Studying | Country and region | Life and leisure | Survival tips

Culture shock

Text: Chris Betts Illustration: Tytti Braysy

Culture shock isn't a clinical term or medical condition. It's simply a common way to describe the confusing and nervous feelings a person may have after leaving a familiar culture to live in a new and different culture, but the good news is that culture shock is temporary.

To understand culture shock, it helps to understand what culture is. You may know that genes determine a big part of how you look and act. What you might not know is that your environment, your surroundings have a big effect on your appearance and behavior as well. When you go to a new place, such as a new country or even a new city, you often enter a culture that is different from the one you left. Sometimes your culture and the new culture are similar. Other times, they can be very different, and even contradictory.

How Does It Feel?

One person's adjustment to a new culture is not necessarily like another's. But difficulties adjusting often don't show up right away. With some people, the excitement gives way to frustration as time goes on and they still have trouble understanding their new surroundings.

Though people experience culture shock in different ways, these feelings are common:

not wanting to be around people who are different from you
sadness
loneliness
anxiety
trouble concentrating
feeling left out or misunderstood
developing negative and simplistic views of the new culture
frustration
extreme homesickness

These difficult feelings may tempt you to isolate yourself from your new surroundings and dismiss the new culture. It's best not to withdraw like this.

So how do you deal with the frustration and fears you may be having? How can you begin to feel comfortable in your new surroundings?

Learning the Language

Depending on where you come from and where you are now, you may or may not have trouble with the native language. It's a good idea to become comfortable with the language as soon as you can.

Lots of good resources are around to help you practice. Oulu UAS offers lots of language courses to help with learning the language and there are courses available in Oulu region outside of the school which could prove to be useful. Another helpful tip is to try to speak with native speakers such as other students, who are often eager to help you.

It might make you uncomfortable when it takes you twice as long to say the same thing as a native speaker, or use the wrong word, but remember that you have nothing to be ashamed of.

A lot of the anxiety that comes with moving to a new place has to do with not knowing what to expect in your new environment. Learning things about your new environment will help you become more comfortable.

Help If You Need It

You can do a lot to help yourself adjust to a new culture.

Family and friends. Find someone who has experience with culture shock — maybe an older relative who moved to the area before you did. Find out how they handled the newness of their surroundings.
Counselors. If you don't know someone who has been through what you're going through, try talking to counselors and teachers at your new school. They've been trained to help all students deal with a wide variety of concerns. Although they may not have personal experience with culture shock, they do have experience with helping people deal with rough times.
New friends. Making friends who aren't new to the culture may help you understand the culture better and have someone to talk to when you're feeling down.

Maintaining Your Culture

Here are a few tips for making sure your new culture doesn't overpower the old:

Educate people about your culture. Just because you're the one entering the new culture doesn't mean you should be the one doing all the learning. Take the opportunity to teach classmates and new friends about your culture; they may know little about it. It will also help them to learn more about you in the process. Invite them over for traditional dishes from your culture, or show them how you celebrate your holidays.
Find a support group. Find people in your class or neighborhood who recently moved, too. You can share experiences, cheer each other up when things get rough, and introduce each other to the new friends you've made.
Keep in touch with home. You probably left behind good friends and family when you moved. If it's going to be a long time until your next visit, keep in touch. Write letters, emails, and make an occasional phone call so you can stay up-to-date on the things happening there, and talk about your new experiences. You've not only left behind people, but also other things — like your favorite spot to hang out. Keep pictures around to remind you of home.

Remember, the key to getting over your culture shock is understanding the new culture and finding a way to live comfortably within it while keeping true to the parts of your culture that you value. It's important to be yourself.