Culture shock hits hard

By Linda Gibson (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-17 13:54

Before leaving home in America to come work in Beijing, I deliberately avoided seeking information about life in China. If I had known what to expect, my courage might have failed.

That ill-advised strategy succeeded in getting me here. But it left me especially vulnerable to an unpleasant experience most expatriates probably go through - culture shock.

It might not be possible to avoid this entirely, certainly not when a Westerner is dropped into the East (or vice versa). But with just a little preparation, I might not have hit the wall so hard.

"Hit the wall" refers to encountering an obstacle that blocks progress. Think of a person running head first into a brick wall, and you'll get an idea of what it means. In my case, the "splat" sound of the impact echoes through all my thoughts, perceptions and emotions.

The wall became visible when simply reading a local newspaper reduced me to tears.

They came on top of six weeks of disorienting encounters with a culture that leaves me confused, frustrated and annoyed.

Every assumption about how things work, what people feel and the way they think turns out to be wrong. Even the simplest tasks, such as feeding myself, are fraught with challenges - linguistic, culinary and even hand-eye coordination.

I seem unable to manipulate chopsticks, so must carry a plastic fork at all times or go hungry.

Day by day, I have come closer to ripping great chunks of hair out of my head while screaming, "What is wrong with these people?"

Maybe hitting the wall knocked some sense into me. I already knew, of course, that there is nothing wrong with people here. But I didn't know how much my own culture had affected me.

My goal now is to look over that wall to see what's on the other side. It will be a long climb up, but there are two types of hand-holds that can be used along the way.

One of them is acknowledging that the American culture I left behind is just as confusing, frustrating and annoying as any other.

For example, dare to question whether the US has the best healthcare in the world, instead of just the most expensive, and get denounced as an ingrate or (gasp!) a socialist. Many Americans still have a Cold War-era phobia about socialism even though they aren't too clear on what it is. It doesn't occur to them that popular programs like publicly funded healthcare for veterans and old people could be called socialism.

The other means of hoisting myself up over the wall involves seeing the beauty and benefits of Chinese culture.

That will be far easier once I've managed to recognize my own culturally biased assumptions and be willing to set them aside.

So if any of my Chinese hosts see me looking confused, frustrated or annoyed, please be patient. I'm learning. Just don't ask me to give up a fork.