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Student Teaching in a foreign land offers wonderful opportunities to grow spiritually, intellectually, and globally. The cultural exchange experienced during the Student Teaching assignment can be life changing on many levels. Upon arrival to the host country, a Student Teacher may experience a number of sights, sounds, smells, and customs that are altogether new and unique. As a result, the Student Teacher may experience a period of adjustment known as “culture shock.”
Culture Shock Outline of the Process | |
Fun | Discovery (Similar and/or Satisfying) |
Flight | Avoidance (Different and Alarming) |
Fight | Anger (Different and Bad) Mockery (Different and Foolish) |
Fit | Acceptance (Different but Okay) Understanding (Different but Reasonable) Creativity (Different but Open to “Living”) |
The United States Department of State Department indicates that (httpin paraphrase): https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/19792.pdf)making-the-transition.
Culture shock is the physiological and psychological stress experienced when a traveler is suddenly deprived of old, familiar cues—language, customs, etc. Both the seasoned traveler and the first-timer, whether in transit or taking up residence, are susceptible. The sensation may be severe or mild, last months or only hours, strike in a remote village or in a modern European city, in one country, but not another—or not at all.
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