An American-Asian Experience of Culturelessness and Culture Shock - Essay Example

?Culture Shock: A Short Literature Review Introduction The diverse issues and concerns about culture are intricate and interesting given the wealth of information that can be learned from the subject. The idea of culture has a robust intellectual background being continually studied in various endeavors. Culture has been experienced not be restricted to certain fields of knowledge; it includes ways of behaving derived from the whole range of human activity. To the extent that people are imbued with cultural values, act according to defined assumptions, and lack awareness of alternative ways, they are said to be predominantly culture bound. Majority is perceived to be culture bound. When unquestioned expectations are suddenly shaken, culture shock may ensue. The essay aims to present a short literature review by analyzing two articles, particularly on the subject of culture change. One article is discussed from the perspective of an Asian, as she struggled to adapt and adjust to American life. On the other hand, another article proffers someone born in England and having to move to the United States. The initial discussion would present summaries of both articles, one after the other. Likewise, the discourse would demonstrate an evaluation of the relationship and fit between the two articles in terms of elements that either agree or disagree and in what way. A determination of where the evidence is strongest would be indicated. Finally, an evaluation of the relationship and fit between these articles and the textbook would be detailed. In particular, a discussion of how they fit with the framework of universals developed by Norenzayan and Heine (Heine, 2007, 32). Summary of the First Article The first article was written by Cianfrocca (2010) entitled Culturelessness and Culture Shock: An American-Asian Experience and published in the Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge. The experiences of a South Korean girl who was adopted by American parents were detailed from childhood until adulthood. Her definition of culture shock was manifested in her moving to college where she was not prepared to meet other students with various cultural orientations. As averred, “in high school I thought myself to be cultured and worldly; yet I was culture shocked as I began to meet other students. I began to realize how sheltered I seemed” (Cianfrocca, 2010, 154). The experience opened her views and heightened her awareness towards the outside world. She realized that as an Asian American, her limited knowledge of her own culture and of those of others constrained her interaction with others. The learning process surged immensely as she tried to grasp new insights from different perspectives. She was left with a feeling of culturelessness, being transnationally adopted, without previous experience of South Korean culture. Cianfrocca (2010) emphasized that “I felt out of place at Hampshire’s Asian group, the same way I’d feel later with other Asians at UMass Boston. Since I don’t share any language or cultural background with other Asians I was seen as an outsider, not fitting in with the Asians and at the same time not fitting in with the white kids or any other race” (156). The author concluded still feeling lost and cultureless despite the identity given her. As indicated “I remain cultureless, being redefined daily for who and what I am. I am stuck in a constant state of redefinition of self. Who knows what I will be identified as tomorrow” (ibid, 158). Summary of the Second Article The article written by Tony Payne (2009) depicted his journey from England to the United States when he was 15 years old. His experiences of trying to adjust to many things in the Unites States include mentioning driving in the right side of the road in the US contrary to their usual left side drive in England. Light switches are antithetical in the US and in England, as Payne indicated that “in the UK you flip the switch down to turn a light on and up for off.  In the USA it’s the opposite” (Payne, 2009, par. 11). Most shocking to him was the way organizations give their employees a certain number of days as vacation leave. He narrated that “I had a horrible shock when I was told by Human Resources that the working week was 40 hours (but they expected more like 60), and that there was no vacation time the first year (“come again?”), 5 days the next year, and then 10 days off – but wait – you get 3 weeks off after 5 years service!   I was shocked!  In Europe by law companies have to give you a minimum of 23 days off a year, and many companies in the UK expect you to take a 2 week chunk of that during the summer, rather than have constant long weekends throughout the year” (ibid, par.14). Aside from this, Payne noted other differences including health insurance (free in UK while being paid dearly in the US) and having to be in a waiting list (for almost like a year for non emergency cases in the UK) as contrasted to efficient delivery of health care in the US. The author acknowledged that there are things that he liked from his native country and things that he now liked in the US. He emphasized that “in a perfect world I would take a blend of ideas from multiple cultures to get the best of everything” (ibid, par. 4). An Evaluation of Relationship and Fit between the Articles After examining the two articles, one can deduce that culture shock is actually perceived differently according to some observed factors, other than cultural orientation. As seen from the point of view of Cianfrocca, who was actually a South Korean by birth, but was adopted by American parents, her culture shock experience was manifested through exposure to diverse cultures from college. As compared to her sheltered environment in high school and the extent of communication exchanged between her and her parents, the