Readers Against Prejudice and Racism discussion
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Your first experience with culture shock
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I'll list some of my most memorable culture shocks:*When I moved to Texas from Illinois. The way of life and the pace is different in the South. The cultural norms are slightly different. My family is Southern about one generation back, so I am familiar with some of the values and the cuisine, but it was still different for me. Also the whole country music/lifestyle thing was quite different.
*Working in an environment that is 98% male. I have worked in places where there were sixty men and me and maybe one woman. It's very strange. I don't have anything against men. I like men, and I can work with them, but I had never been around solely men, so that was a strange feeling.
*Being in a place where Spanish is the majority language. This didn't bother me that much because I took Spanish in school and college, and I have always appreciated Latin culture.
*Going to a very conservative college. While my personal lifestyle values tend towards being more morally conservative, I was raised with liberal politics and also being of color, being in a place where the majority viewpoint is very conservative was a huge culture shock. It was nice to have friends that were more from the background I was used to. It insulated me somewhat. It was very hard though, when many of my friends graduated, and I ended up in a grad program that had even more of a conservative makeup.
*Moving to California from Texas: S. Cal is very fast-paced, and that lifestyle was a real shock to me coming from Texas. Things are more laidback and people are much friendlier in Texas than many I encountered in S. Cal.I remember being stressed out 98% of the time. I was glad to move back, honestly.
*Being one of two black people in a program of 123 students. It didn't bother me most of the time, but I did get the impression that I had to defend my right to be there. It made those four years a lot tougher on my psyche than undergrad where there was a lot more diverse makeup.
I personally think getting exposed to different cultures is a good learning experience. You step outside of your own background and realize that the way you grew up isn't always the only way or the only right way. The world is a big place, and it's so much more interesting to have so many cultures and ethnicities.
Mod
I definitely agree! That's why I would love to travel around the world someday, so that way, I would be exposed to how different cultures live their lives versus how I live my life in the U.S.
Where would you go first, Ronyell?
Mod
I wanted to either go to France or to Japan since both cultures interest me. Then later on, I would try to go to Jamaica, Russia, Australia, China, Germany, Spain and just so many other countries!
I believe you'll get a chance to visit them all someday.
Mod
Thanks! What countries do you want to visit?
The UK (Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland), Canada Russia, Japan, China, Italy, France, Antarctica, Israel (Holy Land), Greece, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, off the top of the head.
Mod
That's awesome!!! There's just so many interesting countries to visit so hopefully, you'll be able to visit them too!
Haven't stepped a foot out of the US. Maybe someday!
Mod
Yep!
Moving from Germany to Canada when I was ten!!
Mod
Was was that like?
Ronyell wrote: "Gundula wrote: "Moving from Germany to Canada when I was ten!!"Was was that like?"
The main problem was being called "Nazi" all the time by ignorant children (and one of the girls in my class told me that her parents would not allow her to play with me). Interestingly enough, almost all of the nasty comments came from WASPS (White Anglo Saxon Protestants), I actually never had any problems with schoolmates who were Jewish.
Moving to Sierra Leone in 1990 was a culture shock. I had some expectations, but I didn't expect the nastiness of the other wives in the camp. I would have appreciated some sort of cultural introduction into what the Sierra Leonens expected of me as well. It was certainly interesting to experience the tribal issues and the problems that the children had to deal with!
That's terrible that this happened to you, Gundula and Kathy. I hate that humans are capable of treating each other that way.
Mod
I agree. I often want to know why human beings can't treat each other in a more cooperate way?
Arkansas to Michigan. I moved to MI as a teen to live with my Dad and never adjusted. People were very rude. They looked at you crazy when you said hello. They push you out of the way and don't say excuse me.
Mod
Man, I hate it when that happens! I just don't understand why some people can be so rude for no reason!
I didn't get it, either. Ohio was the same way.
This is not just limited to different races and ethnicity. This could even include moving from a rural to a city environment, or vice versa.
Maybe you went to a woman's college and started working in a primarily male environment.
Is this always a bad thing to get outside of your comfort zone? What are some good things that came out of your culture shock?