and where do they direct their eyes?
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What kind of evidence do they seek or use when evaluating an idea or trying to win an argument?
There are countless other questions you can ask. You can compare the answers you get to the answers you would get to the same questions in your country. You can then develop a better understanding of your own society and of the United States.
Cultural resourcesfor foreign students
The International Women's Clubhas created The Living Guide, a unique guide to assist students and their families as they adapt to the U.S. and Thunderbird environment. The guide includes information on local grocery stores, specialty markets, restaurants, medical facilities, schools, bookstores and activities in the Glendale area.
Considerations when returning home
If you plan to return to your home country, you should be aware of the changes you have undergone while living in the U.S. - learning new ideas, adopting new attitudes, and behaving in new ways. You should also know that social, political, and economic situations might have changed in your home country, making things different than remembered. To some, this re-entry is a shock.
The transition back home may be easier if you understand the phases of re-adjustment that you may experience, a process called re-acculturation:
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Excitement
Due to the excitement and attention received from friends, colleagues and family upon their return, returnees may not notice the changes that have taken place at home. Eventually they will try to pick up life where they left off before living abroad, but will discover how much has changed and that home is no longer what it used to be.
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Frustration
The level of frustration a returnee experiences depends on how much s/he has changed and how much the foreign and home cultures themselves differ. Returnees may discover that attitudes and behaviors that have become "natural" for them might be disturbing to family, friends, and colleagues at home. Returnees may consider transitions to a new lifestyle, career, or in some extreme cases, a rejection of the home culture and the choice to return to the foreign culture again (Harris and Moran, 1991).
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Sense of Control
Sensing a degree of alienation in your own culture can be very frustrating, and many returnees will try to establish a sense of control over their environment which others may resist or find humorous. Many returnees may want to change their lifestyle, find new ways of personal growth, or seek the company of other returnees or persons from other cultures.
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Re-adaptation
In this learning or recovery phase, returnees realize that they cannot change the home culture and, instead, try to understand the changes that have occurred both at home and within themselves.
