Culture shock is a phenomenon many people experience when they travel abroad, whether for vacation, school, business, or a permanent move. It is the result of being in an unfamiliar culture. International students in the US might experience culture shock while adapting to American culture. Even students studying outside the US in one of our education abroad programs can experience it too. Culture shock can bring feelings of confusion, anxiety, homesickness, and sometimes fear. It can be very intense, particularly at the beginning of your stay. However, each individual experiences culture shock differently.
In general, cultural shock has 4 different stages. Individuals may go through the stages in order, skip stages, or even repeat some. The length of each stage is also unique to each person. Therefore, it’s important to identify what stage you might be experiencing. During the first stage, the honeymoon stage, you are thrilled and feel positive about being in this new environment. As time goes on, this feeling of happiness and excitement wears off, leading to the frustration stage. In this stage, you become increasingly frustrated about the different ways things are done in the host country compared to your home country. At this point, you may question if coming to this new place was actually a good idea. This stage is usually the most difficult to overcome in the culture shock cycle.