Adjustments and Culture Shock

What culture shock means and how you can overcome its effects?

Experiencing new cultures, and obtaining a better understanding of your own culture, can result in some of the most positive, life-altering experiences students have while studying in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. Students will experience differences in manners, beliefs, customs, laws, language, art, religion, values, concept of self, family organization, social organization, government, behavior, etc. All of these elements combine to form Costa Rica's rich and unique culture.

While the introduction to new and foreign cultures greatly benefits students, it can also be overwhelming. The new cultural elements a student encounters in Costa Rica may be so different that they seem "shocking" in comparison to cultural norms they are used to at home. As Bruce La Brack writes in his article "The Missing Linkage: The Process of Integrating Orientation and Reentry":
"Just as you can't really describe the taste of a hot fudge sundae to someone who has never experienced one, it is difficult to actually convey just how disorienting entering another culture can be to a student without any cross-cultural experience."

Culture shock and its effects can occur in a number of stages. However, culture shock is not an exact step-by-step process; every student doesn't experience culture shock the same way or at the same time. The following 10 steps of cultural adjustment outlined by Steven Rhinesmith show how culture shock can be like a roller coaster ride of emotions:
-initial anxiety
-initial elation
-initial culture shock
-superficial adjustment
-depression-frustration
-acceptance of host culture
-return anxiety
-return elation
-re-entry shock
-reintegration

Riding the roller coaster of culture shock, a student actually follows a natural pattern of hitting peaks and valleys. The high points of excitement and interest are succeeded by lower points of depression, disorientation, or frustration. Each student will experience these ups and downs in different degrees of intensity and for different lengths of time. The process is necessary in order to make the transition from one culture to another; it helps a student or traveler to balance out and adjust.

Prior to going abroad, students may be excited about new adventures to come. A student arrives in Costa Rica and perhaps begins to develop increasing independence as he/she starts to experience Costa Rican culture or another country's culture. At first, a student's expectations may be too high. He or she may see things almost as a tourist would during the first few weeks in Costa Rica.

A student may be heavily comparing and contrasting his/her home culture with the culture abroad. It is common for students to focus on what they see as weaknesses in foreign cultures. Students tend to point out what a foreign culture lacks; this often leads to feelings of frustration over what is "missing" or what can't be obtained in Costa Rica in the same ways it can be at home. Students may be challenged on a regular basis by different ways of living in Costa Rica (banking, eating, relationships, etc.). Negative feelings and frustrations may reach a level where you begin to recognize you are going through "culture shock".

As a student gets used to Costa Rican ways, things that seemed like a "crisis" may now simply be seen as different ways of doing things. Most students gradually adjust their lifestyles to be balanced with a country's own cultural norms. The cultural traits that once annoyed or bothered a student generally come to be accepted as normal. Students usually begin to understand and appreciate the cultural differences between the United States and Costa Rica. However, if significant problems arise, a student may briefly return to the "frustration" stage of culture shock. As a student begins to adapt more and more, he/she may have a new set of friends, may be traveling more, and may even be dreaming in another language. The "Costa Rican way" may now become the "normal" way of living.

As a student becomes integrated to the ways of Costa Rica's culture, the more difficult it may be to re-adapt to the United States upon return home. The United States just won't look the same way it did before leaving to study abroad in Costa Rica; a student may see home with new eyes and may also be more critical of U.S. cultural traditions once thought to be "normal". This is called reverse culture shock. Fear of experiencing reverse culture shock should not deter students from trying to integrate as fully as possible while in Costa Rica. No matter how integrated a student becomes while abroad, he or she will probably still be "shocked" by differences noted at home after so much time spent in Costa Rica and the other countries to which you will be traveling. However, over time, a student will learn to re-adapt and reintegrate into his or her home culture.

Homesickness is one of the most common adjustment problems related to culture shock and loneliness. Experienced by students from every country, homesickness is a universal side-affect to being away from home. Psychologists often refer to homesickness as “separation anxiety” because students—in particular those moving away from home—feel separated from all that is familiar.

Feelings of homesickness may even start before you leave to study abroad in Costa Rica. You may find yourself mildly depressed or anxious several weeks before leaving. The anticipation and preparation for this major change of lifestyle can trigger pre-departure homesickness, or sudden feelings that you don’t want to leave, or even a want to back out of your decision to study abroad.

Some students might experience homesickness within the first few days or weeks of being abroad, while others might not be hit by homesickness until later on, or closer to the holidays. Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, family events or even family illness or death can all cause you to feel homesick, or make you wish you were at home. Also, many students report increased feelings of homesickness during the winter months when darkness, rainy weather and the cold can lead to feelings of depression.

The following are a few tips to help you cope with feelings of homesickness:

-Don’t wait for homesickness to go away by itself. Confront your feelings by talking to someone (a counselor, family member, roommate, or another student, etc.) about your homesickness. Chances are that the other students in your program may be feeling the same way you are.
-Bring some of home along with you to Costa Rica. Be sure to pack photos of family and friends, bring your favorite CDs and cook family recipes while abroad.
-Make friends with locals and invite them to spend time with you. Creating such a support network can really help to alleviate homesickness while creating lasting friendships.
-Be patient with yourself as you adjust to the unexpected realities of being in Costa Rica, and how abroad is not like home.
-Get involved by seeking out opportunities that keep you busy and occupied so that you won’t think about home. Try to work, intern, volunteer, or travel. You could also join a sports team or club, join a gym, or participate in program activities.

Stress has many definitions. Stress affects everyone differently. The additional/new kinds of stress you may encounter in Costa Rica may lead to anxiety/panic disorders, depression, paranoia, eating disorders, and other phobias. Any mental health challenges you have prior to going abroad may become more severe once you experience the effects of culture shock. Even mental fatigue from constant language immersion and time change may cause the symptoms of culture shock to seem overwhelming.