[00:00.00]Lesson Six Text
[00:05.59]Culture Shock
[00:08.52]Cause and Symptoms
[00:12.75]Kalvero Oberg
[00:17.11]Culture shock might be called an occupational disease of people
[00:25.44]who have been suddenly transplanted abroad.
[00:30.28]Like most diseases,it has its own symptoms.
[00:37.04]Culture shock is caused by the anxiety
[00:43.89]that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse.
[00:52.74]Those signs or cues include the thousand and one ways
[01:01.81]with which we are familiar in the situation of daily life:
[01:08.57]when to shake hands and what to say when we meet people,
[01:15.34]when and how to give tips, how to go shopping,
[01:22.18]when to accept and when to refuse invitations,
[01:28.63]when to take statements seriously and when not.
[01:35.11]These cues, which may be words, gestures,facial expressions,customs,or norms,
[01:46.95]are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up
[01:53.11]and are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak
[02:00.66]or the beliefs we accept.
[02:04.92]All of us depend for our peace of mind and our efficiency
[02:12.57]on hundreds of these cues often without our conscious awareness.
[02:21.71]Now when a person enters a strange culture,
[02:27.59]all or most of these familiar cues are removed.
[02:34.15]He or she is like a fish out of water.
[02:40.99]No matter how broad-minded or full of goodwill you may be,
[02:47.84]a series of props have been knocked from under you,
[02:53.71]followed by a feeling of frustration and anxiety.
[03:01.08]People react to the frustration in much the same way.
[03:09.54]First they reject the environment which causes the discomfort.
[03:16.91]"The ways of the host country are bad because they make us feel bad."
[03:25.06]When foreigners in a strange land get together to grumble
[03:31.83]about the host country and its people,
[03:37.00]you can be sure they are suffering from culture shock.
[03:42.85]Another symptom of culture shock is regression.
[03:48.52]The home environment suddenly takes on a tremendous importance.
[03:56.17]To the foreigner everything becomes irrationally glorified.
[04:03.83]All the difficulties and problems are forgotten
[04:09.57]and only the good things back home are remembered.
[04:15.82]It usually takes a trip home to bring one back to reality.
[04:23.37]Some of the symptoms of culture shock are excessive washing of the hands;
[04:30.32]excessive concern over drinking water,food dishes, and bedding;
[04:37.86]fear of physical contact with attendants;
[04:43.12]the absent-minded stare;a feeling of helplessness
[04:50.19]and a desire for dependence on long-term residents of one's own nationality;
[04:58.74]fits of anger over minor frustrations;
[05:04.48]great concern over minor painsand eruptions of the skin;
[05:10.52]and finally, that terrible longing to be back home.
[05:17.57]Individuals differ greatly in the degree in which culture shock affects them.
[05:24.83]Although not common,there are individuals who cannot live in foreign countries.
[05:32.59]However,those who have seen people go through culture shock
[05:39.67]and on to a satisfactory adjustment can see steps in the process.
[05:47.61]Stages of Adjustment Raymond Zeuschner Kalvero Oberg
[05:57.17]describes four stages that people go through
[06:03.34]when they experience situations that are very different
[06:09.21]from those to which they are accustomed.
[06:13.47]Examples of such situations include moving to a new city,
[06:22.62]traveling to a new country, and becoming part
[06:29.56]of a new organization,military unit or corporation.
[06:36.51]Stage one is a honeymoon phase,
[06:42.57]during which the new experience isperceived to be interesting,
[06:50.02]picturesque,entertaining,and charming.
[06:55.19]You may notice several superficial differences such as music,food,and clothing,
[07:05.46]and the fresh appeal of the new experience
[07:11.02]keeps you feeling interested and positive.
[07:15.98]If you are a real tourist,
[07:21.16]you probably do not stay long enough for this phase to wear off
[07:27.71]but go on to the next new location or experience.
[07:33.36]There are people who frequently change jobs
[07:38.11]majors,romantic partners,travel plans,clothing styles,foods,diets,or ears
[07:49.58]so that they never get very far away from the honeymoon stage of culture shock.
[07:57.73]It is very pleasant to travel and to try out and explore whatever is new.
[08:06.58]When you stay in a new environment for a while,
[08:12.54]you move to stage two —the crisis stage
[08:18.18]— in which the shine wears off and day-to-day realities sink in.
[08:25.84]In a relationship, you notice annoying habits in a new country,
[08:33.49] you find barriers to-establishing connections
[08:39.24]or to learning the language beyond a few polite phrases.
[08:46.68]Suddenly,your new major includes a class or a professor you dislike.
[08:55.01]The difficulties and unpleasantness of reality replace the charming
[09:01.57]replace the charming and picturesque "honeymoon."
[09:07.03]However,if you stick with the experience and try to deal with it realistically
[09:16.59]you will probably move to the third phase of culture shock: recovery.
[09:25.24]In recovery, you learn the systems,procedures language,
[09:33.20]or nonverbal behaviors of the new environment
[09:39.06]so that you can cope with it
[09:43.52]on the basis of some mastery,competence,and comfort.
[09:50.79]After about two weeks in London,
[09:55.23]I began to feel familiar with traveling by "tube,"
[10:00.37]shopping nearly every day for groceries,
[10:05.10]paying in the correct currency,buying a newspaper,
[10:11.16]and using some phrases that are unique to English people.
[10:17.43]I had the advantage of speaking the same basic language
[10:23.36]and of sharing a great deal with the English in some broad,cultural aspects.
[10:32.71]In a country that was very different from my own,
[10:39.27]it would probably have taken me longer to move into the recovery phase.
[10:47.73]Finally, the fourth,or adjustment, phase occurs
[10:55.88]when you feel that you function well
[11:00.53]and almost automatically in the new culture.
[11:06.10]You no longer need to make mental conversions of the country's money;
[11:13.07]you know where services are located and how to use them;
[11:20.23]you understand some of the customs that accompany ordinary life,
[11:28.88]and it is relatively easy for you to adjust to them.
[11:36.14]A greater enjoyment of the new experience is now possible,
[11:42.62]and you may regain some of the initial positive regard
[11:49.17]you had in the honeymoon stage
[11:53.43]If you stay long enough on a visit from a big city
[11:59.18]to a small town,or,the other way round
[12:04.22]you may become so well adapted to the new environment
[12:09.97]that when you return to your original home,
[12:14.64]you will again experience culture shock.
[12:19.37]For some people,it may take several days to readjust,
[12:25.90]depending on the length of time they were away.
[12:30.97]Usually, however,since you are in your home culture,
[12:37.73]your shock wears off faster
[12:42.28]than the shock that you experienced in the new culture. |