Blame it on Kiwi...

I have been urged several times to update my blog by a girl that lives on my hall. Her name is Ryli, but you can call her Kiwi for short. I would like to take this opportunity to not only introduce Kiwi but also Ali & Vanessa. These are three of the girls live on my hall. They are my closest friends in Hawaii and I love them very much.

Kiwi is from South San Francisco, but moved to South Carolina a while back. I wish she had more of a southern accent or said ya'll more...but she doesn't. Ali & Vanessa are both juniors from Arizona. Ali is into long walks & nature while Vanessa loves sharks. The four of us have gone on several adventures together & are looking forward to a lot more. We made a bucket list that hangs in Vanessa's room. This past weekend we went to Waimea Bay on the North Shore. Ali and I cliff jumped while Vanessa and Ryli took pictures, we all played in the ocean afterwords. The waves were huge and most of us wiped out at least once. I still have sand in my hair three days later. I am so thankful that God placed me on the same hall as these ladies. We may have our differences, but we are mature enough to look past them and just have fun together! I am looking forward to having girl friends again, its been a while since I had a tight knit group of girls :)

BUT, the real reason for this post is to clue everyone in to what the four of us have experienced so far. Let me preface this by saying each person has their own struggles. In my interpersonal communication class we have been learning about the science behind culture shock and how to understand it. I know a lot of my friends who read this blog are studying abroad in other countries and are experiencing the culture shock as well. Even if you are not currently experiencing it, one day you will. I hope after reading this you will feel not only enlightened but encouraged and "normal." In addition, this is the basis of my thesis! I am super excited to share with you a little bit of my focus for the next year and half!

Whenever you move to a new culture there are three main challenges you face. The first, coping with culture shock, is what I will focus this post on. The second challenge is getting the job done. This could be seen in a business context or even in a interracial relationship. The final challenge is staying motivated.

What is culture shock you may ask? Well through my research I see it as a series of symptoms that occur after moving into a new culture. My professor listed the most common symptoms and I will just copy paste them. Remember that not everyone goes though each symptom and also one can be experiencing several of them at the same time. Many people don't even realize they are experiencing culture shock. They don't understand why they are acting so differently. They don't make the connection that their anger or cold is due to culture shock. The symptoms of culture shock can range from a day, a week, to even months and years. Most of the time the symptom lessen over time as one begins to understand and adjust to the new culture.

1-Short-term illness and clumsiness from the breakdown of the immune system and imbalanced physiological reactions.
2-Long-term illness from the wearing effects of prolonged high stress .
3-Nervousness or unfocused anxiety.
4-Depression manifested in boredom, fatigue, withdrawal from others, sleeping all the time, inability to get interested in anything, and--in serious cases--substance abuse & suicide.
5-Irritability and other rapid, unpredictable mood changes, often over matters that otherwise might appear minor.
6-Fears of being taken advantage of, cheated, discriminated against, talked about.
7-Feelings of vulnerability to disease, crime, failure, and other bad things.
8-Narrowed, rigid and habitual thought processes.
9-Breakdown in ongoing relationships and difficulty in establishing and maintaining new ones.

All 9 symptoms stem from either a physiological change or less manageable levels of stress. A physiological change deals with the physical changes your body and mind are going through. It is important to note that you are not just experiencing the "new culture" but you are simultaneously separating yourself from the "old culture." Homesickness or leaving your home can be as big of a shock as new experiences.

Physiological changes are most frequently seen in the forms of jet lag and circadian rhythms. A person experiences jet lag because their bodies are used to daylight/night time cycles. When you are thrown into a culture that is more than three or four time zones away it takes your body time to readjust to the new light/dark cycles. Not everyone experiences jet lag the same way. Older people are more affected than younger people, people who primarily work during nighttime are less affected, and people who live close to the poles are used to changing light/day cycles. In addition, each persons body works off their own circadian rhythm. This rhythm helps your body know when to eat and sleep. People often call circadian rhythms their "biological clock." Its the reason why some people are more active at night than in the morning, etc. It is based loosely on your internal body temperature. When your core temperature is highest, you are more productive and active. I had to do an experiment in undergrad to find out my circadian rhythm. I was required to take my temperature every hour on the hour for a week. Although it disrupted my sleep schedule I know now I am most productive from 2:30pm-11:00pm. My core temperature is the lowest from 3am-9am. This would explain why I am a night owl. The more established a persons circadian rhythm is the harder it is for them to adjust to a new physiological state. This is the reason why it took me a while to adjust to living in Hawaii. I was never hungry at the right times and stayed up all night because I was not sleepy. The symptoms that are affected by physiological changes are short term and long term illness, nervousness, depression, and irritability. All of the symptoms are greatly affected by the lack of sleep.

Stress is an important factor to pay attention to as well. Let's face it, when you move to a new culture is is often not for relaxation or fun. Although that may happen most people move for work, school, or a relationship. All of these reasons add stress to your normal life. For me, I am trying to balance school on top of loosing sleep, making new friends, and experiencing all that Hawaii has for me. Needless to say I have found myself a lot more stressed than normal. You can never eliminate stressors from your life, but you can learn to manage them in order to be effective. Over time stress will lessen to a more manageable and optimal level. Until then all you can do is set in place stress management techniques that can trick your body into lowering your stress levels.

I know this blog post is getting long, and if you are still reading it I applaud you! I am going to finish up by summing up a few phases of culture shock. If you are experiencing a new culture think about what phase you may be in.

1-Contact: Occurs when a person first meets someone from the new culture. This phase is often called the honeymoon phase or tourist phase. There is an emphasis on the similarities between cultures and on nonthreatening differences such as clothes and food. This is what happens when you go on vacation somewhere, or just arrive to your new home. Everything is exciting and cool!
2- Disintegration: This is when things get ugly. You come to the realization that the differences aren't just fun and games. Traditions from the new culture are unfamiliar and scary. You get lost finding places, realize they don't serve your favorite kind of food or get laughed at for your habits. This is when the depression symptom begins to hit. You begin to recognize the differences between your old culture and your new one, but don't fully understand the difference.
3- Reintegration: When you have lived in the culture long enough you begin to understand the differences in culture and can predict outcomes of certain activities. The problem is most of the time one has a negative slant towards the new culture. Stereotypes people heard in their old culture begin to become reinforced. You begin to look for others from your old culture so you can criticize the new culture, safety in number right?! Sometimes though, people become obsessed and overly positive about the new culture. They see themselves as local and try to participate in traditions that they are not familiar with. This can cause strain on the relationships formed in the new culture. Most people get stuck in this phase or terminate the relationship. Divorces, leaving jobs, and moving back home is quite common.
4-Autonomy: This is when you actually become local, instead of pretending like you are. You are able to stand alone and participate in the culture without the crutch of stereotypes. You dress the same, talk the same & eat the same as everyone else around you. You begin to blend in to the culture.
5- Re Entry: The most shocking phase of all! You go back to your old culture, even if its just for a visit, and find out that everything changed! Your family & friends have changed, the positions you held in relationships are often filled by other people. It is liken to a train. You jump off the train when you leave, but the train keeps moving. When you come back, you can never catch the train. Sometimes people find it easier to make new friends, people who have experienced similar situations or even move back to the other place. The funny thing is, people don't realize they have changed too. You can blame a broken friendship on the other person, but often times you are the one that changed more. This phase doesn't have to be negative, but often times is looked to be negative because it is the least expected and most permeant of all the phases.

Congrats if you read the whole blog. This is more for my friends who are overseas or studying abroad! Good luck to everyone. Let me know if you need to talk to anyone. I understand, I'm there too :)