Culture shock
This article consists of three parts: an introduction to the four main stages of cultural shock, common situations faced by foreigners in China, and strategies for overcoming cultural shock.
Four stages of culture shock
The term “culture shock” is commonly used to describe the feelings a person faces when traveling to a new country. Whether on a temporary basis (short vacation or vacation, business trip) or more permanent (to study and / or work abroad), it can be argued that we all experience cultural shock. There are four main stages of cultural shock: charm, friendship, disappointment and satisfaction.
The first stage of the cultural shock that we all face is charm. Many tourists never pass this stage of cultural shock, because their duration in the host country is too short. The fascinating stage of cultural shock is how it sounds: fascinating. This is when we, as outsiders, look at our new country of residence as fresh and exciting. Everything, no matter how different or unusual, seems to be tolerable, since we make allowances for what we can usually take home in our own country. For example, the Chinese, who never stop in line, do not obey every traffic law in the book, spit everywhere, and those who start blowing their loudspeakers, advertising hard-boiled eggs or umbrella-repair services at five in the morning every morning, do not annoy , “Special”, “represent the special character of Chinese society” and even sometimes “cute”.
The second stage of culture shock, friendship, occurs when our feet usually begin to hit the floor. Although we are still fascinated by the host country, our feelings of surprise and adventure begin to weaken. It is at this stage of the culture shock that we begin to feel the need to reconnect to other people. For many travelers, this means establishing friendly relations with other foreigners in the area. For others, this may mean starting a language study and creating local Chinese friends. Regardless of the established relationship, the traveler will connect with others and establish the roots.
At the third stage of cultural shock, disappointment, reality bites. At this stage, our legs are completely connected to the ground, and the fear of overseas in a new place is erased. As a rule, at this stage the traveler works and / or studies for several weeks or months. How long does it take for a person to move from hobbies to variations of frustration from one to another. However, what has been tried and true for this stage is that all the little things that we let go of as “special” and “neat” during the hobby stage are now starting to acquire us.
It is not too “very interesting” that a person specializes in fixing umbrellas, but it is outrageous that he can wake up so loudly until the sun has finished rising. That no one is standing in line, because something has gone from “ridiculous” to anger. And those little old women on the street who spat better than your friend at the university lost all sense of “kutisma” and instead became simply disgusting. The phase of cultural shock disappointment is by far the most difficult for us. However, this should not last long, and he does not need to destroy this fantastic mood with which we began our great adventure.
The fourth stage of cultural shock is fulfillment. This is when everything seems to come together. Now we know and understand some of the details of why Chinese culture is different. Often at this stage the traveler made some local friends and laid stable roots. At this stage, the traveler is no longer an outsider, but an active participant in Chinese culture and everyday life. He almost certainly has several local friends, and so he developed a deeper understanding and appreciation of culture. The stage of performance, of course, when all the disappointment that ended in the third stage came into the past and in its place provided the traveler with lots of interesting stories to share with friends and family at home.
What to expect in China
The following section of the article discusses some common situations of foreigners who will meet in China. Although this list is by no means exhaustive, we hope that it will cover some of the most common meetings.
Peering
Depending on where you live, be aware of, may or may not be inconveniently distributed. As a rule, in other cities, except for crazy mega-centers (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc.), Foreigners are not so common that local residents see them every day. So, for those who notice that others are looking at you, remember this one word every day: curiosity. Not every day, when some Chinese come into contact or pass by an alien from flesh and blood. Most people are just curious about stealing a look.
"Hello"
It will happen. You will go on the road or wait for the bus when someone shouts “Hello!” From nowhere. Differences and embarrassment, you can look every way to see if this "Hello" came from a friend or colleague. However, most of the time, he would rather be from a passerby who wants to practice one word of English, which he knows.
Lack of privacy in public places
Returning to the coefficient of curiosity, many Chinese are interested in what foreigners are doing. Most of their information about Westerners comes from the media, and it rarely happens that they see a foreigner in a grocery store or in another public place. For this reason, some Chinese people often browse your grocery cart at the supermarket or over their shoulders while eating at a restaurant. They are just interested to know what a “real” foreigner eats or buys.
Very annoying sellers
Chinese sellers are known for being extremely persistent. A good explanation of why this is: Imagine that you are competing with hundreds, if not thousands or others, on the same floor of a mall or on the market. Then imagine that you have a family at home to feed, and that the income received from your small stand is the only source of food for your family. If I were in this situation, I would be scared too.
Pay more than you should
A friend once taught me to say something that was spread through communist Central Europe: “He who does not steal from others steals from his family.” As a foreigner, you inevitably at some point need to be credited more than the locals. Many Chinese people absorb this multi-colored skin, a higher nose and larger eyes equal to a larger wallet. Therefore, many Chinese consider foreigners as an opportunity to impose extra bread on the table or simply use another dispute. This can be avoided by exploring the main Chinese and buying neighborhoods.
How to cope with culture shock
Below are three steps you can take to ease the transition to your new home.
Awareness is key. Those who have read this have already shown willingness to learn. Knowing what to expect, you are armed with know-how to fight any disorder you may encounter. When you feel frustrated, some find it helpful to take a deep breath and say: "This is a culture shock."
Learn a language. If you never learn a language from many to many places, you are just a tourist, and tourists are not taken as seriously as those who spend time and energy on learning a language. Not only will you receive respect from the locals, but learning the language will help strengthen a sense of independence that you would never otherwise have.
Make local friends. Of course, we need other foreign friends. We need like-minded people to share our experience. However, other foreigners cannot always give you an idea of the culture that local people can do. Locals have a lack and a deeper knowledge of the culture, obviously, because they are in themselves. For this reason, locales are becoming an invaluable source of information about culture and friendship.
