I like to think of myself as immune to culture shock – I’m a well-seasoned traveler who knows how it goes in many places, I’m not naïve, and I certainly don’t let minor things like cultural habits challenge me. Looking back though, I can pick out a couple of themes on which I think differing local customs (sometimes better categorized as values) gave me difficulties.

Efficiency
Either the culture I come from or my own personal upbringing (or both) put an certain emphasis on efficiency. I don’t stop what I’m working on to go to a meeting to sit around and chit-chat. I’m not opposed to niceties, but I get them out of the way and get down to business. That’s what we’re here (in this meeting) for, right? Not everywhere, no. If you come expecting the same level of organization you find at home, you may be surprised or frustrated. Doing things the way you are used to doing them may even come across as cold or impersonal…or just strange. Try to avoid putting your expectations in this area on others, even if your expectations seem like good ones.

Customer Service
I know, it sounds petty. Yes, I like my Cinnamon Dolce Latte both non fat AND extra-hot.

But when you walk into a shop and are ignored or hurried along, it feels strange, and it feels more personal than just an employee not performing good customer service. I’ve had simple requests (for combinations of food, or “can you add hot water to that?”) flatly refused. It’s perhaps not the most directly relevant to actual volunteer work, but the way you’re received in situations like this can contribute to your “take” on locals – try not to let it.

General Habits
One of the hardest things to adjust to came up or me in India: people stared at me. Often. When I was sitting in a restaurant, on a train, in a shop. Staring back or waving or something didn’t make a difference….because for plenty of people, staring at a foreigner is just a normal thing to do. At home, it’s considered rude to stare – if I stare at you, I’m breaking a social norm and being rude; if you stare back or wave, you’re showing me that you realize I’m being rude. It may be just as hard to deal with being stared at abroad, but my view is that it won’t do much good to feel people are being rude. Things are just different but as simple as this sounds to acknowledge, it’s not quite as easy to avoid the connection once it actually happens.

For a more general look at this topic, see Culture Shock