Learning Journal 5 – Culture Shock Video Response SDLAP 105

[Dominique Brown]

I really enjoyed watching the culture shock video featuring University of Richmond international students. I have always wondered what it was like to leave the comforts of one’s own cultural surroundings for four years to study in another. Although exciting and new, it can also be very difficult and frustrating to readjust one’s cultural behaviors in order to adapt to those of a new society. Personally, I have never experienced an extreme amount of culture shock since I have never travelled outside of the United States. However, the little culture shock that I have experienced has been from meeting people of different upbringings here in the States. These happened in both high school and college. In high school, my culture shock experience occurred when I was suddenly surrounded by a predominantly white population, the exact opposite of what my elementary and middle school experiences have been. Not only did I look different from my classmates, but I talked differently. We grew up in different neighborhoods and for some time and it took me many observations of their speech patterns before I finally felt comfortable enough to speak my mind. In addition to this, in college not only was I introduced to people of regional and socio-economical differences, but I was also able to meet people from all over the world, something that I have never experienced personally before to such a great extent. These are my cultural shock experiences, but I one day hope that I can relate to the experiences of the international students in the video by saying that I too was immersed in a completely new culture different from my own.