Adapting to a New Culture

Adapting to a new culture is never an easy task. When a person comes to a foreign land, it's not just the roads and places that appear different but everything else including the people, the language, the cultural values, the social beliefs etc. also appear alien. Someone who has been exposed to the foreign culture by means of books, magazine and electronic media has a better chance of understanding the culture in a short time. But somebody who doesn't know what exactly is happening in the other countries might receive a huge cultural shock.

Apart from this, there is another factor that determines how well or fast a person can adapt. This is the similarity or lack of it between your culture and the new one. For example, a person coming from United Kingdom to the United States will not be in shock for a long since he has seen a cultural very similar to the new country. But a person coming from China will probably take a long time to understand the new environment and to merge into the new society. Apart from that language also plays a big role. When a person who already knows the language spoken in the adopted country tries to mingle with the people, he finds it easier to merge with the society and can make friends easily. On the other hand, the person who doesn't understand or speak the same language as the new country will need to either stick with other compatriots or will have to go through a trying period as he learns the new language. Making friends can be a daunting task too when communication barrier exists in the form of language difference.

A new student will also have to endure stereotyping. No matter where the person is landing- be it United States or India, he is most likely to come across the problem of stereotyping. For example, Americans might face difficulty in Middle Eastern countries because of their negative image of America, Chinese may find themselves ill at ease in the western countries because of the nerdy Asian image and Indians may find people ridiculing their accent. In all honesty, moving to a new country is something that most people would want to avoid if they had a choice. Students moving to other countries do so because their own countries do not offer the same quality of education that they are likely to get abroad.

Apart from language, food and stereotyping, a person may also feel immensely homesick in a new country. While initially everything about the host country appears charming, the honey-moon period doesn't last very long. One a person comes to see the real problems and difficulties associated with living abroad, he is likely to miss home and then everything about one's native country becomes important. He may start missing the food, the people, his friends, the school days, the roads, the places and almost everything including those that he once used to hate.