Cultural Readiness: How to Prepare for your Trip Abroad
Reading time: 4 mins, 23 seconds
The first week I lived in China, while being both highly stimulating and exciting, was also the hardest. I thought that having studied abroad three years prior made me automatically ready for the move. Of course, I knew China was vastly different from Italy, but my mind had made the assumption that culture shock would feel the same.
Surprisingly (not really) I was wrong.
The major differences of everything I encountered in China made culture shock completely unique to my previous overseas experience. I was alone most of the time and found it harder than ever before to conjure up the confidence to sit by myself at a restaurant. Without exaggeration, the meals I ate during that first week came strictly from a bakery and Burger King. Places that I could simply point at a picture of something familiar or grab a pastry off the shelf for a quick transaction.
This was a test in cultural preparedness that I had completely failed. I survived, but it took me more time than I had anticipated to acclimate to my new surroundings.
If you’re planning a trip to a new destination or a full move abroad, here are some tips to making a smoother transition than mine.
Do your homework
There might be topics that you shouldn’t discuss or current events to be aware of. It’s possible that there is a traumatic history between your country and theirs. Although these events may not have been directly your fault, generational trauma remains present as these historical events have a first hand in shaping local culture and international relations. It’s important to cultivate understanding for what you might represent to a stranger, treating them with respect and not taking these views personally. Doing prior research can inform how you interact with the local population.
Release your assumptions
Not everyone speaks English. Not everyone uses a fork and knife. Not everyone creates what you feel is an appropriate amount of space between strangers on the bus. Find it within yourself to release any assumptions that you already have about what is right versus wrong. Be curious and open. Beauty and understanding will certainly follow.
Become familiar with local greetings
Do they shake hands? Bow? Kiss on the cheek? You don’t want to have your first time meeting your boss, colleagues, or even local strangers turn into an awkward situation in which you’ve already shown unknowing disrespect in a matter of minutes. Make your first impressions smooth and thoughtful by researching the appropriate greeting style.
Watch TV in the local language
Get comfortable with how the language sounds and feels. Soon you’ll be surrounded by it, which can be its own shock in and of itself. I remember going days without hearing English and craving my native language. Before your trip overseas, immersing yourself with the sounds of your destination’s language will eventually help in making a successful transition.
Prepare a cheat sheet of common phrases
Communication comes in so many different ways and forms. You’ll master the language at some point, but for now it’s okay to give yourself grace. I remember feeling pressured to speak in a perfect accent or verbally communicating flawlessly even before studying any Mandarin while living in China, which at times left me saying nothing at all. Saving your favorite dishes or most-used phrases written out in the local language to a note in your phone can go a long way. The waitress will understand what you want and be thankful you’ve tried anyways. You might find your taxi driver actually dropping you off in the right spot, rather than going through an awkward exchange of attempting to communicate where you need to be and not even knowing where to start.
Transcend your ego
In a new country far from where you grew up, the truth is that you might stick out. However, try to remember that less people are watching than you think. Less people care than you think. The reality while living in a country like China as a foreigner is that you will most definitely stick out, regardless of where you are or what you’re doing. If all eyes are on you, it’s almost always out of a genuine curiosity. A curiosity that will pass as you keep moving on with your task. During my first few months living abroad I remember a small but pressing anxiety walking into a new restaurant or grocery store.
‘Are they staring at me?’
‘Talking about me?’
‘Yelling at me?!’
Although it took me awhile, I eventually had to let go. I changed my mindset to make these fleeting moments less about myself and more about the task at hand. Without doing this, the critical voice in my head would become louder than the stares, which in the end was the biggest culture shock issue I experienced. Letting things roll off your back, not taking it all personally, and separating from your ego can be essential to riding the wave of living abroad.
Moving to a new country is chock full of adventure, life-changing experience, relationship building, and self-discovery. No matter where in the world you’re traveling to, culture shock can brew fast and easy. The best thing to do before you travel is to culturally prepare yourself as much as possible, that way you can at least absorb some of the shock inevitably felt upon arrival.
