Kevin McConnell - cultural shock


The beginning of my travels started as excitement and I couldn't wait to experience a new culture. I didn't expect that I would be experiencing culture shock immediately when I was in the airport. Culture shock is described as the overwhelming feeling of trying to adapt to a culture that is monumentally different than what you are used to (Remland et al, 2015). The sojourner experience written in the text resonated with me because these stages talk about feelings of confusion and frustration.

The first time I experienced cultural shock was when I was in the airport and I noticed everyone around me speaking German. It felt intimidating when I was waiting in line to have my passport stamped. Going to different shops in the airport a lot of people spoke very little English. I felt like a dummy when the national language is German and when you can't communicate the simplest things, for example what you would like to eat or asking for directions. It was nerve wrecking at first.

The next time was on the train when I noticed a bunch of people staring at our group. We were just having a casual conversation. It must be rude in Germany to talk on the train. I googled why people don't talk on the trains in Germany and a blog from reedit explained that a lot of people use their time on the train as their alone time to think. So, we were disrupting that alone time and now when I use the train I try to fit in by speaking with a softer tone of voice.


The first stage of arrival was everything I was experiencing and was a honeymoon stage as described in the book. I feel like I went through the arrival and culture shock stages twice. In the airport as I stated above, then when I got off the train in Erfurt. Excitement went weary when I realized the language barriers and different customs that I was not accustomed to.

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