Learning Journal #5: Reflect on the Culture Shock video and your own experiences and expectations of culture shock
Watching the Culture Shock video reminded me about a lot of things I’ve heard from international students and friends, and it’s made wonder if there’s more I could be doing to help these people feel more welcomed and integrated into our culture. When I talk with internationals, our conversation usually stays within the realm of academia, and I rarely hear about their critiques of American culture. They tend to talk about their native culture rather than American culture. I could initiate a critical and comparative conversation about different cultures, but I don’t want to ask silly questions or seem insensitive. In the film, for example, international students talked about questions they’ve gotten like “Do you have microwaveable popcorn in Mexico,” and it seemed to me that these students were slighted in a way by these questions. I can see how these questions would be annoying, but if these questions come from a place of genuine and pure curiosity, I think it’s good to appreciate that someone wanted to learn about a different culture through you.
Personally, I barely faced culture shock until I studied abroad in Japan. Before that trip, my travel experience had been buffered, meaning that I was surrounded by Americans, so I never felt completely trust into the culture. During my experience in Japan, I lived with a host family. Because of this, apart from the time I was with the other American student and not in class, I had no contact with familiar language, habits, banter, etc. Although this was a harsh adjustment, I think it lessened the adverse effects associated with culture shock. Like the internationals in the video said, with an engaging, patient, kind, and genuinely invested support group, it feels as though a strange or tough experience that happened abroad will turn out just fine as though you were at home. I’m sure I had specific moments when I felt the oddity and isolation of culture shock, but it’s impossible to dwell on them when you have already accepted those moments as a part of your experience with that culture.
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