Adapting to culture

By Muhammad Aman Rusli

Travelling is an activity that can give you real experience about various places. You can travel to anywhere at any time according to your heart’s desire. People have various reasons to travel such as to promote brain health and keep the mind sharp. When your brain is introduced to new experiences and environments it becomes challenged and builds resilience at the cellular level so degenerative disease is potentially delayed. Besides that, traveling offers opportunities to meet new people that you otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to connect with. When you are outside of your comfort zone in a different country, you may have to look to others for guidance, which can create a sense of connectedness.

Traveling within our own country should be easy because we are somewhat acquainted with the general local culture. If compared with travelling abroad, there is no language barrier for people travelling within their home country. It’s much easier for people to deal with buying the transportation tickets, booking hotels, asking for direction or ordering dishes in a restaurant. We are all familiar with the scene where a foreigner makes all kinds of gestures in order to let people understand what they want to express. If we travel abroad, we may be the one standing in the street and gesturing, or sitting in a restaurant, facing a menu, but having no idea what kind of food the restaurant offer and what we should order.

In this article, I will give you some advice and tips on how you can survive in strange new places so as to assist you to adapt well to a new culture. Every place practices their own culture that is different from one place to the other. Culture shows how people live in their own uniqueness.

Culture can be defined as a way of life of a group of people and the behaviours, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next. Culture is also a symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a group's skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institutions.

Within this broad definition, many groups qualify as cultures. Racial groups come easily to mind as one frequent example. Caucasian, European, African, Latin and Asian cultures do sometimes differ and often differ within themselves. Ethnic groups may have within themselves different cultures, and sub-cultures, as well. It's important to take these differences into account. Cultural traditions, and cultural differences, can extend well beyond race and ethnicity.

That’s why is important to know the culture of the place that we are going to visit to make sure we do not cross the boundaries of some culture that may cause trouble. For example, Asians tend to view others, such as their mother, as part of their self, while Westerners tend to see themselves as independent. That supports the view of Asians having more of a collective world view than the individualistic. In the other word, Asians and Westerners have different culture that require different ways to adapt.

The following are some tips and how you can adapt with others culture in different culture.

LEARN THE CULTURE

The first step in preparing for life in a new culture is to educate yourself about the country you’re moving to. What you can do is read books, check out web sites, and talk with colleagues, who have been there, and contact the embassy or consulate of that country. These resources can give you good insight on the way of life in that country. Besides that, you can gain knowledge from your reading about particular country. Even if it is inaccurate you are able to set some ideas about them.

Next, learn and become familiar with the language spoken there and be aware of the familiar vs. polite forms of address. Even a few basic phrases will be helpful. There is a saying that goes, "Speaking someone's native language is the quickest way to their heart." And even if you make some mistakes, they'll admire you for knowing with attempts to try converging in their language.

Another aspect which is vital when you are in another culture is to be aware of hand gestures and get a feel for social customs. Studies have determined that communication is based on 55% of non-verbal acts such as facial expressions, gestures, and other. This can be crucial in a foreign environment. For example, the okay sign in Brazil (a circle with the thumb and forefinger) is a profanity in their culture. This mistake can cause conflict in culture and it will be chaotic for such a faux action like that can easily be avoided if we learn and getting to know cultural practices.

OVERCOME THE CULTURE SHOCK

Culture shock is one of the challenges when we move to a different country. Culture shock is a condition of anxiety and disorientation that can affect someone once exposed to a new culture. It's important to know that these feelings are pretty typical when getting to a new environment.

After all, your way of life will be very different from what you are used to. It can affect everything from fitting in such as the clothing you wear or the side of the street you drive. Culture shock also happens because of the different weather in that country which will, in turn, affect the dressing. In other ways, we can overcome the culture shock to make sure we are able to adapt with their culture.

One of the ways is to assimilate through visits to places of worship, sports clubs and schools and develop relationships with co-worker’s families. Try reading the local newspaper mailed to you periodically, or go online for articles in your language.

You can also subscribe to some pages that can assist you to get close to the community. Everyone likes people that cares and help each other because it is a reflector who we are. Maybe you can join some volunteer program taking place in your neighborhood. Take some time and join the community in the place you live to get to know the people surrounding you.

OPEN YOUR MIND!

Living abroad requires a whole new level of open mindedness. When you move to a country that has a very different culture, it can be difficult to reprogram your brain in order to accept new ideas and experiences.

‘The most common and most dangerous mistake we make in connection with intercultural communication is that we primarily focus on differences rather than similarities. We also take for granted that there will probably be problems faced and that intercultural encounters are always problematic’ (Stier, 2006). Jonas Stier is a professor that is notable for being able to think further by looking at similarities in culture that can form a harmonious relationship between cultures.

We always think twice when we see a culture that is totally different from ours. In another way, we have to be more rational and try to open our mind to overcome these negative and hesitant thoughts. We have to control our thoughts and remind ourselves. For example when facing with a frustrating experience, such as buying train tickets, calm down and remind yourself, that you should be open to other ways of doing things. After all, you are a guest and what you are experiencing is new and time is what you need to fit into this new environment.

 

NEVER GO AGAINST THE CULTURE

Not everyone wants to get into trouble when you are the one dealing with other different cultural backgrounds. So my suggestion is never try to go against a culture when you go to other countries. Try to accept the fact that you are the minority, a guest visiting someone’s home. When it comes to adapting culturally, you have to try to find its strengths and how to get the best results, even if the method of achieving these results are different.

Accepting a new culture in our life can be tough. It might take time and courage from us to take on the new culture. Other than that, it gives you a good impression from others when you can respect their culture and try to learn from it. You can try out different ways of asking your colleagues or friends and observe which approach brings the best positive results to the work culture you observe.

In similar conditions, the results that you want will come from remembering that when you are adapting to a new culture, always keep in mind that you can also learn a lot from the other cultures. Cultural learning requires a unique approach to how we overcome the challenges that we must face, such as communicating or dealing with life in general. Motivate yourself to be curious and learn about different cultures. Steep yourself in the way others live, think and work will help you become more sensitive to other ways of thinking and being.