Someone send me the below story by email. It's a bit long, but I couldn't retrace the origin and give a link. It's about culture shock. If I read I notice that I show many many symptoms of culture shock because of my stay in the US. It's a bit weird if you start thinking about it. USA and Europe are often named in one breath, but they are completely different. I lived in Finland for more than 5 years and only suffered from culture shock the first month. And Finland is one of the most exotic countries in Europe. Nonetheless, it feels much more normal than the US. So why do we think of western civilization in the terms of Europe and the US. I'll bet if we analyze these societies more closely we will see huge rifts between them. I don't feel like I am in a European country when I am here. There is an essential difference. Even when i was visiting South America I frequently ended up in situations that reminded me of Europe. I never have that in the US. Not when I visited the US for short visits, and not now that I am living here. Culture Shock: Definition, Symptoms and Adjustments (An editorial by Dr. Lalervo Oberg; Anthropologist; Health, Welfare and Housing Division; United States Operations Mission to Brazil) Culture Shock Defined: Culture shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. These signs are the thousand and one ways in which we orient ourselves to the situations of daily life: when to shake hands and what to say when we meet people, when and how to give tips, how to give orders to servants, how to make purchases, when to accept and when to refuse invitations, when to take statements seriously and when not. These cues, which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, customs, or norms are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up and are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend for our peace of mind and our efficiency on hundreds of these cues, most of which are unconsciously learned. When an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar cues are removed. He or she is like a fish out of water. No matter how broad-minded or full of good will he may be, a series of props have been knocked from under him. This is followed by a feeling of frustration and anxiety. People react to the frustration in much the same way. First they reject the environment which causes the discomfort: "the ways of the host country are bad because they make us feel bad." For example Americans who are in a strange land get together to grouse about the host country and its people, you can be sure they are suffering from culture shock. Symptoms of Culture Shock: • Excessive concern over cleanliness and the feeling that what is new and strange is "dirty." This could be in relation to drinking water, food, dishes, and bedding • Fear of physical contact with attendants or servants • A feeling of helplessness and a desire for dependence on long- term residents of one's own nationality • Irritation over delays and other minor frustrations out of proportion to their causes • Delay and outright refusal to learn the language of the host country • Excessive fear of being cheated, robbed, or injured • Great concern over minor pains and irruptions of the skin • Terrible longing to be back home, to be in familiar surroundings, to visit one's relatives, and, in general, to talk to people who really "make sense." Factors Important to Successful Intercultural Adjustments: • Open Mindedness... The ability to keep one's opinions flexible and receptive to new stimuli seems to be important to intercultural adjustment. • Sense of Humor... A sense of humor is important because in another culture there are many things which lead one to weep, get angry, be annoyed, embarrassed, or discouraged. The ability to laugh off things will help guard against despair. • Ability to Cope with Failure... The ability to tolerate failure is critical because everyone fails at something overseas. Persons who go overseas are often those who have been the most successful in their home environments and have rarely experienced failure, thus, may have never developed ways of coping with failure. • Communicativeness... The ability and willingness to communicate one's feelings and thoughts to others, verbally or non- verbally, has been suggested as an important skill for successful intercultural communicators. • Flexibility and Adaptability... The ability to respond to or tolerate the ambiguity of new situations is very important to intercultural success. Keeping options open and judgmental behavior to a minimum describes an adaptable or flexible person. • Curiosity... Curiosity is the demonstrated desire to know about other people, places, ideas, etc. This skill or personality trait is important for intercultural travelers because they need to learn many things in order to adapt to their new environment. • Positive and Realistic Expectations... It has been shown frequently that there are strong correlations between positive expectations for an intercultural experience and successful adjustment overseas. • Tolerance for Differences and Ambiguities... A sympathetic understanding for beliefs or practices differing from one's own is important to successful intercultural adjustment. • Positive Regard for Others... The ability to express warmth, empathy, respect, and positive regard for other persons has been suggested as an important component of effective intercultural relations. • A Strong Sense of Self... A clear, secure feeling about oneself results in individuals who are neither weak nor overbearing in their relations with others. Persons with a strong sense of themselves stand up for what they believe but do not cling to those beliefs regardless of new information, perspectives, or understandings which they may encounter.
The whole culture shock thing here is that american isn't it's own people, we're the people of all people. If you're "American", you idealise yourself as being of many different cultures in the same blood (yours), but you live here in the USA and are of US nationality. Now, you may favor a certain culture(like mexicans or african americans usually do), but still consider yourself an American. That's kinda what makes Americans different from everyone else, our unique quality.
