Culture Shock

If you have ever traveled abroad for any length of time you have probably experienced “Culture Shock”.  While the name implies that there is a specific definition, in reality everyone experiences culture shock in different ways and even differently over time.  Culture shock is also not always a singular event; you can experience it many times and over time as you continue living in another culture.  I am not an expert on culture shock, nor do I have an extensive researched knowledge of this phenomenon from a scientific or anthropological background, I do have some experience with it though.  I think for anyone who travels abroad or wants to travel abroad that it is important to understand culture shock and to know when you are feeling it.  If we understand what culture shock is, we can more easily overcome it and have a more interesting time while abroad.

The first time I experienced culture shock I was a junior in High School spending the summer with my parents in Europe on a summer abroad.  I did not know what culture shock was, and being a teenager I think my parents probably just thought I was being moody.  However, I specifically remember that during the summer I became less and less enamored with my surroundings, spent more time on the internet, and ate fewer interesting foods.

The second time was on my visit to Japan after graduating from High School.

The third time I felt culture shock was two summers ago when I did a study abroad in Amman, Jordan (you can read about my adventures here).  There were times in the summer when I felt useless, depressed, and wishing I was back in America.  The fact that my fiancé was on the other side of the world probably aggravated this feeling but I definitely felt it and battled it over the summer.

Fourth time was last summer, and fifth time is now.  That’s right, I’m currently suffering from culture shock.

How do I know it is culture shock?  For me, one of the easiest ways to recognize culture is a yearning for familiar foods and drinks.  Right now I really want to drink Mountain Dew and specifically Code Red Mountain Dew, which I don’t think people drink out of the states.  In addition, I have found myself inexplicably tired and making excuses not to go out and not to do things.  This may sound weird and especially ungrateful to those who read this blog and wish they were on this adventure but I promise it happens.  Knowing that this is happening, however, helps me to force through the feelings and go on cool experiences.  This week went to Sun Moon Lake and spent three days having wonderful adventures.  Tomorrow we go to Taipei, and next week we go to the East side of Taiwan for more adventures.  By understanding that I have culture shock I can address it more easily and also don’t get mad at myself for feeling this way.  Culture shock is frustrating but I doubt it will ever end (unless I get into the foreign service and live in other cultures for years at a time and maybe not even then). 

Hopefully as you travel you will be able to understand what it is you are feeling and work through it too.  Don’t worry, you aren’t the first person to feel it and won’t be the last but you do need to conquer it in order to have the most amount of fun possible.