Everybody's heard of culture shock right? It's when you travel around the world, usually in some other country and suddenly visit a place, where the rules, customs and maybe even the standard behavior isn't what you're used to. It seems like a different planet. People may look at you funny or they scorn you for doing something odd. Also you might have a prejudice about its community and this can certainly influence your actions, which can result in a misunderstanding between you and them.
People really like generalizing, so if there's a stereotype going around about a certain culture, saying that it's unclean, unintelligent, lower standards, it's only through our inexperienced eyes and ears, that we process this information as being real, without really experiencing the culture itself in real life, being really around these people or making some good research. So the best thing you can do is to just pack your bags and go somewhere. If you're under 31, an ESC project is a great way to start!
So you apply for a project and come to a foreign country. Sometimes it is hard to make friends in this environment, because the people you want to make contact with are maybe more introverted or extroverted than you or they have a different historical background, making them more defensive and careful about foreign people. As a guest in this new place, you have to be very respectful and maybe follow some new rules. You really don't want to be an outcast. So maybe try to think differently, talk to people, get to know them. Maybe you won't make friends the first day, but slowly with conversations, interactions and maybe games you will get to know them for being the most wonderful people, just a little different than what you're used to. Sometimes it can be hard to grasp this, but why not take on a little challenge. It will definitely pay off in the end. Even if you won't have the best time there, you will certainly learn some new things and become stronger in the end!
I was doing this ESC project in Greece, where we had to clean beaches and create artworks from trash. Besides us Europeans, there were also some people from the Arab world. I had the pleasure of sharing my tent with a person from Jordan. To be totally honest, it was quite a challenge for me. Living very close with a person from a different culture, which I haven't experienced before, is not something to be taken lightly. We had our issues for sure, he was at times too noisy, his demeanor different and the way he spoke, may have seemed very direct and violent. And there were times, when we also had conflicts, so at one point I proposed to have a real conversation with him. And we shared our emotions with each other. He also said that my behavior is not usual to him. So we both experienced culture shock in the end.We often forget about others and how they are feeling, focusing too much on ourselves and our culture shock and in the process miss, that other people might also be having culture shocks about us. As civilized citizens of today's world, we must have the responsibility to understand that when we come to contact with people from different cultures or when they visit our country, they might also be having a difficult experience, so it's our duty as good citizens, to be kind and accepting to them and understand their emotions, try to make them feel more at home :).
Text a fotka: Fedja Saksida
Fedja je dobrovoľníkom programu Európskej komisie Európsky zbor solidarity na dobrovoľníckom projekte v organizácii Cirkuskus pod koordináciou Bratislavského dobrovoľníckeho centra. Projekt bol podporený Európskou komisiou z programu Európsky zbor solidarity.