America does have continuity, and it's very different from Germany, the only other culture I'm familiar with, having spent a month there. America seems to have no culture, or if it is, it's mass produced BS. I did feel a little of this culture shock. I was more concerned about strangers, not being able to understand the language, or body language. I felt this irritation about delays, but part of that is my autism. I was homesick, but the food was great, and I drank alot. I also knew some German Au Pairs, who all had the same impressions about the US. It is more homogenous than we like to think. They thought New Hampshire was far less free than Germany, and I agree. They would get ticketed all the time driving their host families' car. They couldn't drink in public at all, or smoke anywhere. People would look at them strangely if they acted out in the street, like danced or something. In Germany, no one cared about such trivial stuff, we would drink and someone even fired off a pistol in the streets and no one payed any special attention. A party in Germany usually involved sitting around a table. We used public transport or walked far more often. Shopping was more formal, and you usually greeted the store owner, and then said goodbye when leaving. Grocery shopping in Germany was all business, with no chit chat wasting the time of those behind you in line, and you better hurry. Americans were eating low fat everything, and getting fat. Germans use pure cream and butter, tons of cheese and sausages with lots of fat, and mostly they didn't care and they aren't fat. You could order a beer at MacDonalds.
I've lived in two other countries for a bit more than a month, and those were Poland (3.5 months) and the UK (~1 month). Don't know, maybe I should have spent more time, but I didn't experience any culture shock, even in the UK, which is a lot further from my home country than Poland, I felt right at home, and more in the UK, because I understood the language, whereas in Poland it was more guessing what was being said (although I quickly learned to understand most, because it's quite simmilar to Russian which I know). But those both are European countries and I haven't been over the pond to see any country in Americas. So maybe you, spuriousmonkey, would grant the pleasure and introduce us a bit more about your reaction and other interesting details concerning this "shock". It's always interesting to hear a man who has been/is to far away places (like the US is to me).
I'm very glad you posted that article. I was born and raised in germany and lived there for 18 years of my childhood as an American in the US Department of Defence Dependent School system. Recently, i moved to finish my last 6 months of high school near Chicago, then came to the University of Illinois where I am a freshman. I'm technically raised as an American, perfect english and sub-par german, but you're right. American culture does seem like mass-produced BS. More than that, it's a heterogenous culture where the individual elements seem to be conflicting with each other (black culture vs. redneck living, for example). And yes spidergoat, dancing in the street?! Hell a good-bye hug to someone was apparently a wrong thing to do when i came here! Affections are more torn appart here it seems. People drink as an activity here rather than use alcohol as a social catalyst (at least in this college), everyone is minded almost solely on anything within a 50 mile radius of where they live (if that far) and oh sweet lord what is this "emo" crap! I had massive culture shock when i came here. I was a shut out in what i'm told should have been my best part of high school, the last semester. Prom was with aquaintances, not true friends, graduation was empty-feeling as i didn't know anyone really, and who would befriend a soon-to-be-leaving senior anyway? The whole experience was shattering, i was more of an observer in a mechanical shell than a person. After moving to the university, i was able to overcome my culture shock through what's probably the best way possible: friendship Just having friends that tolerate and appreciate your differences as you try to comprehend your new surroundings is probably the best cure for culture shock. Direct input on how life is, what you might try, etc. etc. My advice to anyone going into a new country with a new culture for the long term anytime soon: get to know people. You're interesting because you're a foreigner, so it shouldn't be that hard. And help your friends paint a broader picture of the world as they help you adapt to their society. Sry to let my heart spill all over this post Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!. just thought i'd share
Details part 1 Exhibit no.1: coffee in paper cups. The US never really had a good repuation for coffee. And then God created Starbucks and saw that it was good. But is it? On every paper cup it is written how much care has been spend to roast the specially selected beans. What could be wrong with it? They hire a random person to make the coffee. preferably a person who does not know how to make an expresso. Furthermore, it is served in a paper cup. Now what can we deduce from this detail - coffee in paper cups? - American society is shallow. They assume something is good when it packaged as being something good. "specially selected beans and roasted with care". Did we notice that it is served in a paper cup which will diminish the taste? Did we notice it was brewed or made with no care? - A social fabric is missing. Serve coffee in paper cup? Why? Coffee to go? You mean there isn't a terras where you can sit outside look at the people walk by and drink your coffee from a cup? No, sir, we don't serve paper in porcelain. We serve only in paper cups. And there are no people on the street. There are no terrasses.
