KalahariLog

At the Fulbright orientation in Washington, DC last year we were given tons of paperwork: about the Fulbright program, about living abroad, about Sub-Saharan Africa, about diseases like malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, hepatatis, typhoid, bilharzia, polio, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS... Among the paperwork were several interesting articles. I remember a scary article about the malaria prophilaxis drug, Lariam, that the US military developed for its troops and that is currently given to tens of thousands of tourists although it is not approved by the Federal Drug Administration and that has serious side effects in high percentage of the patients. I thought most useful was a curious article about culture shock, by an Arizona State University Professor. According to Dr. Winkelman, "cultural (or culture) shock is a multifaceted experience resulting from numerous stressors occurring in contact with a different culture. "

Culture shock comes in stages with the first one being the "honeymoon or tourist phase," characterized by interest, excitement, euphoria, sleeplessness, positive expectations, and idealizations about the new culture. Typical utterances of new arrivals in Botswana include "Oh my God, this is going to be so much fun!", "Wow, take a look at this -- they are eating the termites!", "They walk so gracefully and their posture is so straight!", "Check out the cows and the goats!" Unfortunately, this phase is over in a week or two, which might explain why organized tours are usually about that long. What comes next is the "crisis phase" characterized by a series of escalating problems and negative experiences. What used to be minor issues become major problems, initially charming behavior becomes irritating. One experiences feelings of helplessness, confusion, anger, and hostility. One finds innumerable reasons to dislike and to criticize the culture. Typical utterances of not so new arrivals in Botswana include "Oh my God, let's go home now!", "Why don't they leave the poor termites alone", "People walk so insufferably slow here!", "Why doesn't sombody get rid of the cows and the goats in the capital city?"

The next phase is one of "adjustment and reorientation". This is a long and often up-and-down phase where one tries to adjust and learn how to make acceptable adaptations. While problems do not end, one develops a positive attitude about meeting the challenges. Many visitors never get to this stage. They either return home and tell horror stories about their visit, or they stay but isolate themselves from the culture. The latter is typical in Botswana where western expats hang out together in exclusive groups. There are several places in town, coffee shops, restaurants and pubs, where the expats hang out. The final "adaptation, resolution, or acculturation" phase is reached when near full assimilation is achieved. Few westerners reach that stage in Botswana.

Rereading this article recently set me thinking about assimilation. After 15 years in the US I have probably reached the last stage of acculturation in the US. In Botswana, however, I am probably half-way though phase three. Knowing that this is a temporary visit probably didn't help either. Many Fulbrighters travel outside the US for the first time and culture shock is a real problem. I didn't expect it to be a very big deal; I had lived in Baltimore, where white caucasians are the minority. But Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore was a quite diverse place with whites, asians, and blacks, whereas at the University of Botswana I am the only caucasian in the department. In the other departments there are a handful of other American and British profs but at lunch at the staff lounge I am often the only one. Having spent months a time in places like Germany and the UK, I can attest that the culture shock is less shocking than in Sub-Saharan Africa. But going back to the article, while the description of the phases fits with my personal experiences, the "strategies for managing" bits are a bit wishy-washy. Terms like "cross-cultural training", "value conflicts", "developing accurate expectations", "maintenance and reparative behaviors" mean little to me and attempts to re-read the descriptions inevitably lead to a glazing of the eyes and sudden desire to take a nap.