I Really Should Have Done My Research

So a couple of fellow bloggers – specifically Marian von Bakel and Susanne from Fit Across Cultures – have brought something to my attention about the culture shock curve. Apparently, there is actual academic research that backs up my personal feelings of frustration with the curve as an inadequate model for the normative expat experience.

Despite being widely used and acclaimed in “so you’re going to be an expat” books and training, the traditional curve has never been conclusively supported by scientific research. In fact, its applicability, relevance, and usefulness has been questioned by the academic community for many many years. Though many studies have tried to validate it as a good model for the expatriate’s experience, they have repeatedly been unable to do so. The main complaints? The model is too simplistic, it assumes one mode and method of adaptation for everyone, and it assumes a honeymoon period (which many expats are unhappy to realize that they’ve skipped right over, going straight into stress time because, duh, you’ve just moved countries and have to set up a home and a whole new life all at once).

The Berardo Cultural Adjustment and Transition Training Presentation from Culturosity.com, which Susanne brought to my attention, was especially enlightening. It tells of the history of the curve, gathers together much of the past research on this topic, discusses why the curve got so stuck in culture shock discussions, and proposes alternative ways that we might talk about culture shock. (My guess is that it’s staying power is due to its simplicity. It’s easy to use and talk about, while describing the reality of culture shock would be messier and more complicated.)

So thanks to my readers for inserting some actual facts into this rather personal discussion! Maybe next time I’ll do some Googling before I post…

 

Let’s Take a Moment to Talk Culture Shock

So in between all this holiday cheer (because I have more holiday posts coming!), I wanted to take some time to talk about homesickness and culture shock because, let’s face it, even the veteran expats are probably getting a little homesick this time of year.

I saw this video come up on ExpatInDenmark.com the other day.

It’s a good video, and I like the way it succinctly describes something called the “culture shock curve.” But ever since watching it I can’t really stop thinking about it. Because I don’t think that this really describes my experience so far as an expat. (All 4.25 months of it.)

The traditional culture shock curve looks like this:

I drew my own based on the video because I can’t find a simple one that I like online.

It’s important for non-expats – for family and friends who are left behind – to understand that there are these multiple periods of culture shock instead of just the one initial period. Because from afar the expat life can seem like one big exciting adventure. You can see how there would be an initial period of adjustment, but it’s harder to understand from afar how the more serious period of culture shock may come later after you’ve superficially adjusted to life in your new country.

However, the way it’s usually drawn makes it look like a fairly natural ebb and flow, like a steady progression through stages. But there are two things that I would note:

1. Not everyone gets to the final “acceptance” stage. Some people get stalled in one of the various culture shock troughs. I read this in a “so you’re moving overseas” book before we left the US, and I will admit that it kind of freaked me out. Because I would be just the kind of person to get stalled. But I think it’s important to note that adaptation isn’t easy.

2. My personal experience is not represented by this graph. Rather, it looks a little more like this:

You are here…somewhere

This may be due to the fact that I’m only 4 (.25!) months into my expat experience, so I may not be seeing the big picture or larger pattern. But it definitely feels like these culture shock periods come much more frequently than just twice in your whole expat experience, and they’re not necessarily so prolonged. The whole experience feels much more up and down rather than smoothly curving through sequential stages. I feel like I go through one whole cycle of this maybe once a month.

Also, I don’t think that these two states are mutually exclusive. I can be in the throws of a serious homesick binge when we have a good day and learn something really cool about our host country. Or I can feel like things are going fine when something happens and I feel like I’ve fallen back a couple steps.

So while the culture shock curve is a very helpful graph in introducing future expats and their families back home to the fact that there are multiple moments of culture shock and that adaptation is hard and may not come easily or right away, I think it’s a little too simplified. And as an expat who’s read many many articles about this “normal” curve, it’s starting to get a little annoying.

Not every expat’s journey looks like that. Your journey and how you handle the experience of moving abroad is very personal and unique. Comparing yourself to some standard of normal – or to what other expats are doing or feeling – can sometimes be more harmful than helpful. Just have faith in yourself and your ability to grow and adapt. Know that you will get there someday in your own time in your own way. Or you will go home, and that will be OK, too, because this is your journey.