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Out of the comfort zone
International students and faculty members share their stories of culture shock
Photo by Matt Daugherty
"You could get anything, even milk and soup. I felt as if somebody was in there, tossing food at people."
Martina
Masaquiza
Educador graduate
student
By Irina Rodriguez Special to the Kansan
M artina Masaquiza recalls being frightened when she saw a stairway moving in front of her in an
airport on her first trip from her indigenous village in Ecuador to the United States.
"It took me five minutes to put my foot on it, and there was a line of people waiting there behind me," she says.
Other sights shocked her, including vending machines, which seemed to throw food through holes.
"It was strange," she says. "You could get anything, even milk and soup. I felt as if somebody was in there, tossing food at people."
Masaquiza, who teaches her native Quichua language at the University of Kansas, is one of many international students and faculty here who have had to adjust to the challenges of a culture that is different from their own.
The University has 1,410 students from 106 countries, in addition to international faculty and members of their families. Each has experienced different levels of what is commonly known as culture shock.
Culture shock is commonly defined as confusion and anxiety that can affect an individual suddenly exposed to an alien culture. Joe Potts, director of International Student Services, defined the three stages international students go through. The first is the "honeymoon period," when students are excited to be in a new country. Next comes the "down stage," the opposite end of the spectrum, when the student has difficulty adjusting to the new culture. Finally, students go through "the balanced state," when the student becomes acclimated.
Being away from home is hard enough for Anjum Aziz, Bangladesh graduate student. Last year it was the first time that she spent the Bangladesh holiday,Lailatulbarat, without her family. During Lailatulbarat, Allah decides the fate of the Bangladeshi people for the next year. In traditional celebration, they put lighted candles up around the house and pray throughout the night.
"But I had a final the next day," Aziz says, "And I had to do the shortest version of the prayer."
However, part of her still resists the cultural change, she says. Her commitment to the traditional costume — bright red and black woolen shawl and a black woven skirt, a string of colorful beads on her neck and similar beads in her ears — seem to confirm her words.
Masaquiza, who has been here for 14 years, arrived at the balanced state long ago. She is married to a man from the United States, has children, speaks good English and has learned to drive, which is uncommon in her village.
"Driving is like pulling a donkey," she says, trying to explain the process to her mother back home.
Aziz is still having trouble getting used to a society that focuses so much on sex and relationships. She has to balance her cultural and religious beliefs with the demands of an American university. Aziz is Muslim, and many topics discussed in classrooms here are never discussed among students and teachers, or even among friends in her culture.
"Dissecting people's personal lives piece by piece in the media is too much for me." Aziz says.
As with many international stu
dents, Aziz faces a double challenge. She has to overcome cultural and language barriers to compete with American students.
"I can't listen and formulate questions at the same time," she says. "I need to concentrate, to think about it and then I can ask questions later."
In Bangladesh, as in many other cultures, students are not required to participate in class actively, and the relationship between students and teachers is more formal. Mauricio Navia, Bolivia, graduate student, says that in Bolivia the teaching style is more authoritative and rigid, but the class period also is longer, allowing more time for interaction during the class. Their universities have a set curriculum so students don't have a choice of what classes they can take.
"The University here is like a model of a market," he says. "You can choose classes and you receive credits for them. It gives you a freedom of choice, but it also involves a big individual responsibility."
Margaret Coffey, counseling coordinator for cross-cultural advising at the Applied English Center, prefers the newer term "culture bumps" to "culture shock."
"Culture bumps are like speed bumps, a series of small changes. They affect you, but you keep on going." Coffey says.
Masaquiza stumbled across such a bump when she went on her first shopping trip here. Instead of natural, aromatic, recently picked fruit and meat coming directly from a farm, she saw rows of shiny and beautifully organized apples, cucumbers, fruits and vegetables, and pink chicken and pork. It looked good, but everything seemed lacking in any flavor or smell. And there were no live guinea pigs or rabbits in Dillons, which are common to roast or fry for dinner in her native country.
Ahmed Zafar, Saudi Arabia graduate, says that his culture shock was of a different kind. He had to put up with the unfair stereotype of a Muslim terrorist.
"As soon as people find out I'm a Muslim, they assume that I kill and mistreat my wife because that's how we're portrayed in the media here, and it's a media-driven society," he says.
The apartment where Zafer lives with his wife, Nur, and daughter, Suaad, 2, has a cozy atmosphere, with a light-brown thick rug on the floor, and cushions along the walls instead of couches.
The phone rings frequently in this home, with friends calling to ask for help or to chat. In Muslim traditions, it is common to help each other with whatever you can, and the relationships are family-like. "Brother"and "sister"are common terms of addressing friends and acquaintances.
Once Zafer called a stranger on the street "sister," meaning to ask her something. The woman looked scared and went away quickly without an answer.
Coffey doesn't think people from non-Western countries are necessarily subject to more severe culture shock than those from other parts of the world.
"It depends on the educational background, if you are coming from a big city or a small town, on how much traveling you have done before, on the purpose of coming and on the personal ability to confront changes," Coffey says.
Being prepared plays a big part, too.
"If you come knowing what you might be in for, and expect it, it really helps to cushion the stress. But a lot of people from Western Europe don't expect much change, and then it can become hard," she says.
The important thing in adjusting to a new culture, however, is not to get concentrated on the negative. Spending time with people from the same culture too much might reinforce feelings of isolation.
"It's important to find a balance, and to try to avoid falling into a pattern of criticizing everything." Potts says.
Ahmed Zeafi, Saudi Arabia graduate student, stands with his wife, Nur, and his two-month-old daughter, Irena. Contributed photo.
Martina Masqaiza, Ecuador graduate student, stands with her son Gabriel Ausali Machi - Masqaiza in her native village. Masqaiza teaches the Quichua language in the Latin American Studies Center.
Contributed photo.
Organizations that can help international students:
Applied English Center-204 Lippincott, 864-4606 Services include: English classes for new students, class on American society and culture, social events.
international Student Services-2 Strong Hall, 864-3617. Services include: Arrange orientation programs for international students.
international Student Association- Workstation K in 400 Kansas Union (Organizations and Leader ship) 864-4848. Activities include: potluck dinners with international cuisine, International Awareness Week (April '99), Festival of Nations, variety show of cultures (April '99).
Supportive Educational Services-7 Strong Hall, 864- 3971. Services include: Assist students with study and other skills.