As Dr. Carmen Guanipa of San Diego State University, states, "The term, culture shock
. . . expresses the lack of direction, the feeling of not knowing what to do or how to do
things in a new environment, and not knowing what is appropriate or inappropriate." Since
different countries have different cultures, when people get into a new country, they may
encounter different challenges. Because people have different views about beliefs, values,
and norms, it is not easy to adjust to a new culture. They can't live in the same way as they
did before. Therefore, they will feel strange when they meet situations which are unfamiliar
to them, and they don't know how to solve their problems properly. For example, after I
came to America, the first big challenge that I encountered was the language. Although I had
learned some English before I came here, that was far from enough. Having problems in
communicating with other people often makes me worried. When I need to go to study in
college, I'm always afraid that I can't understand the courses because college is difficult.
Before people come to a new country, they may be excited and enthusiastic. However, when
they come to the new country, after short term of being excited, they will encounter
difficulties instead of interesting experiences. When people suffer from culture shock, they
may feel sad, lonely, dejected and stressed. They may not sleep well. They don't have
confidence to do things. These can cause people to have bad health. Consequently, people
should take the problem of culture shock seriously and find ways to overcome it.