When home is an ocean away
Foreigners feel
‘culture shock’
By Debbie Howlett
O* th« Emerald
Most people have been the new kid on the block —
and once usually is enough
One group of "new kids" on this University’s block
is 1,500-plus students from 72 foreign countries Many
times, says Peter Briggs, director of the international
study program, those students experience “new-kid
on-the-block-type feelings.”
When foreign students leave their native country to
attend school in the United States, they leave behind
familiarity for a new-and-different world
Briggs says the transition is similar to what
freshmen experience upon entering the University.
"There is a definite analogy between going from
high school to college Freshmen experience some
levels of culture shock,” he says
While "new and different" can cause problems,
"new and different" also can present an individual with
challenges and rewards.
A chance to study with an outstanding faculty
member or in a first-class institution and the chance to
see new parts of the world are just two of the reasons
students leave their native country
And those reasons are usually big enough factors
to keep a student who's feeling culture shock from
returning home before their studies are through.
But culture shock isn’t always an obvious thing.
"I’ve never had anybody sit down and say I’m
experiencing culture shock," Briggs says. "But
research shows that you cannot be in another society
for more than one month and not experience some
degree of culture shock,” he says.
Briggs talks about a "cultural adjustment curve,”
which measures levels of satisfaction that progress
from high to low to high The U-shape curve outlines the
typical reaction for students who are adjusting to a new
culture
But Briggs still can see the signs when something is
amiss One of the surest signs is criticism of a new
culture, he says.
"It's common for foreign students to be critical if
they're going through missing their country,” Briggs
says "Americans have to be careful not to be
judgmental of criticism of their culture ”
Briggs says talking about those differences can
ease that shock.
"To talk about the differences in culture fascinates
me," Briggs says. "To get that dialogue going is great ”
Briggs says discussion gives the foreign student an
Photo by Mark Pynes
The International Student Lounge affords foreign and
American students a quiet place to study or chat.
outlet for frustration and through comparison of the two
cultures, students have a better understanding of the
differences that cause frustration
Along with the "ideal” one-on-one interaction,
Briggs says he’s trying another type of interaction
"Groups are hard to approach," Briggs says So
rather than bringing students to a group, Briggs is
bringing the group to students
He started a program with a "core" group of about
seven foreign students last year who met with other
foreign students to try and get them involved
He hopes to do the same thing this year and after a
few "organizational” meetings, Briggs seems confident
the group idea will continue
"How to get that involvement is what I want."
Sometimes...
the reverse hits
By Debbie Howlett
Of th« Emerald
Aside from the usual case of culture shock,
Caleb Igbalajobi, director of the foreign students
organization, says he sees another “problem
among foreign students
Students finish their education in the United
States and don't return to their native country.
Igbalajobi says it’s a type of reverse-culture
shock
“You kind of look at your own standard as
different You look at your own society as another
culture shock.”
Women especially have a tough adjustment
to make once they come to the United States.
Sometimes returning to the other culture is too
difficult
"Very few females come to American
schools, most decide, for one reason or another,
to stay home," Igbalajobi says
“Most of the developing countries have
different concepts of women," he says "But that
idea has been changing fast.”
An example Igbalajobi uses is education,
which he says “is being extended more and more
to women ”
Igbalajobi knows about adjustment to new
cultures and readjustment of going home
Born in Nigeria, he’s been to Britain, France
and now, the United States to study Igbalajobi
says the transitions became easier with each
move, but they'll always be there to some extent
Eugene's climate and rainfall is similar to
Nigeria's, Igbalajobi says, and that helped to
make the transition easier. But Igbalajobi isn’t
planning to stay in the United States when he
completes his doctorate in special education.
"My belief is you should return and use your
education in your country."
Foreign students stay because work is easie.
to find and the "amenities" of the United States
are tempting
"The condition, the standard of living is not
so expensive," he says “And it’s a very free
society ”
"It's my guess, of Africans, that 65 percent go
back Less than 50 percent really want to go
back," Igbalajobi says
Group helps foreign students to adjust
By Denise Waldron
Of ttw Emerald
Foreign students frustrated
by the problems of adapting to a
new culture can find help at the
Foreign Student Organization,
members say
"Students may have a hard
time at first in trying to feel
comfortable on campus,
especially when they are not
familiar with a new culture or the
demands that the new
academics may make upon
them," says Caleb Igbalajobi,
director of the ASUO-funded
Foreign Student Organization
The FSO tries to change con
fused feelings about the
University into positive ones,
Igbalajobi says.
The organization brings
together students from foreign
countries and the United States
to mold them into one student
body, he says.
"Most students have three
foreign students, Igbalajobi
says The FSO also encourages
students to start relationships
outside of the group, he adds
Getting involved in University
activities is one way to make
“The relationships here
compared to the ones at home
are a lot more casual, "said
Peiter Rassmussen, a freshman
architecture major from
England. "At home I had about
‘Sometimes it takes people up to about six months
to be able to get used to the food.’
main areas that they are un
comfortable with,” Igbalajobi
says "These are of adjustments
to the new culture, making new
friends and perhaps finances."
The FSO's primary function is
to provide a meeting place for
new friends
Americans are friendly, but
foreign students must be willing
to "meet them halfway and not
be afraid to get involved," says
Maria Gonzales, a sophomore
bio-chemistry major from Italy
two or three chums that I was
terribly fond of and one girl that I
dated all the time, but now I
have so many friends in the
dorm where 1 live, and they are a
mixture of guys and girls "
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people within the organization,
says Eska Chin, a sophomore
design major from Thailand
Students tend to date people
from their own country or region
because they are familiar with
dating traditions, she says
But not all adjustments to
Americans and their customs
are made as easily
"The food is terribly different
here," Igbalajobi says. "There is
a very limited market tor the
kinds of foreign groceries
available here in Eugene
Sometimes It usually takes
people up to about six months
to be able get used to the food "
"I can t wait till I go home
again to be able to go to the
bars," Rassmussen says
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