limited awareness became her benchmark for considering the surge of new information from an array of cultural people from different countries a shock – but a welcomed change at that. On the part of Payne, culture shock was brought about and felt strongly when something regarded as pleasant (more number of days as vacation) was restrained or taken away in the new country (or organizational) setting. This was also the feeling when he realized that he had to pay for health insurance in the US, as contrasted to the free health insurance from the UK. However, he realized that the change, although it came at a considerable cost, was actually more beneficial in terms of the quality and immediate access of the delivery of health care, as needed. In contrast to Cianfrocca, culture shock to Payne was a combination of negative and positive experiences. What seemed to be irritating at first (differences in lanes to drive, light switches, shorter vacation period) was soon accepted as a regular part of life when he eventually lived in the US. Evaluation of Relationship and Fit among the Articles and the Textbook As Hein (2007) cited Church (1982), culture shock is “the feeling of being anxious, helpless, irritable, and in general, homesick that one experiences on moving to a new culture” (Hein, 2007, page). Consistent with the definition, the experiences of both Cianfrocca and Payne, manifest the feeling of irritability, anxiety (for Payne) and helplessness (for Cianfrocca) on moving to a new culture (from UK to USA for Payne and from moving to college for Cianfrocca). The crisis stage for Cianfrocca was realizing that she had very limited exposure to the outside world as revealed by her schoolmates from other cultures. Having initially thought that she lived a fairly normal high school life, she abruptly realized how naive (and inferior) she was in the company of her new found friends. After having survived the crisis stage, both were able to assimilate, adapt and adjust to their new environments. During transition from crisis stage towards adjustment, Cianfrocca acknowledged that “I began to live by these affluent standards of living—unconsciously—taking in their behaviors and mannerisms” (Cianfrocca, 2010, 155). Using the decision tree diagram of Norenzayan and Heine (2005), the degree of assimilation to the new culture depends on how migrants or sojourners perceive new experiences as universally acceptable. In Cianfrocca’s case, since her immersion experience in college life open her eyes to the fact that one must be knowledgeable about various topics ranging from contemporary music, politics, and travel, she tried to “parallel their accumulation of life experiences by reading and learning materials about topics I knew would now be relevant in conversation” (Cianfrocca, 2010, 155). The universality of being “learned”, knowledgeable, conversant, necessitated access to various sources of information to make her attuned to the topics being discussed. In the article of Payne, the decision tree was more applicable in terms of adjusting to the standard vacation period stipulated by American organizations. Payne averred that “I have gradually got adjusted, except when I hear from friends in England who have been on an exotic trip for 2 weeks, and then are planning another week somewhere in the fall, whereas I have to figure out how to make the most of my 10 days, allowing for trying to take time off over Christmas, which leaves maybe 4 days for the rest of the year” (Payne, 2009, par. 14). On the other hand, in terms of the simple perception and preference to chocolates acknowledged the he was not cognitively attuned to accept that Hershey’s Chocolates were better than Cadbury. He was adamant in his belief that “one thing that you will never change my mind about is chocolate” (ibid, par. 12).  This concept, actually, could or could not be representative of a national culture’s preference. The interesting thing about both articles as compared to Heine’s contentions was the positive effect of culture shock to the person was more highlighted than the stereotyped anxiety. It could be rationalized that upon realization that the new culture posed more advantages or benefits for the person, either in the short or long run, the effect was marginalized. In Cianfrocca’s experience, the fact that she never actually experienced being a South Korean contributed to the ease of assimilating to the new culture offered by her college life. Typically, culture shock is the experience of disorientation and frustration that occurs when individuals find themselves among people who do not share their fundamental premises. In both the cases of Payne and Cianfrocca, the disagreement over abstracted ideas or variation in mode of dress, eating habits, and other daily routines were easily learned and were thereby adjusted to fairly readily. Conclusion The concept of culture shock is evaluated through comparing experiences of various authors from diverse cultural orientations. As analyzed, their manifestations, reactions and mechanisms employed to adjust to the new culture, were likewise varied and distinct. Some patterns that have universal appeal are more readily accepted as part of one’s regular routine. Other values and points of view remain unique and cherished by each individual as a personal and memorable cultural experience. Reference List Cianfrocca, T. (2010). Culturelessness and Culture Shock:An American-Asian Experience. HUMAN ARCHITECTURE: JOURNAL OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE, VIII, 1, pp. 151-158, [Online]. Available at: http://www.okcir.com/Articles%20VIII%201/Cianfrocca-FM.pdf, [Accessed 27 February 2011]. Heine, S.J. (2007). Cultural Psychology. W.W. Norton and Company. Payne, T. (2010). The UK versus USA Culture Shock, [Online]. Available at: http://www.delovesto.com/2009/06/the-uk-versus-usa-culture-shock/ [Accessed 28 February 2011]. Read More