Culture and Culture shock

What is Culture? We hear this word all over the place but it can have lots of different meanings in lots of different places. Culture can be something that a country or ethnic group has, it can be in a school or a place of work. How we interact with culture can be different depending on our own background and experiences and this can change the way that we see and interact with other cultures.

Let’s start by thinking about what culture is, how would you define culture?

Culture can be a funny thing, when you were writing your definition of culture did you think about your town, city, country, continent or background? Sometimes we create our own idea of what is our culture only in comparison to other cultures. Whilst this can be helpful in seeing differences, it can often lead to stereotypes as well as misunderstanding and can be dangerous.

The Island of Culture

We like to think of Culture as being a bit like an Island. And the longer you stay on this Island, the more you explore what’s above and below the water, the more you start to understand about a culturee

This video by the University of Alberta in Canada gives a great insight into what culture is and how we interact with it

Culture Shock

Let’s start by using the padlet to write down what you think culture shock is

Culture shock doesn’t just happen when you spend time in a different country or culture. ​It can happen in lots of places; a new school, a new job, joining a new club or team. ​You could even think of it as a really natural and normal thing. Change can be hard or uncomfortable at first, especially when what, why and how things were previously done are different for you. ​

We really like this picture when it comes to visualising culture shock when it comes to volunteering abroad

Whilst the diagram of culture shock can be really useful in helping you understand how you’re feeling, before, during and after your placement…​ It’s really important to remember that this isn’t a cheat code for not experiencing culture shock or even reverse culture shock when you come home.​ These are totally normal things which can happen when you go out of your comfort zone and experience new things.