Expert: Le Anne Clausen - 10/3/2007

Question
Hello, my name is Seong Cheon, and I am a reporter for magazine called Jayplay. I have been writing an article on "culture shock" and after searching the web for few hours, I found that you could be the perfect source to tell me about culture shock in Arab countries. So, could I ask you for your advice on how to cope with culture shock?  (it could focus on either Arab countries or culture shock in general.)
I would really like to hear your advice on coping with culture shock. I will include your name and your webiste in my article. Please answer me about the culture shock.
Thank you very much!

Sincerely,
Seong Cheon
reporter for Jayplay at the University of Kansas.
www.kansan.com/jayplay


Answer
Greetings Seong Cheon, and thanks for your question.  Well, the first thing about culture shock in the Middle East was arriving and not speaking hardly any of the language.  I also came wearing kind of 'hippie' clothes, and found that most folks my age (mid-twenties) wore black polyester.  Women also wore a lot more makeup than I was used to.  Little things I took for granted, like how men and women interact in public, or going to the grocery store, or which items were expensive to buy and which were cheap--all these suddenly became major new things to learn.  It was exhausting.  Also, things like how the plumbing worked and household appliances I'd never seen used before.  But I slowly got used to these things, and even adopted some of these customs--it happened more easily as I learned more of the language.  And now that I'm back in the U.S. already four years, some of those customs stayed with me and I had culture shock coming back--especially the speed at which American life happens, or that people think it's funny I always wear black polyester.  But yes, basically, I think it's most important to have the courage to ask lots of questions, to not be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them, to listen carefully and be observant to things around you, and to take plenty of breaks when you get overwhelmed.  For me, I would take a quiet afternoon in my house and listen to BBC for a while.  Or write about crazy things I'd experienced, which later became the draft for a book which may be getting published soon.  And through asking the questions, I made many new friends.

HOpe this helps!  Good luck on your show!

peace,

Le Anne