Preparing for Cultural Shock

 

Read the following text and summarize it.

Then write a 300 word essay responding to the text, using your own experiences as examples in your essay.

Follow the submission guidelines in red below the text.

Preparing for Culture Shock:

There are various ways of preparing for cultural shock. It is helpful to learn as much of the language as possible before going to the country, to learn about the new culture, in particular aspects such as time differences, communication, conflict resolution, climate, standard of living, transportation, ethical practices, holidays, superstitions, taboos and technology. However, something that is extremely difficult to prepare for is what is known as ‘ecoshock’, the result of a person’s ‘physiological and psychological reaction to a new, diverse, or changed ecology’, a typical example of this being travel dysrhythmia, or jet lag, when people’s biological clocks have problems synchronizing with the local time. Physiological adjustment to the temperature, humidity, and altitude are also features of ecoshock, though these are generally coped with in the initial stage of cultural shock rather than being prolonged difficulties in the process of adjustment to life in a new country. For those who take frequent short trips abroad, however, ecoshock may be the most difficult part of dealing with cultural shock, since they do not experience its various longer term phases. 

 

 

Section 1: My summary

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Section 2: My essay

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