Culture Shock and The Cultural Adaptation Cycle [What It Is and What to Do About It]

[Music] we are all familiar with our hometown home Unique Home culture and values we go through day-to-day life easily because we are fluent in our cultures social cues such as when to hold the door or to offer a cup of tea to a friend when we immerse ourselves in a new culture we have to learn many things how to get around what to eat how to speak and how to act appropriately as a global Society we call the process of learning these things the cultural adaptation cycle this is norvi he's traveled abroad uni and he's

about to demonstrate the different stages of cultural adaptation upon arriving in a new environment we often feel excited optimistic and in a we're intrigued by new sights sounds and smells this is the honeymoon phase we see the differences between our host culture and our home culture and we tend to focus on the positive aspects of the new environment at some point after entering a new environment the a of the new culture will wear away differences that once seemed quain may now appear more like hurdles or annoyances small challenges become devastations we may begin to resent

our host culture and attribute negative feelings towards our overseas experience we call this the slump phase or more commonly known as culture shock the slump can happen at different times and in different ways for each of us and its symptoms can affect us physically and mentally common symptoms include recurrent illness and changes in your eating habits and sleeping habits homesickness and persistent negativity towards the first culture bouts of frustration and irritability and feelings of sadness and depression self-doubt and withdrawing from friends and other people and activities while the slump may affect us differently it's important

to remember that we all feel culture shock in some way our feelings are struggle are normal and likely being experienced by others too we should be patient and give ourselves time to work through the slump some tips that will assist us in overcoming this challenging phase include recognize that this unpleasant stage of cultural adaptation is only temporary get out into the host culture visit and explore your new surroundings and join in our activities and organizations that the host un need provides take time to reflect and put your feelings and observations down in a journal you

can talk to someone about your experiences and don't be afraid to laugh at your mistakes having a routine that includes eating well exercising and getting enough sleep is helpful too and if you're in a second language environment work on those language skills with time and patience we begin to realize the positive outcomes of cultural adaptation we begin to recover from culture shock and climatize to the host culture we develop an understanding for not only how things are done but why this is is a realization of phase through this we accept differences more willingly we navigate

the world around us more easily and we are more confident eventually our new home will no longer be new and instead feels like a second home we will have regained emotional stability and are able to live and study to our full potential we will have built meaningful connections with our second home we recognize that we've changed as a result of our experiences and begin to meld this with our identity this this is the adaptation phase the most breaching adaptation is not the end of the cultural adaptation cycle we may Encounter relapses of culture shock and

enter into feelings of frustration or sadness once again however having recognized and coped with culture shock once before we can move forward more confidently using successful strategies likely we will continue to achieve successes and milestones we will also develop a deeper understanding of our second home home then we'll return home when returning from our overseas experience we'll be reminded once again that our perception of the world and our home has changed that we have changed relearning the routines of our home or unique may be frustrating at first we may struggle to find ways to include

our new perspectives in our day-to-day Liv however never doubt as we have already learned these feelings are normal and common we simply need to adapt [Music] he [Music]