Research has shown that culture shock often develops in different stages: 1. Honeymoon Stage (Arrival Stage) - Everything is wonderful and exciting;
2. Culture Shock Stage - You start to experience difficulties with every day things which are different from home, such as: language, food, climate, etc;
3. Adapting Stage - You feel an urge to belong and you start to understand the new culture;
4. Re-entry Shock Stage - This stage takes place when you return to your home country and you realize that you brought back with you new perspectives about life.
4. Re-entry Shock Stage - This stage takes place when you return to your home country and you realize that you brought back with you new perspectives about life.
I found that the re-entry shock stage (or reverse culture shock) to be the most difficult. While you have been living abroard, your family and friends have been moving on with their lives without you. It can be hard to find your place again.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Amanda. I felt like a foreigner walking back in to the town I grew up in, when returning from England. They world hadn't stopped just cause I wasn't there. Very strange indeed.
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