Culture Shock

A person can experience 'culture shock' when they travel to study or do business transaction or even on vacation expeditions. Some people experience it even within their own country in situation where sometimes their are a huge population of migrants that continues their language and practices in their new home.

When an individual becomes confused or experience anxiety when trying to understand or fit into another culture this can be said to be culture shock. This can arise from the person's unfamiliarity with local culture, languages and being unable to determine what is expected and acceptable behavior because the new environment is so much different from their own.

Adjusting to new cultures and practices are difficult because their are no shared meaning, there are no shared practices, beliefs, attitudes, values or behavior. Sometimes a visitor's is not fluent with the language of the country they are visiting causing verbal communication to be problematic.

It takes time to adjust to new cultures. It is recommended that a visitor observe the values, rituals and communication style that are similar and different from their own, study it and then immerse themselves in the culture by actively participating so as to expel all discomfort.