If we shipped all the penguins to the North Pole, they wouldn't be able to adapt to a new environment in a short period of time. They'd probably get sick and die.
That would be an extreme case of culture shock. Before I get into details, let me remind you that in most cases you do not die from culture shock – and even if you do, the worst thing would be your soul having to make a decision as to how you would be buried: your way, or their way.
Culture shock is an actual term used to describe the emotions a person goes through when he or she moves to a different area of the globe. It could be halfway around the world – or it could be two states away from where he or she lives right now, but wherever the person ends up he or she will find that things are going to be very different.
Being almost as scary as high school, how do you survive moving to a new country? Everything familiar vanishes and all you are left with are memories and daily rituals that seem strangely out of place. Having known people who have had to adjust to a new place, there are different things you could try to keep yourself sane while the world is shifting around you. Here are a few of them:
1. Keep a journal. It's always better to start before you move, so you can write on the plane or the car trip, too. Writing is one of the best ways to express yourself, and the best thing about keeping a journal is that it is yours – no one has to read it except you. If you worry about your privacy, I suggest a lock-and-key journal. In fact, I strongly recommend it.
2. Stay in touch. Don't immediately let go of friends and family you've left behind. This is the 21st century and Mark Zuckerburg would be sorely disappointed if you failed to stay in touch. That said, there is such a thing as staying too much in touch. Don't wait up all night for your best friend to come online – get some sleep. Don't refuse to make friends at your new school because you think they might never live up to the expectations of your old friends. People are going to appeal to different aspects of you, and although they will never take the place of old friends, they will make their own comfortable spots in your life.
3. Don't be afraid. Try new food. Wear something outrageous. It's a new place, it's a chance to start over new: trying out new things can never go wrong (unless you eat something you're allergic to – be careful!).
4. Honor the power of tea. Until you've had a warm cup of red pomegranate vanilla tea, you might never know happiness. Making some tea occasionally at home can always help when things are getting stressful.
5. Interact with people. There will be days when you want to hide away in your room and eat Lay's all day long. Let me stress: This. Will. Kill. You. A couple of days is good enough for sorting things out in your head, but the more you surround yourself with people who are different, the quicker you will catch up to the cultural values and traditions.
6. When in Rome … do not abandon yourself and who you are, but remain open to the possibility that the way you think and act will be influenced. Which leads me to…
7. Keep an open mind. You're in a new place, and what better to make of this than to accept that there is so much more to the world than you know? Learn from each and every experience and jump at every opportunity to make the best of it.
It's never going to be easy to simply move to a new place and expect to magically adjust yourself according to the culture there. You have values, morals and beliefs which will suddenly not seem as important and vital as they were back home. But you know what? Just because you are in a new place doesn't mean you are the only one who is going to be learning. This is your chance to show others that you are more than able to influence them with ideas. After all, the penguins could always teach the polar bears a thing or two about fishing.
You are always stronger than you know!
Ayesha Zahid
