The Stages of Adjusting to A New Culture
Deborah Swallow | May 14th, 2010 in : culture shock & stuff, expat advice, General
What are the stages most people go through 
in adjusting to a new culture?
When you move to a new country, everything is unfamiliar; weather, landscape, language, food, dress, social roles, values, customs and communication – basically, everything you’re used to is no longer there. You’ll find that the day unfolds differently, that business is conducted in a way that may be hard to understand, the stores are opened and closed at hours that you could never predict.
Everyone goes through similar stages when acculturating – some of us just get through the process quicker and with less stress. Stages two and three are the ones that need to be managed – and are commonly known as “culture shock”. If you find you are getting very homesick you need to seek help and talk to friends.
- Fun: The excitement and adventure of experiencing new people, things, and opportunities.
- Flight: Disorientation can bring the urge to avoid everything and everyone that is different. This stage is when you experience homesickness.
- Fight: The temptation to judge people and things that are different as bad or foolish.
- Fit: Creative interaction with the new culture that includes a willingness to understand and embrace.
Expat advice on various countries can be found 
on this expert site: http://www.expatarrivals.com/
My other articles related to culture shock can be found here:
The Stages of Adjusting To A New Culture
Before You Go: What To Do Before You Leave
The Classic 5-Stage Culture Shock Model
Rhinesmith’s 10 Stages of Culture Shock
Advice For Expats Moving to the Arab World
Tags: adjusting, culture shock, new culture, relocation
Hello, I'm Deborah Swallow and, for the last fifteen years, I've worked in over thirty countries addressing the complexities of people working internationally across multiple cultures, so individuals and organisations alike can gain an authentic competitive edge and win in international markets. 