Cultural Shock Activity

Instructions

Length: 4-6 pages (about 2500 words), double space, APA style, cover page, and reference are required.  The abstract is not needed.

Objective: To experience and observe your reactions to the “not-OK” feelings of disorientation in a strange cultural environment.

Rationale:

This activity is based on two widely recognized premises:
1. That culture shock is endemic; we cannot inoculate ourselves against it, but we can improve our recover mechanisms, and
2. that “not-OK” feelings, once recognized have a tendency to disappear.

Procedure: Within your present cultural environment select a particular location that seems especially “foreign” to you, and plan to visit it. The location must meet only three conditions:

1. Your stay should be for at least two hours.
2. You should be able to be a participant-observer within the location you choose. Do not arrange a “guided tour”. Attempt to involve yourself directly in the activities of your chosen location.
3. You must keep a record (notebook) of your experiences, thoughts, and feelings in your foreign environment.

1. Describe the event, its purpose, the cultural group originating from the even, when it occurred, where it occurred.
2. Are their similar events in your culture?
3. What did you see and experience at this event that you feel confident you understood accurately?
4. What did you notice that was culturally puzzling to you?
5. How did you feel or respond personally to being in a different cultural situation that was not as predictable as communication in your own culture?
6. Describe an important conclusion due to your participation in this event.
7. Demonstrate that you have a thorough understanding of culture shock and its dimensions