Preface:
I wrote this essay as part of an assignment for this English 2010 class. The introduction was pre-written by another student, but I completed the story with my own personal experience. In this essay I wrote about when I went to Los Angeles for the first time.
Adjusting to New Surroundings Kalervo Oberg's famous speech in 1954 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, gave us an understanding about four common stages that people experience when going to live in a new culture, city, or country. Oberg was an anthropologist who lived in countries around the world and the process he described is still used by experts even in 2013. Briefly, here is what people often experience. In the first stage, everything seems interesting and exciting. It's the "honeymoon" stage. But fairly quickly, you are hit with "culture shock." In this second stage, the new language, places, faces, and customs can seem overwhelming. You might feel like hiding in your room. Then in the third stage, you feel strangely "schizophrenic" or "up and down": one day very happy, the next homesick or depressed, maybe confused by people and a place that seems so strange. Finally, the fourth stage brings a resolution. You figure out how "to make it," and this resolution can be very different for every person because we all have different goals and interests. In this essay, I want to tell you how I experienced Oberg's four stages of cultural adjustment. I remember my honeymoon stage when entering California for the first time. It was very short. At first it seemed exciting going to a famous city like L.A., and being close to the ocean. I really liked the palm trees they have all around the city. It was very warm, and I also enjoyed the fact that there are many restaurants over there that we don't have here in Utah. But then culture shock hit! When I saw the place where we were staying for the weekend, it made me wonder whether or not I would feel comfortable there. We stayed at the home of a relative. The house was very small compared to what I am used to. I wondered whether or not everyone would fit in that house, with only two small bedrooms and a relatively small living room area. Somehow I made it to stage three. There were some good things and some not so good things. I certainly didn't feel as safe in the city of L.A. as I do when at home in Ogden. However, L.A. is a more exciting place overall and there are more activities to do for fun. Now I have found my own way in this still strange and funny new place. I'm sure we all go through these stages a bit differently. What worked for me was to focus more on the adventure of being in a new place and experiencing a new culture. I just tried to stay positive when I was homesick, and remember that I would be going home eventually. It was a fun new place, but I'm glad that I don't live there.
I wrote this essay as part of an assignment for this English 2010 class. The introduction was pre-written by another student, but I completed the story with my own personal experience. In this essay I wrote about when I went to Los Angeles for the first time.
Adjusting to New Surroundings
Kalervo Oberg's famous speech in 1954 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, gave us an understanding about four common stages that people experience when going to live in a new culture, city, or country. Oberg was an anthropologist who lived in countries around the world and the process he described is still used by experts even in 2013. Briefly, here is what people often experience. In the first stage, everything seems interesting and exciting. It's the "honeymoon" stage. But fairly quickly, you are hit with "culture shock." In this second stage, the new language, places, faces, and customs can seem overwhelming. You might feel like hiding in your room. Then in the third stage, you feel strangely "schizophrenic" or "up and down": one day very happy, the next homesick or depressed, maybe confused by people and a place that seems so strange. Finally, the fourth stage brings a resolution. You figure out how "to make it," and this resolution can be very different for every person because we all have different goals and interests. In this essay, I want to tell you how I experienced Oberg's four stages of cultural adjustment.
I remember my honeymoon stage when entering California for the first time. It was very short. At first it seemed exciting going to a famous city like L.A., and being close to the ocean. I really liked the palm trees they have all around the city. It was very warm, and I also enjoyed the fact that there are many restaurants over there that we don't have here in Utah.
But then culture shock hit! When I saw the place where we were staying for the weekend, it made me wonder whether or not I would feel comfortable there. We stayed at the home of a relative. The house was very small compared to what I am used to. I wondered whether or not everyone would fit in that house, with only two small bedrooms and a relatively small living room area.
Somehow I made it to stage three. There were some good things and some not so good things. I certainly didn't feel as safe in the city of L.A. as I do when at home in Ogden. However, L.A. is a more exciting place overall and there are more activities to do for fun.
Now I have found my own way in this still strange and funny new place. I'm sure we all go through these stages a bit differently. What worked for me was to focus more on the adventure of being in a new place and experiencing a new culture. I just tried to stay positive when I was homesick, and remember that I would be going home eventually. It was a fun new place, but I'm glad that I don't live there.