spidergoat They thought New Hampshire was far less free than Germany, and I agree. They would get ticketed all the time driving their host families' car. well frikkin drive on the right side of the st They couldn't drink in public at all, or smoke anywhere. People would look at them strangely if they acted out in the street, like danced or something. In Germany, no one cared about such trivial stuff, we would drink and someone even fired off a pistol in the streets and no one payed any special attention. ja, till the bullet comes down and kills someone. the name of the game is venues and appropiate behaviours. nor do we have fungi in bread that causes dementia and frenzied dancing
American society is in a hurry. We buy coffee in paper cups so that we can take them to go. You know. To work. OR play. Or whatever. The point is that nobody wants to hang out at Starbucks. We want to get our coffee and get the fuck moving. Why would you want to get amped up on caffeine and sit still anyway? Anyway. Let me assure you that there are places where you can sit and enjoy a cup of coffee in a porcelain mug and sit and stare at strangers all day if you have no job to go to (although, then one must consider how one can afford to pay the extravagant prices for an expresso...) You're in Florida, right? Maybe they don't care much for the coffee culture down there. Hell, who can blame them? It's like a hundred degrees in the shade down there right? I think I'd go for an iced tea rather than a coffee. Try Seattle for coffee culture. Seattle, by the way, is the birthplace of Starbucks. But, one must keep in mind that Starbucks fills a niche. Fast and decent coffee. To go. Does it really take a degree to learn how to make coffee? I don't think so.
Exactly! That is the problem. You think it doesn't. Interestingly i came accros this on google while searching for 'dirty coffee cups' (don't ask why). http://magazines.ivillage.com/redbook/sex/happy/articles/0,,284445_564369,00.html I hope she is referring to styrofoam cups with special coating. Interesting detail: styrofoam cups are forbidden in some european countries.
Yea, it's the same if I order tea and they serve me a cup with water and a tea bag, and think it's tea. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I don't like coffee anyway. Very occasionally for a quick rush. But other than that... Meh. I find it odd to think that expresso-making is such a difficult task though. How many years of study do you think it requires before one should be trusted to serve expresso to a paying customer? Should one be apprenticed to an expresso-maker before graduating high school? Is expresso-making so complex that high school curriculem should be devoted to teaching those apprentices their art or should they learn it all on their own time? And, what do you think of an expresso apprentice relaxing on the terrace drinking expresso and watching the girls go by? Should he instead be behind the counter studying his art? I wonder if maybe robots will someday be able to simplify the art of expresso making so that the common man might be able to enjoy a cup of expresso for less than 5 bucks a cup? Hmmm.
Starbucks isn't bad, I guess, but they can't make a decent espresso, that's why they have to flavor it up and dilute it into lattes. The best coffee I ever had was in germany, it had body and flavor, I don't know how they made it differently.
best coffee i ever had was in the netherlands. the cafe (i dont remember the name Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! ) had a racecar motif thing going on. i dont like racecars, but i DO like coffee. delicious and full bodied, for certain. making espresso properly can be tricky, actually. i was a barista for years in my hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan. mostly it depends on if you are using a giant pre-grind machine, or if the actual grounds are already pulverized and sitting in a can. i prefer the pre-grinders, myself. most people like their espresso scalding. a little trick of mine when i worked at the cafe was to make the espresso (when it is served pure, mind you) a little cooler than normal. it lets the tastebuds fully accept the flavor. god, i cant believe i just wrote about that.
Details part 2 The mighty pillar. You walk towards a big store and you see some mighty pillars. You think: that looks sturdy. When you are up close it looks a bit fishy. You tap on the pillar. Styrofoam. Appearance is everything in the US. Substance is nothing.
