Reflect on the Culture Shock video and your own experiences and expectations of culture shock
As an international student myself in University of Richmond, I encounter culture shock everyday. I, interestingly, find that every sentence makes sense although those interviews were conducted 10 years ago according to the video.
Academically, I was surprised that courses in Richmond require a lot of participation. All of the courses value communications such as group projects. The professors are approachable as mentors and instructors.
In spiritual life, I felt excited during orientation. However, when the excitement faded, the strong isolation and homesick came up to me. Richmond students usually have not studied abroad before. They cannot understand how international students feel.
To cope with culture shocks, I choose to maintain a good attitude instead of giving up. I am willing to make friends, reach out and involve in diverse activities. The university provides great resources such as the academic skills center, the speech center for supporting international students in academic aspect. Psychologically, we do have advisors and host families that are assigned to us. I will try to get used to the new environment and provide critical perspective here. More importantly, I will continuously learn to how to maintain my identity and my value when surrounded by Americans as a minority.
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