The Stages of Culture Shock

'Culture shock' is used to describe the emotional roller coaster that someone experiences when living in a new country. Anyone that has worked and lived in a foreign country will experience culture shock of some sort.

Culture shock affects anyone from business personnel and their families, to EFL teachers to sports stars. Recognising culture shock is an important way of being able to deal with it. Dealing with it helps minimise the risk of becoming disillusioned with a new country and the possibility of deciding that a quick return 'home' is the only solution.

Experts agree that culture shock has stages and all agree that once people get beyond the initial and most difficult stages, life in a new country becomes a lot better.

Outlined below is an example of the stages people go through with culture shock:

Stage 1 - Excitement

The individual experiences a holiday or 'honeymoon' period with their new surroundings.

They:
. Feel very positive about the culture
. Are overwhelmed with impressions
. Find the new culture exotic and are fascinated
. Are passive, meaning they have little experience of the culture

Stage 2 - Withdrawal

The individual now has some more face to face experience of the culture and starts to find things different, strange and frustrating.

They:
. Find the behaviour of the people unusual and unpredictable
. Begin to dislike the culture and react negatively to the behaviour
. Feel anxious
. Start to withdraw
. Begin to criticize, mock or show animosity to the people

Stage 3 - Adjustment

The individual now has a routine, feels more settled and is more confident in dealing with the new culture.

They:
. Understand and accept the behaviour of the people
. Feel less isolated
. Regains their sense of humour


Stage 4 - Enthusiasm

The individual now feels 'at home'.

They:
. Enjoy being in the culture
. Functions well in the culture
. Prefer certain cultural traits of the new culture rather than their own
. Adopt certain behaviours from the new culture

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-s...ock-stages.html

So, what stage are you in?

I experienced all of the above!

The hardest part was from 8 months to 2 years, absolutely horrible period, but now everything is great, been here 6 & a half years now, I still find most Dutch people very cold but I've got used to it and don't care anymore.

Here's some other websites that might be of some help to some people leaving their home country and finding life a bit difficult...
http://www.americanvlaai.com/cultureshock.htm

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/CGuanipa/cultshok.htm

http://www.studentsabroad.com/cultureshock.html

I'd never heard of culture shock until I moved here.

Prior to coming here I really thought people & their ways would be very similar to the UK, but I was VERY wrong!

After the first 2 weeks of arriving I saw that the average Amsterdamer was a real arrogant tosser and was wondering if I'd made the right move to come here.

With regards to culture shock, it would help considerably if the Dutchies were genuinely nice, welcoming & actualy interested in new kinds of people coming over here, but to simply be the opposite can do a lot of harm to someone who is trying their hardest to "fit in".

One game many Dutch like to play, is when a 'foreigner' is new in the workplace for example is to alienate them, never to speak with them and try to make that person feel like a fool & idiot and when the 'foreigner' reacts to the situation the Dutchies can all justify with each other that the person is genuinely an idiot, so the Dutchies feel smarter & better than the 'foreigner'.

A very nasty mind game if you ask me, myself & other people I know have experienced this.

But for me, what changed everything was when I took up serious long distance cycling, once doing that I quickly started to meet other like-minded people and felt massively better! like it says on the above links it's important to take up a good hobby and it works.

Stage 4 seems to elude me even after 10 years

same here.

Stage 4 eludes me too... though I do feel at home when I'm actually at home, and will hopefully more so when the builder has completely finished.

I am not shocked. I am just appalled from day 1. I am not in the final stage and I never will be. I am in the "gewoon" stage, like anyone who has got used to life here.

I tuppose you (and Laurel and Ratkat) are "still" ( in Stage 3, since you have "regained" ( all three your "sense of humour"... So there is "still" hope...
God bless!

well, I've gotta be out of my house by the 1st of August, so I am now seeing the last stage as a holiday. I'm ging to visit antwerp and other places if I find time and buy pressies for all my friends back home LOL. More like a vacation rather than vacating.
I guess I am on stage 5 then, didn't like it much, so am leaving

I start already shedding tears for your departure to the White Cliffs of Dover and beyond...

Me too. I doubt if I will ever reach it .......

The same can be said for locals who come into contact with foreigners, we go through different stages aswell:



Stage1 Anger
Why do these @**** foreigners move here for?? A question like that song goes..... Who let the dogs out? Who Who Who?



Stage2 Withdrawl

As the immigrant population rises the locals feel they are being invaded by foreigners, withdrawing from society gradually. People will for example avoid certain areas or shops as they feel no longer at home in their own country.


Stage3 The so called "white flight phenomena"

As locals feel that the government is not listening to their plea more and more local families feel they have to move away from the places they grew up and were born because it doesn't feel like "their home" anymore.


Stage 4 Fight OR Flight

As some people are moving out of the inner cities into the country side others decide they are going to stay and fight back.

Locals become more hostile towards foreigners and give them the cold shoulder.

People feel they can't trust foreigners and treat them with suspicion.
This is when things can get nasty.....

I'm at stage 5

Yes, particularly as that persons country of origin is France!

Wes, I suppose his real name is LePen?

Universeel, please...As a Dutchman, I'm ashamed by your ridiculous and hostile comments on foreigners...