Week 2- Culture Shock

 The sojourn experience (as discussed in Remland, Jones, Foeman, and Arevalo, 2015) is described as the process of someone who travels to another country to stay before returning back to their home country between the duration of 6 months and 5 years.  Although I am not staying as long as 6 months, I am still interacting with the people of this country through merchants, students, and other regular citizens that makeup this society.  I have only been here for nearly one week and I can already see so many differences between Germany and my wonderful home of the United States. The biggest difference that I have noticed (or at least it stands out to me more on a personal level..) is the fact that the people here seem to never smile and always seem so angry.  While I am aware that this may not be the case, that is how it appears.  I am such a smiling person, even when I accidentally bump into someone and say "entschuldigung", I am expecting a warm "das ist gut" in return.  However, I am still not used to being ignored instead.  In the United States, there would have been a "oh, it's fine!" or a "no problem!" with a big face and sense of relief.  This example would be of the part of me that still has the ethnocentric mindset- the fact that I think the American way of interaction is the "right" way (Remland, Jones, Foeman, and Arevalo, 2015).

    As I read the chapter on this topic, I found myself having experienced or currently experiencing these symptoms.  The first stage of the experience was definitely relatable to me- Pre-Departure.  In this phase, I attempted to relearn the German language as much as I could in the little time, researched much of the culture and norms, and more.  However, until I arrived here to interact for myself, I had not realized the major differences I would come across.  Second, the arrival phase.  I was astounded by the amazing new forms of culture, history, and architecture I was experiencing all at once.  I was taking everything in and loving it.  I had even made a list that compared both the similarities and the differences between the two countries.  I am in the process of the third phase right now- living in the new culture.  I am trying to get used to times stores close, ordering things in German, using German transportation, etc..  The final stage is the returning home phase.  Once I finally almost get somewhat used to the new country and culture, I will be returning home, therefore I will be overloaded with stories of what I have missed and overwhelmed by my friends and loved ones. 












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 4: Cultural Frames

Image
We have made it to week four in our SPICE Program and each week brings new adventures. We visited Bruges, Belgium this past week. It was a small but cute city with many fun things to do. We went to a french fry museum and went in and out of a TON of chocolate shops; not to mention we had some really cool hostel-mates, one from England and one from Portugal/Spain! This weeks objective is Cultural Frames . We take what we know from our background and experiences and apply it to our reality (Remland, 2015). Us, as Americans, try to take our social norms and apply them to our environment; and with a different culture comes different social norms. I was once told that Americans have really short goodbyes, but what I found in Bruges, is that they have an even shorter goodbye. You will be purchasing something from the shop and before you have your credit card back and receipt in hand, you are basically pushed out the door. A cultural frame that sticks out to me from the chapter is the In...
Read more

Week 7: Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

Image
European and American verbal and nonverbal communication are quite different. In class, when we are having discussions, I notice that when an American student is called on, we will respond very loudly compared to the German students. I also notice, at the school coffee shop, the man working behind the counter will be very soft-spoken when talking to a customer. I almost want to shout, "CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE LOUDER?!", even though I can hear him perfectly fine from a few feet away. I realize the reason I want him to talk louder is simple: I am nosey. I am also use to a loud coffeehouse setting. When you go to Starbucks in the states, you typically walk into a setting of glasses clinking together, music blaring from the speakers, and names being shouted so people can pick up their orders. With nonverbal, I notice that we also are very different. When the teacher is speaking and looking around the room, she typically makes eye contact with everyone. When she makes eye contact...
Read more

Week 8: Intercultural Communicative Competence

Image
As we come to our last week in Europe, I look back on the memories I have made and the people I have shared them with. When arriving in Germany, I knew I would talk to the people who also went on this trip, but I didn't think I would become friends with them as easy as I did. One person who stands out the most out of all my friendships that I made abroad, is my friendship with Ashley Pearson. When going through the "General Process of Friendship Development  ( Remland, 2015) " in chapter 8 of the book, it describes each of the steps you take when developing a friendship. The first stage is the   Role-Limited Interaction . Whenever you meet someone new, you are usually the nicest person in the world; you don't want to give them a bad impression. I remember being super nice because I really liked Ashley from the beginning. We soon moved to the Friendly Relations stage. This stage is more of an acquaintance stage. We were no longer new to each other, but we weren't...
Read more