by Katherine Seat Dear Friend, I’m so excited to hear you are getting ready to leave your passport country and move to my host country. It’s great to hear about all the preparation you’ve been doing over the past few years to get to this point. Now you’re at the point where you actually have … Continue reading Culture shock is hard no matter what. Dear newbie, be gentle with yourself.
It was summer 2008, and I was the only female in my language class. It was my turn to say a simple past-tense sentence, and I had once again managed to maintain my streak of zero percent accuracy. I was on my sixth try that day, and I was failing on all fronts. But that … Continue reading When Culture Shock Makes You Cuss
Expatriates are told to prepare for Culture Shock and expect to experience it within their first year. But what about after that year? What about after seven years? Nine? Fifteen? What about the frustrations and tears, hurt and stress, internal (or external) cries for ‘home’? What about those days when you will do anything to get.out.of.here? After the … Continue reading Beyond Culture Shock: Culture Pain and culture Stripping
by Peter Olson We suspect you’ve been feeling it too. A frustrating sense of ‘molasses’ clogging your thoughts. A fatigue you just can’t seem to shake. Feeling ‘tired’ or ‘worn-out’ as you search to journey through normal days that simply don’t feel as normal as they should. As we have both watched and experienced the … Continue reading Covid and culture shock feel the same to your brain — and here’s why
by Natalie Arauco You can’t prepare for the culture shock that hits you when visiting your passport country. You go, excited to reconnect with friends and supports, but something feels off. Things are not the same as they used to be. Has the world changed so much while you’ve been away? Or is it you … Continue reading 4 Things You Should Know About Reverse Culture Shock
This year two of my three Third Culture Kids are graduating. Last year, we went on college tours in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We observed some, um, interesting cultural things. Our observations were specific to the Midwest and our perspective comes from 16 years in the Horn of Africa. But, they just might help you with … Continue reading Third Culture Kids, College, and Culture Shock
By Beth Barthelemy It’s been almost six months since we stepped off the plane and onto South African soil. Six months of glorious new experiences, of meeting new people and trying new foods, of seeing new sights and relishing (mostly) sunny weather… and six months of that dreaded companion known to all cross-cultural workers: culture … Continue reading CULTURE SHOCK! (yes, it still happens at 6 months)
Coming up to three years in country and most days are finally ok. It’s been almost a year since I broke out in sobs because I burnt granola, or couldn’t find oats in town, or judged a friend better at everything than I am. Through the free fall from honeymoon into disillusionment and then the … Continue reading Culture Shock: On the Up Curve
Expatriates are told to prepare for Culture Shock and expect to experience it within their first year. But what about after that year? What about after seven years? Nine? Fifteen? What about the frustrations and tears, hurt and stress, internal (or external) cries for ‘home’? What about those days when you will do anything to … Continue reading Beyond Culture Shock: Culture Pain, Culture Stripping
Culture Shock can be a beast. It can be an unexpected, slow drain that leaves you stressed and angry without really knowing why. This culture shock typically hits hardest during the first year of living overseas, but it can creep back in unexpectedly after a furlough or a vacation or even 6 straight hours at … Continue reading The Beast of Culture Shock
It starts off innocently enough. In your months or years leading up to your move overseas, you pick up a few books at the library and start reading to learn a little bit more about the place you are going to live. You watch videos on YouTube about the culture and food and the language … Continue reading When Their Culture Becomes Your Idol
by Nicole Baldonado Out of place. Emotionally unstable. Awkward. Overwhelmed. These are all common experiences of third culture kids who “go back home.” In other words, they return, or move for the first time, to live in the country listed on their passport. Regardless of citizenship, a third culture kid’s identity and sense of home … Continue reading When a Third Culture Kid Goes “Home”
