The term "culture shock" implies an immediate, extreme feeling when, in actuality, culture shock is typically more nuanced and can develop over a long period of time. New foods, languages and customs may be surprising, but the feeling of culture shock can remain even after travelers become accustomed to aspects of daily life. Some people experience all stages of culture shock in succession, while others may feel a little of everything all at once. Then there are those people who never experience culture shock at all, and may feel more displaced in their home country than they do abroad.
Many people do not realize they are undergoing culture shock when they are actually within its first phase. This is because the first phase is a positive one, in which everything that is new or different is an object of fascination as opposed to frustration. This honeymoon phase makes everything seem like an adventure. The next stage is not as pleasant. It is the angry, disoriented stage, when travelers feel like they are the object of ridicule. The following stage is depression and hopelessness, when the traveler feels as if they are immersed in a situation they cannot handle and that will never get better.
Going through some or all of these preliminary stages of culture shocks gives one the potential to arrive at the final stage: acceptance. This stage may not arrive like an epiphany, but may slowly filter in, replacing the worries and irritations of the previous weeks. Travelers and expatriates may develop more understanding and compassion for a culture and its people, and may resign themselves to learning about a country over a long time rather than developing an immediate, complete understanding. They discover the aspects of daily life that make them content in a foreign land.
While there is no preventing culture shock, there are methods for experiencing the stages with more grace. If a traveler can admit she is experiencing culture shock, she can find balance amid the extreme mood swings and bouts of loneliness. Simple, concrete activities like leaving the house, walking in neighborhoods, greeting people, learning the language and developing relationships with locals can make a major difference in a person's experience.
The first person to identify and write about the stages of culture shock was Kalvero Oberg. In 1958, he developed a list in which he encapsulated culture shock as having five distinct stages: the honeymoon, or tourist, stage; the irritation-to-anger stage; the rejection stage; the integration stage; and the reverse, or reentry, stage.
