1. The Rotary Youth Exchange Experience: Culture Shock and Reverse Culture Shock
NAYEN Conference
Dennis White, Ph.D.

2. This presentation may be viewed at www.yeoresources.org.
If viewed on line, certain slides with hyperlinks will lead to other articles or materials

3. Culture
An integrated system of learned behavior patterns that are characteristic of any given society. It refers to the total way of life, including how people think, feel and behave.

4. Metaphorically, culture is the lens through which we view the world.

6. You can’t trust your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
Mark Twain

9. Unconscious beliefs and values
The Cultural Iceberg
Conscious behaviors
1/8th above the surface
Unconscious beliefs and values
7/8ths below the surface

10. When we think we know what we are seeing or hearing, it is very easy to make a mistake, especially in language.

11. You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid. Japanese hotel
What do they mean?
You are invited to take advantage of
the chambermaid.
Japanese hotel
I slaughter myself twice daily.
Israeli butcher
Ladies, leave your clothes here and
have a wonderful time.
French laundry

12. Dr. No
We don’t want a doctor
Titanic
Ship Outta Luck!

13. At first we will be dependent upon translators – sometimes a risky business

14. Sometimes, it’s just pronunciation

15. Ethnocentrism:
The universal tendency for any culture to see its own values and practices as natural and correct.

16. Ethnocentrism:
All cultures are ethnocentric - and must be to impart their values to their members.

17. I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them
I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves John Wayne

19. “The world in which you were born is just one model of reality
“The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being like you. They are unique manifestations of the human spirit ”.
Wade Davis

20. In James Hiltons’ novel, Lost Horizon, An American stranded in Shangri-la says to his Tibetan rescuer:
“I want to get back to civilization as soon as possible.”
The Tibetan’s reply:
“Are you so very certain that you are away from it?”

21. Ethnorelativism:
The acquired ability to see many values and behaviors as cultural rather than universal.

22. Ethnorelativism:
This approach attempts to understand values and behaviors from the point of view of that culture, rather than as right or wrong.

23. Ethnorelativism:
It assumes that one’s own culture is no more central to describing and evaluating reality than any other - regardless of one’s strongly held preferences

24. “I see America through a sharper lens - both her strengths and her weaknesses and I am tired of people who uncritically accept everything American as right.”
American Exchange Student

25. Ethnocentrism is similar to egocentrism.
Ethnorelativism is similar to empathy.

26. Our own culture, or sub-culture, comes to us as naturally and unconsciously as our handedness. We generally don’t think about what hand we will use to write our names Changing our cultural point of view is about as hard as changing our handedness. Both are possible, but neither is easy.

27. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
The Golden Rule
Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

29. The Platinum Rule Do unto others as they would have you do unto them.

31. Real life examples:
Watching the moon landing in Iranian theatres
Holding hands

32. In a new culture everything is harder

33. Developing cultural sensitivity and competence requires moving from Ethnocentrism to Ethnorelativism
One World or Many.doc 

34. Developing Intercultural Sensitivity
The Experience of Difference
Acceptance Adaptation Integration
Denial Defense Minimization
Ethnocentric Stages
Ethnorelative Stages
Model developed by Dr.. Milton Bennett, Portland State University

35. Culture Shock
The profound sense of disorientation and discomfort that comes with extended travel or living in a foreign culture markedly different from one’s own.
Culture Shock.doc 

36. Stages of Culture Shock:
Initial enthusiasm and euphoria
Irritability and negativism
Gradual adjustment and adaptation
Integration and bi-culturalism
The Middle Wave of Culture Shock.doc 

37. Culture Shock Cycle Adapted from a model by Robert Kohls
Rotary Youth Exchange
Months
Pre-Departure
Return …...
Normal Level of Feelings
Adapted from a model by Robert Kohls

38. Culture Shock Cycle Adapted from a model by Robert Kohls
Rotary Youth Exchange
Months
Pre-Departure
Return …...
Normal Level of Feelings
Adapted from a model by Robert Kohls

