On Culture Shock, Part 3

This is the third in a 3-part series. If you haven’t read them yet, you may want to check out Part One and Part Two first. Again, if you’ve experienced — or are experiencing — culture shock yourself, feel free to leave a comment with your two cents. Here are some thoughts on my experiences…

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Everybody goes through culture shock when they move to a foreign place. But not everyone goes through the same kind of culture shock.

My experience with culture shock has been mild compared to what a lot of people might go through. Living among and working with fellow-Believers has helped. But in Osaka, there wasn’t as much adapting to do as there in now in Nagoya. There were moments of stress like catching the wrong train and ending up who-knows-where. There was trouble shopping, and other language-related difficulties. And there were times when I just got tired of being a “novelty” or standing out. But in my day-to-day life I could survive without learning Japanese, because my job was English teaching and my friends and co-workers were mostly fellow-expats.

This time is different. I’m definitely more immersed this time, but now I have the advantage of having lived in Japan previously. The main thing that causes culture shock for me is the language barrier: It’s a bit frustrating, even overwhelming, to be surrounded by Japanese and not able to join the conversation. And it feels like in order for the others to include me I have to suddenly become the center of the conversation, which I don’t want; but often it’s either that or feeling left out. Japan is also a more group-oriented society, a place where there’s a right and wrong way to do everything, and a culture where communication is less direct — all of which add to the learning curve.

But when I do face stresses relating to these cultural differences, it’s always an opportunity to learn. Language barriers give me incentive to study Japanese. Doing things the wrong way helps me remember the right way. Dealing with and working through culture shock helps one to understand and relate to the new culture — to acculturate.

And, little by little, God is helping me to do just that.

On Culture Shock, Part 2

This is the second in a three-part series of writings that are adapted from stuff I did for the internship program I’m in. Click HERE for part one, where I give an overview of culture shock, at least as I define it.

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Whatever form culture shock takes, it is natural for us to experience it when we are in the process of acculturation. In fact, if we aren’t experiencing any culture shock at all, we’re probably not experience the new culture itself, either. A friend told me about someone he met here in Japan who basically goes home after work and stays there, watching American TV and American movies, in English. Actually I would guess that this person was experiencing culture shock, but instead of facing it and working through it, he was choosing to ignore it by isolating himself from the strange world around him.

While I would agree that “disconnecting” for a while can be healthy, why bother moving to a country on the other side of the world if all you’re going to do is stay in your room and never go out and experience the culture? I myself enjoy reading or watching something English-language and familiar as an “escape” sometimes. One thing about living in a foreign, non-English-speaking culture is that ordinary, every day, easy tasks feel like work; so it’s nice to get away from that from time to time and enjoy doing something that doesn’t require as much thought or that exercises a different part of the brain. But part of the joy of living in another country is what we can learn and experience that people at home only dream about.

Not only is there a lot to enjoy, but if you’re going to live in a foreign country long-term, acculturation is essential. And, like it or not, culture shock is a part of the acculturation process. It’s not just an unfortunate side-effect, though; it can actually aid the process if we let it. As I said, not experiencing any culture shock shows we’re not experiencing the culture, and as such not acculturating. On the other hand, going through culture shock helps us learn the new frames of reference, meanings, and assumptions that are necessary to adopt in order to enjoy living on foreign soil on a long-term basis.

And that — living in a foreign place long-term — is exactly what I’m working towards…

On Culture Shock, Part 1

This is the first in a 3-part (for now) series on, as you’ve no doubt guessed from the title, culture shock. It’s taken from some assignments I did for HQ a while back as part of the internship program I’m in. Here in part one, I’ll give an overview of what I think culture shock is, in part two delve a little deeper, and in part three talk about my personal experiences. Feel free to comment if you’ve dealt with culture shock yourself before.

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I remember coming to Japan the first time and people asking me if I was experiencing any culture shock. Honestly, I didn’t think I was, but on the other hand, though I’d heard the term thrown around, I never really knew what it meant.

So what exactly is culture shock anyway? I would define culture shock as any stress, discomfort or agitation caused by cultural differences when living or visiting a place that is culturally different from your home. This could happen after moving across the country or around the world, and could range in severity from mild irritation to emotional breakdown. It’s the tension that happens when different cultures come in contact with each other.

Culture shock, then, as broadly defined above, is something that we all experience when moving into another culture. The specific form it takes will differ from person to person. The severity of our culture shock will depend on our individual personalities, weaknesses and strengths. It will also depend on just how different our new host culture is from our home culture and on how immersed we are in the host culture.

Whatever form or severity it takes, culture shock is pretty much inevitable when you make your home on foreign soil.