On the Move: How have you absorbed culture shock?

By: Jennifer Kumar

Have you moved around the block or around the world? When you moved to the new environment, were the behaviors and interactions you learned adaptable to the new environment? Did you have to learn new ways of interacting, behaving and doing daily tasks? Did you meet new people with different approaches to the world, a different way of living, different ways of talking and expressing themselves, a different diet, perhaps? Did you have a difficult time not only adjusting to this but integrating your previous life with your new life? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have experienced culture shock! Would you like to share your experiences?

I hope the answer to both of those questions is YES!

I am Jennifer Kumar. I am an American who has lived in India and visited other countries, such as Canada, U.K, Malaysia and Oman. I have also lived in two U.S. states, New York and Massachusetts, in small towns, villages, medium and large cities and have visited almost all of the U.S. states by car, train or bus. I have had the opportunity to experience the inner and outer landscapes of many kinds of people, from villagers, slum dwellers, inner city, suburban, rich, poor, middle class, educated by schools, educated by nature and educated by life. The categories are endless, the point is that I have had the extraordinary opportunity of interacting and getting to know a lot of different people who have lived in a range of environments, each with their own lifestyle, values, rules, mores, spirituality, and culture.

Currently, I am undertaking a project to collect information about culture change, culture shock and reverse culture shock. All interviews e-mailed to me will be 100% confidential unless you would like me to make any part public. I am open to publishing parts of your interview on this and my other blogs, with a link back to your blog (approval pending, depending on content) to help you promote your blog and also to share your experiences with others. We are all on this earth to learn and share from each other. I appreciate your time and effort in helping me out with this project.

The question sets are comprehensive. I have listed so many questions not to miss anything. Please feel free to answer all or select questions. You do not need to answer all questions to submit this to me, Jennifer Kumar (jennifer@alaivani.com) before May 1, 2009. Thank you!

**Clicking on my e-mail id jennifer@alaivani.com will bring up an e-mail with the questions already listed. If this option doesn’t work for you, feel free to cut and paste the questions.

**If you prefer to make a podcast or a youtube video with the answers, do post it appropriately on your website and e-mail the link to me! I will link back from this blog. Thanks!

1. What nationality are you by birth? Where did you grow up? Which cities or countries have you lived in?
2. If you moved within your own country, what was the experience of moving like for you? Was it a culture shock? Please share what kind of environment you moved to and from (small town, village, suburbs, city, inner city, boon-docks).
3. What countries have you visited on vacation? Did you experience culture shock on a vacation?
4. What countries did you live in (go to school, work, care for family, etc) for an extended period of time? How long did you live there? Have you ever changed your citizenship? Once or more than once? Why are you compelled to change citizenship? Why are you compelled not to change your citizenship?
5. Did you experience culture shock when you moved to another country? How did you know you were experiencing culture shock? What did you miss most about your native country? What did you like about your new country? What did you find to be most easy or challenging to adjust to?
6. Have you moved to different environments in your new country? Please share what kind of environment you moved to and from (small town, village, suburbs, city, inner city, boon-docks). Did you experience culture shock when you moved around?
7. When you visited ‘home’ or moved back to your native country or birth place, how did you adjust back? Did your family or friends point out ways you had changed? If so, what did they think was different about you? Did you think that was different for you too? If so, how? Did you experience reverse culture shock? Please share your experience.
8. In all your experiences, did you have help to adjust to your new surroundings? Was this from family, friends, college or professional acquaintances? What was some of the most helpful things people did to make you feel comfortable and adjust to your environment?
9. Was it easy to learn to do everyday things in your new environment? Could you easily figure out how to bathe, eat, cook, run errands (banking, taking the bus, going shopping), socialize with people, adjust to the climate, etc.? What things were easy and what things were difficult? What could have made it easier to figure this out?
10. In your new environment, if there was a place to go for help, like international students office or cultural consulting firm, did you utilize this? Was it helpful? Why was it helpful? How could it be improved or why wasn’t it helpful? If such a place was not available, do you think it would have been helpful to you? What would you have looked for if going to this kind of office for help?
11. Do you have stereotypes or misconceptions about your new surroundings that have yet to be proved or disproved? What do you like about the new culture you are in? What do you miss about your native culture? Are there any aspects of your new culture you can not adjust to? What of your native culture will you cherish forever? Have you been able to integrate your native and adopted culture? Are you able to you’re your native food in your new home? If not, how have you adjusted your diet? Please share your thoughts and experiences.
12. What stereotypes or misconceptions have you educated people in your new environment about your birth culture or place? What kinds of questions do people in your new country or place ask you about your native country or birthplace? Have these questions inspired you to learn new things or viewpoints about your country or birthplace you had not thought about before? Please share your thoughts.
13. Have you adapted new behaviors into your lifestyle based on your cross-cultural experiences? What kind of changes do you notice about how you interact with the world? What behaviors or thought patterns have you adapted that you did not have before you lived in the new culture? Which place did you learn these certain behaviors and thought patterns? How do you see yourself or how do you think others see or perceive you as you have adapted new cultural behaviors into your lifestyle?

Answers to 14-15 will not be printed:
14. Male or Female
15. Age group – 15-20, 20-25, 25-30,31-35,36-40, 40-45,45-50,50-55, 56-60,60+


If you would like me to publish parts or all of your interview, questions 1-13 only, please provide your name as you would like it printed, a link to your website and an optional 3-4 sentence bio. I am also open to printing your photo if interested.


Thank you for reading and participating!!!

References on Culture Shock from Alaivani (my website);
An American in Ecuador

Cross Cultural Experiences – Keeping it in Context

Educational Entrepreneurship: The First American To Matriculate at Madras Christian College

Honeymoon with Husband and his Family: Experiences in the Life of an Extended Family

How To Choose the Right Path in Studying or Living Abroad (Questioning how much cultural change can you handle?)

Integrating Two Worlds: Life in America with an Indian Twist

Is Mine a Case of Reverse Culture Shock?
This article has been published in the book Culture Shock.

Japan Through American Eyes: Joe Conley

Preparing for a trip to India to visit Family

Test Taking Trials and Tribulations in India

Yearning to Return (Why I want to go back to India.)

Relearning How to Communicate (Interactions in an Intercultural Family)


Others thoughts and experiences:

Culture Shock- Moving Back to India by Isheeta Sanghi

A Returning Indian Entrepreneur Reflects


Thank you for reading and participating in this journey with me! E-mail me with your comments, questions or feedback!