Essential Outcomes: Perspective and Experience, Culture Shock

Culture Shock
Article Review Exercise
“Lessons from the Field” by George Gmelch

1. What is culture shock?
Culture shock is a feeling that people get when they are attempting to assimilate into a culture. It is usually accompanied by feelings of anxiety and perhaps even physiological symptoms.



2. What are some specific examples in this article of encounters or events where culture shock became evident?
Culture shock became evident when the visiting students first came into contact with issues such as race, gender, and wealth.
When they first arrive on Barbados, the students are कल्तुरे taken aback by the conditions the natives are living in. They become reclusive in response to the lack of privacy. They become overly conscious of their skin color. They feel shy about spending money.





3. How did those examples and culture shock in general affect the students doing research in Barbados?
The students began, at first, to withdraw a bit from the society. However, as time went on they were able to use their unfamiliarity with the culture to pick up on subtle cultural customs.





4. Did they experience reverse culture shock? What are some examples?
Reverse culture shock is definitely present in this article. When the students go back to the US they find themselves appalled at the excess in the American lifestyle. They also feel that people in the US are extremely hurried, and the students begin to adopt a slower, more peaceful lifestyle.





5. In what ways can culture shock and reverse culture shock be considered productive and beneficial?
Culture shock and reverse culture shock both allow one to gain a bit of perspective, whether it is an insight into one's own culture or another's। When the students in Barbados are confronted with culture shock they become more aware of their own customs and are, thus, able to easier identify corresponding customs in another culture.
Culture shock can also help create a better understanding between cultures. When the students experience reverse culture shock they are beginning to better understand why the natives of Barbados are happy living a life that most Americans would consider horrible.






6. What do your responses above reveal about the power of culture?
Culture can not only affect our actions, but it can also pervade the mind, controlling the way we think or what we might consider to be important. Culture is, in many ways, a force that moves its way through individuals, and it is up to the individuals whether they want to fight against that force or just go with it.
When looking at culture shock it becomes clear that culture can affect someone individually in the same way that it can affect any group. No matter what, culture tends to grip people, daring them to either accept the culture or find a way out of it.