1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,280 Unit 15, page 247, read. 2 00:00:05,420 --> 00:00:07,380 What is culture shock? 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:13,000 Jamal is a young man who has been in New York City for five months 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,760 and is studying at an American university. 5 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:19,000 When he first got to the United States, 6 00:00:19,460 --> 00:00:21,660 everything seemed exciting and wonderful. 7 00:00:22,380 --> 00:00:26,540 He met a lot of new students that he immediately became friends with. 8 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,820 He got acquainted with a number of Americans. 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,920 Most of whom were kind and helpful to him. 10 00:00:33,900 --> 00:00:36,620 He fell in love with many aspects of New York, 11 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,300 including its towering downtown skyscrapers 12 00:00:40,300 --> 00:00:42,560 and its amazing subway system. 13 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:45,520 That was five months ago. 14 00:00:46,340 --> 00:00:49,040 Now, things have changed considerably. 15 00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:54,320 The Americans he has met don't seem as kind or helpful 16 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:55,800 as they did at the beginning. 17 00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:59,880 His friends, some of whom he continues to see 18 00:00:59,880 --> 00:00:59,980 regularly, are also very kind and helpful. 19 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:00,480 His friends, some of whom he continues to see regularly 20 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:04,280 are still here, but many of them don't have time 21 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:05,540 to get together anymore. 22 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:10,060 The subway, which he was initially so impressed with, 23 00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:14,540 now just seems dirty, noisy, and much too crowded. 24 00:01:15,580 --> 00:01:19,180 The skyscrapers, which had previously seemed so magnificent, 25 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:21,180 now make him feel dwarfed. 26 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:26,280 New York simply just isn't as wonderful as it was at the beginning. 27 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:28,200 What has happened? 28 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:29,880 Jamal is so happy. 29 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:31,780 Jamal is suffering from culture shock, 30 00:01:31,780 --> 00:01:36,360 a type of disorientation often resulting from a change 31 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,420 to a new locale, a new social setting, or a new country. 32 00:01:41,420 --> 00:01:44,360 We can identify four stages of culture shock. 33 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:49,800 Honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment, and mastery. 34 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:51,680 Honeymoon. 35 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:54,880 Jamal has had the honeymoon stage, 36 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:59,360 but just as newly married couples discover after their honeymoon 37 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:03,300 the initial period of joyful excitement experienced by people 38 00:02:03,300 --> 00:02:05,520 in a new culture doesn't last. 39 00:02:06,340 --> 00:02:09,840 The delight they felt with the new and perhaps exotic food, 40 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:13,060 the new language, and their new surroundings 41 00:02:13,060 --> 00:02:16,040 is replaced by the feelings of frustration 42 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,480 that will characterize the next stage. 43 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:20,360 Negotiation. 44 00:02:21,260 --> 00:02:25,440 Three months or more after one has made an entry into a new culture, 45 00:02:26,060 --> 00:02:29,340 the honeymoon stage is generally replaced by the negotiation, 46 00:02:29,340 --> 00:02:30,460 the negotiation stage. 47 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,960 This stage is normally characterized by negative feelings, 48 00:02:35,500 --> 00:02:40,620 examples of which include anxiety, loneliness, and homesickness. 49 00:02:41,500 --> 00:02:44,060 Jamal is lacking the support of his parents, 50 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,040 his extended family, and his friends. 51 00:02:47,980 --> 00:02:52,000 Even worse, he has been having trouble communicating with others. 52 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:57,680 Whereas Americans were previously impressed with his mastery of English, 53 00:02:57,920 --> 00:02:59,320 suddenly people don't know how to communicate with each other. 54 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:01,800 People don't seem to understand him very well. 55 00:03:02,620 --> 00:03:05,620 He can't find the kinds of food he wants to eat. 56 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,380 He longs for the friends, family, and the customs 57 00:03:09,380 --> 00:03:12,180 he has been accustomed to in his native land. 58 00:03:13,180 --> 00:03:17,400 Jamal's stage of negotiation is probably the most difficult 59 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:22,140 of the four stages for anyone experiencing culture shock to get through. 60 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:24,240 Adjustment. 61 00:03:24,940 --> 00:03:27,920 Somewhere between six and twelve months, 62 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:31,020 there usually begins a period of adjustment 63 00:03:31,020 --> 00:03:34,840 characterized by a gradual acceptance of the new culture. 64 00:03:35,860 --> 00:03:38,680 Jamal, tiring of his months of negativity, 65 00:03:39,340 --> 00:03:41,860 has come around to the idea that New York City 66 00:03:41,860 --> 00:03:44,120 might be worth living in after all. 67 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,160 His several months of discontent 68 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,600 have gradually given way to a kind of maturity 69 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,100 involving acceptance of the culture 70 00:03:53,100 --> 00:03:55,720 and adopting a more normal lifestyle. 71 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:57,840 Mastery. 72 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,960 Sometime in his second year of living in New York, 73 00:04:02,460 --> 00:04:04,660 Jamal reaches the stage of mastery, 74 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:07,580 in which he feels comfortable with the culture 75 00:04:07,580 --> 00:04:10,260 and is again content to be here. 76 00:04:10,900 --> 00:04:14,620 In this period, often called the bicultural stage, 77 00:04:15,180 --> 00:04:18,300 Jamal has attained the ability to participate completely 78 00:04:18,300 --> 00:04:21,380 in the New York culture and regard it favorably. 79 00:04:22,020 --> 00:04:25,440 This does not mean that he has been converted into an American. 80 00:04:25,700 --> 00:04:27,740 It does mean that he is, 81 00:04:27,740 --> 00:04:31,360 he is flexible enough to keep many aspects of his native culture 82 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:35,220 while adopting those parts of his new culture that appeal to him. 83 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:38,960 Jamal wasn't able to avoid culture shock, 84 00:04:39,180 --> 00:04:41,460 but he was able to master it. 85 00:04:44,810 --> 00:04:46,650 Visit Amicael Books on Facebook 86 00:04:46,650 --> 00:04:49,030 to see more content about books in English.