Culture shock has different progressions. When a person initially arrives in a new country, he/she is exposed to a world that looks and feels different. The beauty of different cultures is naivety to different cultures. I have personally felt culture shock. During the winter of my freshmen year, I had the opportunity to travel to Hong Kong. Hong Kong is fairly modernized, so it was not the appearance that threw me off. I found the food and the people much more different than what I was use to. At first, I enjoyed adventuring and finding new opportunities to try new things. However, as I got deeper into my trip, I quickly realized I missed what I was used to.
The underlying things I learned about traveling in a country with a different country were:
- Embracing the change
- Understanding that everything is an experience
- Finding ways to connect your culture with the culture your visiting
- Going in with no expectations
Overall, I believe that culture shock is self-imposed. If you go in with the right attitude, you should be able to navigate through a country in a fluid way.
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