Dear all, Yes Spruious, I share the similar, almost the same, feeling towards coming to America. I had been in Germany/the UK for a while, but spent my high school and university in the States. I feel much 'freer' in Euro than in the States. I have some friends in Finland so I go there every winter from Baltimore/Washington International Airport to Helsinki (first Stockholm). The difference is utterly incredulous: I feel 'liberated' as I leave the airport in the States. Yes, this 'culture shock' is a subject matter we disscused when my friends visited NYC a coulple years ago from Helsinki. As we often do, we headed to a cafe and the cafe in NYC itself provided the subject matter of culture shock. First the service is sub standard compared to the average Euro cafe, second caffee tastes as if it were sitting in a jar for a whole afternoon; it tasted acid, third they didn't have espresso although the store sign outside clearly states that it is a 'cafe' (after we realised they only have cafinated or decafinated coffee). The looks of the cafe was quite classy but, with Spurious, "[a]ppearance is everything in the US. Substance is nothing." One of my friends remarked the poor service to the waiter and then the waiter rather than listen and correct his behaviour, he took offence. So we left the place. But we needed coffee desperately so we ended up visiting Starbucks instead where I ordered a cup of latte. But apparently they didn't know how to make one so I took the cup back to the registerer saying it isn't latte; she took offence (though gave me money back) - I instead bought mineral water at Starbucks. Seems trivial indeed, but living in the States is like experiencing this degree of triviality on the daily basis over and over; I am utterly tired of it. Also, I find a disturbing fact about male/female relationship in general. Since the majority of Americans are rather religious (over 90% believe in God according to the Economist mag) so it has been very difficult for me to find a compatible mate. On one side, they are extremely religous to the point of, literally, untouchable; on the other, they are simply nuts (I don't know the best word to describe them) that I get offended. Whereas in Euro (esp. Northern), only mentaly unfortunate people go to churche or be religious. Also In Finland or Germany, there isn't much 'game' in choosing a mate at a bar. If a woman/man likes woman/man, they simply express their feeling towards the person you like, and be intimate. Whereas in America, I find it utterly ineffective. This is my arbitral view but I find American women are least attractive compared to European counterparts; they seem always in fear of some sort (i.e., lack of self confidence). Now as for food - I lived in England less than 5 years but food in America is quite poorer (although England is quite bad, too). It's very difficult to find decent bread even if you live in cities like New York or Philadelphia. And decent food is bloody expensive. Someone already mentioned but public drinking is indeed a CRIME in America. When I was snowboarding in the States we brought a bottle of wine and drank it in the shelter (where there is a small fireplace and chairs), after a while, ski patrol came and told us to put it away. I haven't seen any police controled state as much as the States. Imagine, if you are black, it surely is a hell for them. At any rate, I can hardly relax in the States. In order for me to fully relax, I have to go outside the States. To sum up, I see the States as but a market place; like a huge mall where people come over from elsewhere and shop. best,
thats a pretty accurate picture, i think..... although, dont be so quick to condemn all coffee houses Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! i am american, but i live in europe..i also feel more free here across the pond. it is unfortunate that the job market isnt better over here, or i would stay the rest of my life. as it is, i have to return to the states here in about 5 months. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
sry i'm not contributing to the java culture discussion... but i have to wonder. today i had another pinge of what i can only describe as culture shock when i went with some friends to a bar that turned out to be doing kareoke. prefectly fine, i have no problem getting up and singing... aerosmith i felt like at the time. someone sang a grease song, Greage being a musical about EXTREMELY UNFATHOMABLY SHALLOW american high school culture (which sadly i have to say is more truthful than i gave it credit for when i was in germany). well, that, and people singing and chanting and some looking like they were trying to fit into the moment, something flipped in my head when i couldn't make sence of the room. why were people enjoying grease this much? why is it a "classic" as my american-born friend told me? I felt like i couldn't understand nor fit into what was happeneing, i couldn't bring myself to go blank-minded and "enjoy" this. That, and I felt it was noticable, which just made me more anxious. I don't want to sound "elitist", as friends of mine put it, buy telling them how different "things were in germany", that just annoys the fuck out of them and i understand that. but to people who have experienced culture shock... is there a way to get over it? do i just throw myself in situations i don't understand and hope for the best? should i just watch anxiously as something strange like that happens and hope i learn from it? should i just pretend that it doesn't bother me? i dunno, i'm probably making a big deal out of this, but i thought i'd share myself to those who can relate even in the slightest way. i appreciate it. p.s. starbucks is good, but your own coffee-maker can make good coffee, and lots of it Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! i value quantity of my coffee over quality, makes me work faster
Yes, I have gone through all of it above when I was in high school and beyond. Fortunately, I had some exchange students from Finland and Germany (including mysef), so we usually hang out together along with some good-natured american friends. To me, only time will take care of it. Plus, by the time you are in senior or in college, you should be bloody busy studying (provided you have something you like to study), so the social issues be of less importance. Having said that, I wish things were better. When I was in undergraduate, I underwent an extensive structual studies between the States and Conti. Euro. in terms of their cultural/ideological/behavioural norms. I found some interesting facts while researching - some are obvious and some are rather surprising. Once I understood the roots of the differences, they really explained how and why Americans behave in such and such ways. At any rate, good luck with your life.
