Living in Quebec
Whenever you travel and are exposed to different settings and cultures, you may experience a phenomenon called “culture shock”.
What is culture shock?
International students at Concordia share their thoughts and experiences.
Stages of culture shock
1. The Honeymoon Stage
You just arrived from your home country and you are very excited to start a new chapter in your life! You want to quickly experience new things and make new friends. You tend to view everything as positive, and romanticize the host culture.
You may feel
- Excitement for things to come
- Wonder at everything that’s different
- Idealizing the host culture
"Even taking the metro was an adventure when I first got here; looking around and experiencing the diversity was amazing. You’re just very alert to the world around you."
“I was excited about people being open, helpful and friendly. To me, it was amazing that people could greet strangers on the street. The culture here is a lot about self-expression and not judging. It was weird to me at first but I was excited.”
2. The Frustration Stage
After a while, you start to realize that the host culture isn’t as perfect as you thought it was. You consider things about the locals and the environment that are different from your home country as unpleasant or inferior, and it’s making you feel depressed and/or irritated. You begin to idealize home and wonder if you made the right choice in studying abroad.
You may feel
- Anger at small troubles
- Homesickness
- Sadness, and like you're not fitting in
“I ate a lot of Dollarama and Tim Hortons food because it was so cheap. I really didn’t know what I was doing, and that’s when I started feeling a bit depressed.”
"I’m staying in a building with a Bulgarian person who teaches me about Montreal a lot. They told me not to make quick decisions, and not to leave right away even if I wanted to. They were right! People don’t take the time to adapt, so they don’t accept the new culture and just go back.”
3. The Adjustment Stage
You begin to understand things about the culture you’re exposed to. Things that you thought were unpleasant lose importance, and you keep a positive outlook on things. You take on culture differences with a sense of humor, learn from friends and get involved.
You may experience
- Humoring things you once found frustrating
- Strengthening of bonds with new friends
- Understanding more of the culture’s values
"My soft social skills are good, so I really didn’t expect my first job interviewer here to call me rude! It’s only after that I realized that I wasn’t saying “sorry” or “thank you” as much as Canadians did. I needed to pick up on Canadian expression and social codes. Now, even if I bump into a lamppost, I say sorry.”
"People usually adjust to environments but have a hard time getting involved. I just forced myself to put myself out there and made friends. You struggle with culture shock when you get lonely, so staying social is very important."
4. The Acceptance Stage
You finally feel at ease in the host culture. You have understood many things that make this environment different from your home environment, but also have realized that you don’t need to understand everything you’re exposed to in order to feel comfortable. You now feel like you have a home away from home.
You may experience:
- Feeling accepted amongst a community
- Relaxed attitude to the host environment
- Acceptance that you don’t need to understand everything
"Thanks to an advisor and the ISO volunteering, I managed to make friends. Half of them are from my department in Biology, the other from the ISO. Volunteering helped me integrate because I was with people who were the same as me!”
“For people feeling sad, I would say join a club or an association! It’s great to distance your mind from anxiety and stress like that. It’s hard to do it, but the more you do it the better you feel.”
Take note: on your way back to your home country, you may experience these stages again and will have to re-adapt yourself to your country’s environment. This is called “reverse culture shock”.
Tips to handle culture shock
Moving to a new country can be challenging, and having a strong support system makes all the difference. You’ll have many opportunities to meet other new students and to build lasting friendships. Develop a fun hobby and connect with others who share your interests.
Concordia’s physical fitness centre, Le Gym, offers numerous exercise classes to students. Also – consider joining one of Concordia’s intramural sports leagues!
Getting past language barriers is a very big step in overcoming culture shock, and there are many services and courses to help you become more proficient in French and/or in English.
Traveling abroad can change your diet—familiar ingredients and flavors might be hard to come by. Thankfully, Montreal’s diverse culinary scene offers plenty of opportunities to satisfy your cravings for home.
Sometimes, culture shock seems too hard to get over. There is no need to worry, there are several resources at Concordia to help you.
Montreal is a very dynamic city with many things to do. Take the opportunity to explore outside the city as well!
Be curious and keep the spirit of discovery alive by visiting many North American landmarks, and travel with friends in and around Canada!
