"Culture shock" describes
the impact of moving from a familiar culture to one which is unfamiliar.
It is an experience described by people who have travelled abroad to
work, live or study; it can be felt to a certain extent even when abroad
on holiday. It can affect anyone, including international students. It
includes the shock of a new environment, meeting lots of new people and
learning the ways of a different country. It also includes the shock of
being separated from the important people in your life, maybe family,
friends, colleagues, teachers: people you would normally talk to at
times of uncertainty, people who give you support and guidance. When
familiar sights, sounds, smells or tastes are no longer there you can
miss them very much. If you are tired and jet-lagged when you arrive
small things can be upsetting and out of all proportion to their real
significance.
Climate
Many students find that the British climate affects them a lot. You may be used to a much warmer climate, or you may just find the greyness and dampness, especially during the winter months, difficult to get used to.
Food
You may find British food strange. It may taste different, be cooked differently, or it may seem bland or heavy compared to what you are used to. If you are in self-catering accommodation and unused to cooking for yourself, you may find yourself relying on “fast” ready-cooked or ready-prepared food instead of your usual diet. Try to find a supplier of familiar food, and eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Language
Constantly listening and speaking in a foreign language is tiring. If English is not your first language, you may find that you miss your familiar language which at home would have been part of your everyday environment. Even if you are a fluent English speaker it is possible that the regional accents you discover when you arrive in the UK will make the language harder to understand. People may also speak quickly and you may feel embarrassed to ask them to repeat what they have said.
Dress
If you come from a warm climate, you may find it uncomfortable to wear heavy winter clothing. Not all students will find the British style of dress different but, for some, it may seem immodest, unattractive, comical or simply drab.
Social roles
Social behaviours may confuse, surprise or offend you. For example you may find people appear cold and distant or always in a hurry. This may be particularly likely in the centre of large cities. Or you may be surprised to see couples holding hands and kissing in public. You may find the relationships between men and women more formal or less formal than you are used to, as well as differences in same sex social contact and relationships.
'Rules' of behaviour
As well as the obvious things that hit you immediately when you arrive, such as sights, sounds, smells and tastes, every culture has unspoken rules which affect the way people treat each other. These may be less obvious but sooner or later you will probably encounter them and once again the effect may be disorientating.
For example there will be differences in the ways people decide what is important, how tasks are allocated and how time is observed.
The British generally have a reputation for punctuality. In business and academic life keeping to time is important. You should always be on time for lectures, classes, and meetings with academic and administrative staff. If you are going to be late for a meeting do try to let whoever you are meeting know.
Social life is a little more complicated. Arranging to meet to see a film at 8pm means arriving at 8pm. But if you are invited to visit someone’s home for dinner at 8pm, you should probably aim to arrive at about ten minutes after eight, but not later than about twenty past. When going to a student party an invitation for 8pm probably means any time from 9.30pm onwards! These subtle differences can be difficult to grasp and can contribute to culture shock.
Values
Although you may first become aware of cultural differences in your physical environment, e.g. food, dress, behaviour, you may also come to notice that people from other cultures may have very different views of the world from yours. Cultures are built on deeply-embedded sets of values, norms, assumptions and beliefs.
It can be surprising and sometimes distressing to find that people do not share some of your most deeply held ideas, as most of us take our core values and beliefs for granted and assume they are universally held.
As far as possible, try to suspend judgment until you understand how parts of a culture fit together into a coherent whole. Try to see what people say or do in the context of their own culture’s norms.
This will help you to understand how other people see your behaviour, as well as how to understand theirs.When you understand both cultures, you will probably find some aspects of each that you like and others that you don’t.
