At first, everything's exciting. New sights and smells and tastes. New friends, new surroundings, a new way of life and mobility.
But when the dust settles, and the severity of our relocation hits us, the thought prevailing on our minds can often be "Good God, what have I done?"
These thoughts are all part of what we call Culture Shock. Culture shock has various phases: Homeymoon, Rejection, Regression, and Recovery.
My "honeymoon phase" lasted almost two years, and when my mind became clear again, the blow was a tough one.
While trolling the pages of Insego Smart Expats, I found a call for volunteers to undergo a coaching session dealing specifically with culture shock. I knew I had to respond.
What came out of this was an indepth journey into my own sense of culture shock, led by life coach Margarita Gokun Silver, which aired on Expats Radio in June 2010.
If you are struggling with culture shock or simply curious as to what it is and how it's handled by different people in different situations, I invite you to listen to the Expats Radio podcast Culture Shock and How to Deal With It As An Expat.
What are your experiences with culture shock? Which phase are you in this moment? Do you have any plans on how to get through the tougher times? How to prolong the good times?
Photo: Flickr user Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!
