Culture Shock For Volunteers Abroad

By Kate | Permalink | No Comments | March 22nd, 2007 | Trackback

Each location you visit will have its own charms and peculiarities; culture shock is one phenomenon which, to some extent, can affect us all. “But I’m just volunteering, why does it matter?” Chances are good you still want to feel effective overall – it just will matter. Keep in mind that the following points are based on my own impression, understanding, and experience, and not formal research on the topic of course.

What is it?
Wikipedia describes culture shock as “a term used to describe the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within an entirely different culture or social environment, such as a different country.” Though Wikipedia notes that some researcher are claiming that there are in fact benefits, in common discourse my impression is that culture shock is almost always considered something negative. In my book, mere surprise at a local custom isn’t culture shock; feeling you are having a hard time adjusting to the new environment, maybe due to said custom, is.

Why is it a problem?
Most commonly, culture shock is seen as something that prevents a person from successfully adapting to a new environment and accordingly, in relation to volunteers, could well lead to a less effective volunteer. An alternative way of looking at it might be that it is just one step in the process of adjustment.

I personally also think it’s a problem because it may affect your ability to assess the situation; are you having trouble adapting or being productive because something is really amiss, or is it simply due to cultural factors and accordingly is a form of culture shock? If it’s the former, you can try to remedy the problem or decide what to do if it can’t be remedied; if it’s the latter, you need to hold tight and see if you can overcome it.

How can I avoid it?
Educating yourself about the local culture and the conditions under which you will be working before you start is often recommended. Looking back though I feel that there have been at least a couple of cultural issues that just don’t come up in literature…or which are one thing to read about but something else to experience.

What do I do if I experience it?
I think acknowledging it is a step in the right direction; this will also mean that instead of blaming your local host (or yourself) for a problem, you realize that there is another explanation for it. (Culture shock certainly can’t be the stock reply to any volunteer complaint, and usually isn’t, but in many cases, that is in fact the issue.)

Talking with other foreigners experiencing the same thing – or better yet other foreigners who have experienced and gotten through the same thing – may be useful. I would be wary though of getting in a regular habit of complaining; in my book this doesn’t do much good in the long run.

Also read about some of my own experiences with culture shock.

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