Fear of the Unknown / Culture Shock

• is quite a common phenomenon with human beings, when they do not with to accept or meet with anything unfamiliar in terms of any situation or individual.

• It is a fear that keeps us average, keeps us doing all the same things everybody else is doing, simply because it is the familiar thing to do.

• if allowed to persist, the fear can ultimately lead to a very restricted life stlye, devorid of the various essences in life.

• reason? there is a certain safety center in our body that keeps us alarmed of the various dangers that come into our way of life. "if it is unfamiliar, it could be dangerous. Only trust the things you know.'
  

• symptoms? rapid heart rate, dry mouth, constant perspiration, lack of clear thought and speech, trembling in fear, breathing trouble

• Though this type of fear is not that fatal to an individual, yet it should definitely be remedied in order to enjoy a healthy carefree life bereft of any fear. We have to turn the unfamilial into familiar. (meditation, playing upon our imagination)

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Culture Shock seems to similar to Racism/Division

there are some ways to overcome

Remember, the key to getting over your culture shock is understanding the new culture and finding a way to live comfortably within it while keeping true to the parts of your culture that you value.

Educate people about your culture. Just because you're the one entering the new culture doesn't mean you should be the one doing all the learning. Take the opportunity to teach classmates and new friends about your culture; they may know little about it. It will also help them to learn more about you in the process. Invite them over for traditional dishes from your culture, or show them how you celebrate your holidays.

Study Up

A lot of the anxiety that comes with moving to a new place has to do with not knowing what to expect in your new environment. Learning things about your new environment will help you become more comfortable.

School is a great place to do this. Watch and learn from the people around you — see how the students interact with teachers and each other. Find out what your classmates do for fun and what kinds of things are important to them.

You can also get some insight from television and movies, but be careful — not everything you see on the screen is meant to be realistic. But these media do help if you're still trying to learn the language or catch up on some slang, and at the very least, give you something to talk about when you're trying to make a new friend.

You don't have to love everything you find out about the culture, or start acting the way that others do, but when you gain knowledge of what people mean when they say certain phrases or why they dress a certain way, you do begin to feel better.

Learn the Language

Depending on where you come from and where you are now, you may or may not have trouble with the native language. It's a good idea to become comfortable with the language as soon as you can. Not being able to understand what people are saying is almost as frustrating as not knowing how to make people understand what you are saying.

Lots of good resources are around to help you practice. Many schools with a good number of students new to the country have language classes. If your school doesn't offer one, check out some of the community centers and libraries in your area. In addition, books make good resources too, and even some websites.

Whatever method you choose, practice is really important. A lot of people are worried about speaking a language they aren't completely comfortable with and think that people who speak the language well will tease them when they stumble over words. This might tempt you to practice the language with someone who is at the same comfort level as you, but it's also important to practice with people who have mastered the language, so that you know when you make a mistake and learn from it.

It might make you uncomfortable when it takes you twice as long to say the same thing as a native speaker, or use the wrong word, but remember that you have nothing to be ashamed of.

Even if you're familiar with the new language spoken around you, chances are you don't know a lot of the slang — casual speech that doesn't make it into translation dictionaries (or most dictionaries, for that matter). This is one of the many reasons why it's a good idea to do some studying on the culture you are immersed in.

Culture Shock