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Spring Semester in Costa Rica
 

Culture Shock
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GENERAL INFORMATION: People usually experience a variety of emotions when adapting to a foreign culture, ranging from excitement and interest in the new culture to depression and fear of the unknown. The difficulties and emotional insecurities that you experience can be a direct result of what is termed "culture shock"--an often painful feeling of being "out of synch" with how people in a different cultural environment carry out their everyday lives. There are five fairly distinct phases to culture shock, each experienced in turn for various amounts of time, depending on your general adaptability, amount of experience away from home and other individual factors:

  1. Initial excitement: After months of planning, you are finally here! Everything is new and different and you are high on the experience. This phase begins with your arrival in the new country and ends when the excitement wears off.
      
  2. Disorientation: This happens in different ways but is the "out of synch" experience referred to above where you just can't seem to get a handle on what is going on. It may be the longest of the phases if this is your first experience abroad.
      
  3. Alienation. This is a healthy and normal reaction. You become annoyed with the differences and frustrated about not being able to manage or get things done in the way you can at home.
      
  4. Resentment: Now you are angry at the situation. You may be tempted to pack up and leave because this is the most intense part of the experience, but it is also the most short lived.
      
  5. Adaptation and Adjustment: Acceptance of the new environment usually comes within about six weeks, again making allowances for individual variation. You sense of "foreignness" diminishes significantly and you may even being to feel a part of the host culture.

Generally speaking, culture shock can vary from a diffused feeling of confusion and uncertainty to depression and illness. An underlying cause of negative reactions to another culture is the tendency to equate what is different with what is inferior. It is important to be open toward the culture you are going to, discard stereotypes, and to read as much as you can about that culture before your departure. Sometimes you don't realize that the frustrations and emotions you are experiencing are effects of culture shock; in retrospect, this becomes apparent. It is almost always temporary, and working through it, though frequently difficult, can be one of the most satisfying achievements of your experience abroad. Remember that the cultural differences are just that: differences. It's not a question of better or worse, and one of your goals in studying abroad is to learn to appreciate the differences.

Former students say that the keys to beating home- sickness are Acceptance and Patience. Accept things as you find them in other countries. Avoid making comparisons between the way things are done there and the way they are done in America. The Challenge yourself to do things "the Costa Rican Way." Acknowledge and accept that you will be homesick and prepare for it. Before leaving the US, arrange with family and friends for a regular program of calls, letters, and even packages. Leave room in your suitcase for some little extras--whatever it is that cheers you up when you're down: Favorite photographs, knick-knacks, mementos, M & M's, favorite candy bars, packaged foods that you can't find abroad, etc. This is a time to be nice to yourself!

Most importantly, give yourself time to adjust. Realize that for all your best intentions, there will be times when you suffer from brief bouts of culture shock, and times of missing your home in America. Have patience and you'll soon leave feelings of homesickness behind. Above all, try to maintain your sense of humor.

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ADJUSTMENTS TO FOOD: If you are a fussy or picky eater, a vegetarian, or have other dietary restrictions, there is a good chance you will run into food problems abroad. You should realize that you may not be able to eat as you do here and will likely have to make some adjustments in your eating habits. You should enroll in a semester abroad with the understanding that you may have to adjust your eating habits considerably.

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EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS: Some students think studying off-campus, especially abroad, will help them resolve personal and domestic problems by taking them away from the source of conflict. More often, the reverse takes place, and the problems get worse in the face of the additional pressure, fatigue, and anxiety that go along with learning to adjust to life in a foreign country. If you have had emotional or personal problems recently, you should think very carefully about submitting yourself to the additional stresses of studying off-campus. We do not want to see you waste your time and money, fall behind in your academic program, and lose self-esteem by having to return home prematurely.

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