39. Normal Distribution of Any Cultural Trait
A typical student
Frequency
Amount of Trait
Example: Individualism vs. Group Orientation

40. Comparing Two Cultures (on any given trait)
In this example, there is some overlap, but the two cultures are mostly different

41. Culture Shock
After Adaptation

42. Returning To Home Culture

43. Reverse Culture Shock
Returning To Home Culture

44. Severe Reverse Culture Shock
Returning To Home Culture

45. Most people anticipate some degree of culture shock
Most people anticipate some degree of culture shock. Very few people believe they will experience reverse culture shock.

49. Reverse Culture Shock (Re-entry Shock)
The often unexpected and difficult period of disorientation and readjustment experienced after returning to one’s own culture after an extended period of living abroad.
So You Think You're Home Now.doc 

50. The Stages of Reverse Culture Shock are almost the same as those of Culture Shock
Initial Euphoria (may be very brief or not happen at all)
Irritability and Negativism ( may be very lengthy)
Gradual Adaptation
True Bi-Culturalism

51. Culture Shock and Reverse Culture Shock are not just unpleasant side effects of international living.
They are the necessary ingredients that bring about quality intercultural education.

52. We can prepare for both forms of culture shock by:
Anticipating CS and RCS.
“Normalizing” these phenomena.
Remembering that “compost happens”.
Remembering that, as new depths of understanding develop, new waves of culture shock emerge.

53. “Culture shock pushes me out of my comfort zone”
Under pressure, we tend to fall back on what is comfortable, habitual, and unconscious.
Even when we know how to follow a cultural practice, and can do it, the tendency is to fall back.

54. What is the best advice to give an exchange student?

56. Therefore, culture shock is not a one-time phenomenon.
Rather, it is a repetitive process of increasingly subtle immersion into a culture.
It often involves taking two steps forward and one step back.

57. Successive cycles of awareness
Developing Intercultural Sensitivity
The Experience of Difference
Acceptance Adaptation Integration
Denial Defense Minimization
Ethnocentric Stages
Ethnorelative Stages
Successive cycles of awareness

58. The key to developing cultural competence is to understand the experience of difference
Understanding what the difference means within the context of that culture.
Understanding our own reactions to the experience of difference.

59. In empathy, there is a risk of becoming so skilled at understanding someone else’s point of view, that one’s own beliefs are not as firm.

60. In ethnorelativism, the risk is the same
In ethnorelativism, the risk is the same. One may find deeply ingrained beliefs are not as firmly held.

61. “I love my country more now than ever, but I am critical of those who blindly accept everything American as the best, especially when they have never been out of the country.”
American Peace Corps Volunteer

62. How I Have Changed? How Have I Changed.doc
An exercise using 44 statements that have often been identified by exchange students as significant changes from the experience.

63. One student’s response
How I Have Changed
One student’s response
My youth exchange year was one of incredible change and growth for me. In addition to seeing so much of the rest of the world, and making such wonderful friends, I changed in ways I never knew were possible.

64. One student’s response
How I Have Changed
One student’s response
I am more confident and positive when meeting new people. I have a greater ability to empathize with others and to put myself in their place when making judgments. I have greater willingness to take on new roles and tasks.

65. How I Have Changed
One student’s response
I have more ability to see myself objectively, in a more realistic context. I understand more fully my own strengths and weaknesses. I am more tolerant of ambiguous situations and more open to differing interpretations of them. I feel greater respect and appreciation for my family.

66. How I Have Changed
One student’s response
And most of all, I feel more surely that common bonds unite all human beings. Thank you, Rotary for the best year of my life.

67. The trick, and the real learning will be accepting and adapting.
You will experience culture shock – or at least I hope you do.
The trick, and the real learning will be accepting and adapting.
And I wish you the best of luck

68. For more information, visit www.yeoresources.org
Dennis White, Ph.D. 207 S. 4th Ave. Sturgeon Bay, WI Telephone Fax
For more information, visit