By Victoria Evans & Jebren Zakar

During this initial phase the students will experience a period of excitement over the newness of the surroundings.

August 18, 2005 My first long California summer and I’ve been enjoying just sitting under the grapefruit tree in my tiny backyard smelling the jasmine and orange blossom, and living off corn tortillas and avocados. Strangely enough, I love the racoons, all the ethnic food that is so easily accessible in California, and the natural beauty of the area.

This stages ranges from mild irritability to deep psychological panic and crisis. Culture shock is associate with the learner’s feelings of estrangement, anger, hostility, indecision, frustration, unhappiness, sadness, loneliness, homesickness, and even physical illness. Persons undergoing culture shock view their new world with resentment and alternate between being angry at others for not understanding them and being filled with self-pity.

March 24, 2007 I have been feeling homesick, longing for Europe, seeking out French food, movies and books, and having a sense of being lost in the US. I feel confused about where I ought to be, and find myself often despising the way things are done in America, while trying to hide my prejudices and judgements from my close US friends. I think this is a sign telling me that I made a big mistake in relocating to the US.

Described as a feeling of homelessness, where one feels neither bound firmly to one’s native culture nor fully adapted to the second culture. This stage is typified by what is called “culture stress”. As individuals begin to accept the differences in thinking and feeling that surround them, they slowly become more empathic with other persons in the second culture.

September 24, 2008 I keep joking ruefully that I am stuck in the middle of the Atlantic, but the days are getting better. Although there are many things about California that I love and appreciate, I still feel confused about my feelings of homesickness for Europe.

This fourth stage represents near or full recovery as shown by acceptance of the new culture and self-confidence in the “new” person who has developed in this culture.

November 30, 2010 I am starting to see why I loved California when I first arrived. I have began to take walks around the little Northern California town I live in while smiling at it’s beauty. I relished soy chai and Thai food, and local farmer's markets. I love the vast computer-linked library system, the local geeks, quaint wooden cottages, and bay trees. I now feel fully myself, with all of my European-ness, living in California, and I have began to deepen my relationships with American friends. I have no regrets moving here and decided to apply for citizenship.