Culture Shock (cont.)

• Don’t make assumptions about the way things are done in your new country. We all have our preconceived ideas about countries, people and cultures, and sometimes things don’t live up to our expectations. Read as much as you can about the country, the culture and the locals, and take in as many opinions and sources of reference that you possibly can to get a more balanced view of where you are going.
  
  
• If you’re going to a country where the diet is radically different, try to get accustomed to the food before you leave. Physical ailments like diarrhea are all too common for new arrivals in some countries and it can physically take you out for a couple of weeks after you arrive. Try to prepare yourself as much as possible for the food you’re likely to encounter.
  
  
• Where possible, just ‘roll with the punches’ and concentrate on the positive values that you can draw from your new home. Most days you’re likely to have a love/hate relationship with your new home. One thing that I’ve always found helpful to do is to think about the worst aspects of living in my homeland when life in my new home is getting me down. Mentally saying ‘Well, it could be worse’ often gets me through those trying times.
  
  
• Don’t try too hard to take it all in at once – particularly if you’re trying to learn a new language. On the other hand, you’ll also want to push yourself past your comfort zone on a daily basis. If you retreat into a shell and only put yourself into situations that you know you can handle and are familiar, not only will you be missing out on all your new home has to offer, but you’ll be limiting your own personal growth. Remember, these things take time, sometimes even years, so patience and perseverance is the key.
  

• Try not to make comparisons between where you are now and your old home. Of course there will be days when things get you down, and of course there will be days when you long for home and wish you were back there. That’s natural.
  
  
• When difficulties arise, particularly when dealing with the locals, remember that it is their home, their way of doing things, and that you are the foreigner. Try to see it through their eyes before making a judgment against them, and avoid at all costs the temptation to make generalised personal or cultural statements (like ‘You [insert nationality here] are always doing things like this…’).
  
  
• Absorb the local culture and language (where possible). The more you can do so the less you’ll be reminded that you’re a fish out of water. Swim with the current, not against it.