Culture shock

After reading the article “Coping with culture shock” and the class discussion today I realized that it would be a good idea to generate some ideas how I might deal with it.

I already have some experience with Latino culture from my mission in Chile, but I’m realizing that even still I’m not immune to the irritation and frustration that can occurs while becoming accustom to a new culture.  I have a general idea of food and language, but outside of that I feel pretty clueless. By the many personal testimonies of past field study students, the honeymoon stage will end and I will find that some small things will start to annoy me. What will be more important than identifying these annoyances, is how I plan to cope with them.

I have realized that when I get stressed or frazzled, I have a few habits that tend to identify my emotional imbalance. First, I seek relaxation though nature. I have found that in times of high frustration I have an urge to find a quiet place in nature where I can meditate and be alone. I like to breath in fresh air and mentally slow my life down. Second, if something is on my mind, it’s very for someone else to get me talking about it. I find relief in venting what I’m feeling. This can be to people or in writing.  Last and what causes me the most worry it that I’m very transparent. I have a really hard time hiding my feelings. I can’t put on a poker-face. When I feel antsy or uncomfortable, it is easy for others to notice.  The reason why this worries me is because what could be very normal to the culture in Irapuato Mexico could be very strange and uncomfortable to me. Though my actions and words may be very respectful and polite, I fear my expressions might reveal inner feeling that could offend my host family or others around me. 

I’d like to say this could easily be solved by just practicing poker and hiding my expressions, but I think a better solution is changing my expectations. Frustration and stress occur when one encounters the unexpected. For example, maybe a roommate’s perspective on cleanliness or time doesn’t match my expectations.  This can definitely cause frustration.  There are two ways to deal with it; you try and make the roommate change and match up to your expectations, or you could change your expectations such that it’s expected and no longer bothers you.  Being that I am the foreigner going to Mexico and living in the house of a generous host family, I really don’t think that persuading them to adapt to my expectations in reasonable or appropriate. It is therefore logical that I will have to periodically adapt and change my expectations as I encounter the unexpected.  I believe this type of attitude would classify as what Ferraro called biculturalism.