Sociology

Cultural shock refers to the apprehension and sensations of disclosure, uncertainty or perplexity felt when people have to operate within unusual and unfamiliar environs for example in a foreign country. It breeds out of the obscurity in incorporating new culture and is combined with detest of certain aspects of the new customs. It affects people of different walks of life though not in the same way. Gert Jan, et al asserted that cultural shock is the process of initial adjustment to unfamiliar culture.(p.21).

Learning to identify it and its impact is an efficacy means of minimizing the side effects of relocation. The shock often consists of diverse stages and among them I have gone through honeymoon, disorientation and adjustment stage. Whether you are ready to admit it or not it is clear that everybody who moves to a new place where behavior, ideas and language are different will experience some degree of cultural shock.

Though not always the case, cultural shock is often characterized by various progressions of stages.  The stage model suggests that there is a honeymoon stage where one perceives their new environment with the easy attitude of a visitor. After this stage comes the disorientation stage where one awakens to the reality of a different culture. The pressure to fit in starts to be felt.  In irritability and hostility stage, the demands of the new culture exposes ones inadequacy a new environment and feelings of resentment to all things new may start to creep in. In the fourth stage known as adjustment and integration phase one starts to get accustomed to the new ways of doing things and develops an ability to copein these environment and things start becoming normal as they start viewing the culture with a positive disposition. The last stage is bicultarity stage where one completely feels at ease with both the old environment as well as the new one.

The first stage that I went through is the honeymoon stage which lasted for about six months. Everything was new and brilliant .I was happy with the culture for some time but eventually got bored and was home sick. It did not last long before I started experiencing the onset of the second stage.
The second stage that I went through is the disorientation stage. Here I felt confused to an extent of being frustrated as the divergence between home and my host country were conspicuous. I was lonely with the new life to an extent I decided to go back home thus did not go through irritability and hostility stage.
 
I  Went back home to  Saudi Arabia and after six months I came back to USA and adjusted to the new customs .Currently am undergoing adjustment stage and most things are changing from strange to normal. I have developed problem solving skills for dealing with the new environs and have started to view culture in a positive way.

The Stage models indicate that the highest level of development includes the ability to be biculturally competent. I never went through this stage as never became completely comfortable with the new vicinity. Cultural shock is generally a term used with orientation to relocation and coming to appreciate and adjust to unknown cultures through interacting with people and doing certain chores. There are various ways to recognize that one is suffering from cultural shock. Among them is the feeling of dissatisfaction, anxiety, guilt, helplessness, bitterness, loneliness, low self esteem in skills that used to work before as they no longer work, lack of enthusiasm in things that one used to value, as a result of having no one to approve them, homesickness when you can not relate with anything familiar and a sense that it will always be like that and nothing will ever be normal. There are many stages of cultural shock but the main ones are honeymoon, disorientation, adjustment, irritability and hostility and bicultararity models.

In honeymoon stage one is full of enthusiasm and hope where by cultural shock is kept at bay due to an optimistic outlook mixed with zeal of relocation though interaction with the host ethnicity is passive. In disorientation stage people start to interact with the host culture keenly through day to day circumstances. The differences in conduct combined with anxiety of adapting to daily routines leads to criticism and dislike of the new culture. One feels bored, homesick, hostile, lethargic and others.
Adjustment stage is whereby understanding of the new culture starts to develop. People feel more comfortable with their surroundings and an interest to even learn new language grows.Irritabilty and hostility stage is another stage where by one finds it hard to adapt to the new settings and feels rage and dislike towards the new locations.Bicultarality stage is whereby relocation becomes a distant memory and your host country becomes your home as a result of lessening of the culture shock. You feel at ease with foreigners and the new culture and everything becomes normal as you come to adapt their lifestyle.

Conclusion When relocating it is important for people to come into terms with the new culture through research, and look at the subject of culture, norms and traditions, religious beliefs, language, accommodation, entertainment and food thus it will be much easier for them to adapt to the new customs.