Is culture shock a real thing?
Is culture shock a real thing? I remember that before arriving to the UK I was feeling a little bit anxious and worried. Don’t get me wrong, I was extremely excited about studying in this amazing country, however, I also knew that this life was going to be challenging for different reasons. This includes being away from home, having to defend myself in the kitchen (which I do now), managing my own money, and basically living and independent life.
Moreover, I was also panicking about silly things. For instance, I couldn’t stop thinking that I was going to get lost, either at Heathrow Airport or St Pancras Station. But hey, don’t worry! You will be amazed at how easy it is to move in both places, so you’ll be just fine.
Moreover, I also want to focus on something rather important… Culture shock. I know most of you are probably aware of this concept, but for those who aren’t, culture shock are the feelings you often get when you first arrive to a country different from yours. For instance, I remember I felt a little bit confused as to how I was supposed to talk to others, especially English people. That’s because in Latin America we’re far too open, so we tend to talk too much sometimes. However, if you ever feel like this, just give it some time. You’ll adapt better to these cultural differences each time you go out. Furthermore, I was also feeling unsure about the language. That is, even though my level of English is high there were times in which I didn’t know the meaning of some “British words”, or I couldn’t simply understand the different accents.
However, there is a simple solution to these kinds of problems.
Don’t be afraid to ask!!
Remember you are not supposed to know everything, and most importantly, that you’re here to learn as much as you can. So don’t be ashamed if you have to ask some silly questions during your first weeks. Also, please remember you can experience some problems due to homesickness, and this includes missing food from your home country. So I would advise you to pack not only some pictures of your family and friends, but some of your favourite snacks as well. I could go on and on, but I don’t want to bore you with more stuff. So you’ll have to trust me when I say that you’ll be just fine. You’ll love life in the UK. Good luck guys and thanks for reading!