I always considered myself to be immune to culture shock. I've traveled the world & had many different experiences. Nothing can surprise me. I'm accepting of other points of view, & even curious to learn about how other people do things. I consider living in Vietnam to be an opportunity to learn about the customs here, as well as learn about myself.But then I read this article, & realized that I have probably been suffering from culture shock for the last three months. The article lists five stages that a person goes through when moving to another country:
1. The honeymoon, or tourist, stage
2. The irritation-to-anger stage
3. The rejection/acceptance stage
4. The integration/assimilation stage
5. The reverse, or reentry, stage
Stage 1 began for me several years ago, when I started dreaming of traveling the world, & still continues now. I want to be a tourist! I want to discover new & exciting things. I want to see as much as I can while I'm on this side of the globe, & I want to take lots & lots of photos.
But Stage 2 has manifested in my irritation at isolation. I can't speak Vietnamese (though I've been trying to learn), & very few people speak English where I live. Also, it's been difficult for me to make friends here, partly because of the language barrier, but also because I don't know how to make friends in Vietnam - I'm not fluent in the culture. Feeling isolated linguistically & socially has made me frustrated: Vietnam is not what I wanted it to be.
I may now be starting Stage 3. I'm starting to accept that I'm an outsider here, & that I always will be. People see me more as a curiosity than as a potential friend. At best, I'm a resource they can use to learn English. As a result, I've been putting less effort into trying to make social connections with people, & putting more effort into being okay with being alone.
Will I make it to Stage 4, the assimilation phase? Only time will tell. But what really scares me now is Stage 5: going home.
But Stage 2 has manifested in my irritation at isolation. I can't speak Vietnamese (though I've been trying to learn), & very few people speak English where I live. Also, it's been difficult for me to make friends here, partly because of the language barrier, but also because I don't know how to make friends in Vietnam - I'm not fluent in the culture. Feeling isolated linguistically & socially has made me frustrated: Vietnam is not what I wanted it to be.
I may now be starting Stage 3. I'm starting to accept that I'm an outsider here, & that I always will be. People see me more as a curiosity than as a potential friend. At best, I'm a resource they can use to learn English. As a result, I've been putting less effort into trying to make social connections with people, & putting more effort into being okay with being alone.
Will I make it to Stage 4, the assimilation phase? Only time will tell. But what really scares me now is Stage 5: going home.
7 comments:
That's really enlightning!
I have heard this before. I don't recall having progressed to the reject stage in either japan (2 years) or costa rica (6 weeks). However, i had lots of english speakers to associate with in both places. And from a materialism point of view Japan is just like the U.S. So neither are so different like Vietnam...
I am a Vietnamese Canadian, and so amazed that you are spending your time teaching English and learning Vietnamese. It's interesting to know that not many people in your area speak English because I was told that English is so popular in the country. Hope you will get accustomed to the new culture soon.
Hello Duke! Thank you for your comments. I'm living in Bien Hoa, where very few people speak English. Luckily, I'm about an hour from Saigon, where there are more English-speaking Vietnamese & more foreigners.
thats pure math, right there
pure math, that is
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