Reasons int s. attend college in foreign countries.

Int students s. c. to US to s. until t. h. m. English.

Reasons int s. attend college in foreign countries.

3. Culture shock. Culture shock is the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, or to a move between social environments, also a simple travel to another type of life. One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign environment. Culture shock isn't a clinical term or medical condition. It's simply a common way to describe the confusing and nervous feelings a person may have after leaving a familiar culture to live in a new and different culture. When you move to a new place, you're bound to face a lot of changes. That can be exciting and stimulating, but it can also be overwhelming. You may feel sad, anxious, frustrated, and want to go home. It's natural to have difficulty adjusting to a new culture. People from other cultures (whom you'll be hanging out with and going to school with) may have grown up with values and beliefs that differ from yours. Because of these differences, the things they talk about, the ways they express themselves, and the importance of various ideas may be very different from what you are used to. But the good news is that culture shock is temporary.When you go to a new place, such as a new country or even a new city, you often enter a culture that is different from the one you left. Sometimes your culture and the new culture are similar. Other times, they can be very different, and even contradictory. What might be perfectly normal in one culture — for instance, spending hours eating a meal with your family — might be unusual in a culture that values a more fast-paced lifestyle. The differences between cultures can make it very difficult to adjust to the new surroundings. You may encounter unfamiliar clothes, weather, and food as well as different people, schools, and values. You may find yourself struggling to do things in your new surroundings that were easy back home. Dealing with the differences can be very unsettling; those feelings are part adjusting to a new culture. Symptoms of culture shock include:

Homesickness Boredom Withdrawal Excessive sleep Compulsive eating/drinking

Irritability Stereotyping host nationals Hostility towards host nationals

4. How to overcome culture shock. It is common to experience culture shock when living in a foreign country for an extended period of time. Culture shock is defined as the feeling of disorientation, insecurity, and anxiety one may feel in unfamiliar surroundings. Values, behaviors, and social customs we routinely take for granted may no longer serve us in our new environment. To adapt to a foreign culture and effectively manage culture shock, one should keep the following in mind: Keep an open mind. Do not automatically perceive anything that is different to be "wrong" or "negative". Withholding judgment will allow you to be an objective observer and will facilitate the process of cross-cultural understanding. Also, if you are going to a country with which you know close to nothing about, do a little background information. As you learn about the country in which you are going to, keeping an open mind is necessary, and, who knows, you may find the reason for something you may not understand. Make an effort to learn the local language. This increases your communication skills and it helps you to integrate with the local community. It also demonstrates your interest in the new country. Get acquainted with the social conduct of your new environment. Do not assume or interpret behavior from your own cultural perspective or "filter". Behavior is not data. For example, Americans often use the phrase "How are you?" to mean "hello" or "I acknowledge your presence as I pass you in the hall." A foreigner may wonder why Americans don't respond in detail to this question about one's well-being. Thus they may interpret the behavior of walking away before one has a chance to respond to the question to be "uncaring", "superficial" or even "rude". An American knows otherwise and would probably not be offended that someone did not take the time to respond to this question. Remember: If in doubt, check it out! Most importantly, maintain a sense of humor! Don't be too hard on yourself if you make a cultural gaffe or don't know what to do in a social situation. Laugh at yourself and others will laugh with you. Most individuals will admire your tenacity and effort to understand their ways, especially if you are devoid of judgment and cultural comparisons that subtly and perhaps unconsciously convey a veil of superiority. Try these tips when you are going through culture shock. But make sure you don’t leave yourself to continue to feel or behave in ways you don’t like. Your feelings will vary under culture shock, but you do have a lot of power and control over the way you respond to those feelings and make choices. By responding with positive and constructive behaviors rather than giving in to the negative feelings, you will lead a healthy, productive life even under heavy cross-cultural stresses.

5. Major cultural differences between US and my country. Students do not rise when a teacher enters the room and they use the teacher’s first names; on the other hand, our social breeding hardly permits students to be so informal. You also can see American students sitting on the floor in the University or wearing casual clothes, which is not allowed in Kazakhstan. What is more, every student in our country can be asked to go back home to change clothes if it seems too casual. The second big difference, which I have mentioned, is the relationship between children and parents. It’s normal for American parents to let their children be independent after high school. Young people have to earn money by themselves and learn to be “responsible for their own situations in life and their own destinies”.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30