culture shock
Foreign environment bewilderment
Culture shock is the disorientation people feel when immersed in an unfamiliar culture—encountering different customs, languages, social norms, or ways of life.
The term usually describes the adjustment period when traveling or relocating abroad: I experienced serious culture shock my first month in Tokyo.
It extends to any jarring encounter with the unfamiliar: Moving from a small town to New York was culture shock.
Longing for one's dwelling
- isolationComplete separation from others
- lonelinessState of lacking companions
- estrangementEmotional separation between people
- disconnectionState of being severed
displacement · outsider · misfit · exclusion · marginalization · rootlessness · anomie · detachment
State of being baffled
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
- overwhelmDefeat by excess
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- perplexityMental state of confusion
unfamiliarity · foreignness · incomprehension · discomfort · uncertainty · sensory overload · cognitive dissonance · information overload
Alteration to improve fit
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
- acclimatizationAdjusting to new conditions
- habituationDiminished reaction over time
- familiarizationBecoming acquainted with something
reorientation · coping · learning curve · trial and error · observation · mimicry · code-switching · flexibility
State of fitting in
- acceptanceConsent to receive
- biculturalismHaving two cultural identities
- inclusionBeing made part
- harmonyAgreement or musical blend
synthesis · blending · convergence · naturalization · hybrid identity · comfort · confidence · mutual understanding
homesickness
Longing for one's dwelling
- isolationComplete separation from others
- lonelinessState of lacking companions
- estrangementEmotional separation between people
disconnection · displacement · outsider · misfit · exclusion · marginalization · rootlessness · anomie · detachment · otherness
bewilderment
State of being baffled
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
- overwhelmDefeat by excess
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
perplexity · unfamiliarity · foreignness · incomprehension · discomfort · uncertainty · sensory overload · cognitive dissonance · information overload · miscommunication
adjustment
Alteration to improve fit
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
- acclimatizationAdjusting to new conditions
- habituationDiminished reaction over time
familiarization · reorientation · coping · learning curve · trial and error · observation · mimicry · code-switching · flexibility · resilience
belonging
State of fitting in
- acceptanceConsent to receive
- biculturalismHaving two cultural identities
- inclusionBeing made part
harmony · synthesis · blending · convergence · naturalization · hybrid identity · comfort · confidence · mutual understanding · community
- cross-culturalhybrid identity, dual identity, code switching, multiculturalism, immigrant stories
- experiencesadventure, journey, moment, event, feeling
- global experiencesstudy abroad, exchange student, travel abroad, volunteer abroad, exchange program
- travel woesjet lag, homesickness, lost luggage, flight delay, travel delay
- homesicknesshomesick, homesickness, missing home, longing, yearning
- cultural exchangestudent exchange, exchange program, student exchanges, exchange programs, language exchange
culture shocksense of belonging
Feeling included and accepted
acculturation · fitting in · familiarity · comfort zone · at-homeness
culture shockcultural adaptation
Adjusting to different customs
acclimatization · assimilation · integration · going native · cultural competence
culture shocksameness
State of being identical
routine · predictability · nothing new · same old same old · insularity
culture, cultured, cultural, agriculture, cultures, uncultured, multicultural, culturally, horticulture