Culture Shock In The Arab World
Expats emigrating abroad can expect a world flush with new experiences and full of exciting encounters
. Moving to the Middle East is a transition that especially yields more unique incidents than many other regions in the world. But despite the allure of enriching life with an assortment of new situations, many western expats can find the Arab World challenging and the lifestyle limiting.
In order to counter the possible disappointment and frustration of assimilating into an Arab environment, its best to prepare as well as possible for your new posting.
What to Do Before You Leave
Using your time wisely prior to your departure is pivotal to arriving ready and rolling in your future destination. Take advantage of the avenues of access present in the modern age of technology. Spending a smattering of your day reading Internet articles regarding the locale, searching out expat blogs and generally shaping a sense of the day-to-day ebb and flow of life can make a sizeable difference in your overall approach to the move.
What to Expect On Arrival
Middle Eastern nations like Saudi Arabia, Libya, and the United Arab Emirates can seem stifling to the western expat. Strict regulations regarding alcohol use, womens rights and public behaviour can prove claustrophobic and can often lead to isolation.
Though little can prepare you for the glaring differences between the western and Arab worlds, learning about specific country customs can lessen the degree of initial culture shock. Realizing that dressing conservatively as a female expat moving to Saudi Arabia is vital to feeling comfortable and to avoiding hassle by religious police while expecting a more liberal atmosphere in Dubai or Abu Dhabi is important to putting the different nations in their proper context.
What is Culture Shock?
Culture shock is inevitable and is a recognised symptom of interacting in an environment that is different be it work, domestic or both. People who habitually move tend to be more adaptable, but nonetheless, they too experience key symptoms of culture shock. Its best to take note of these indicators so you can avoid feeling inexplicably alienated or isolated.
Heightened irritability
Constant complaints about the climate
Continual offering of excuses for staying indoors
Utopian ideas concerning one's previous culture
Continuous concern about the purity of water and food
What are the stages most people go through in adjusting to a new culture?
There are four main stages of acculturing, and though, each individual experience and reaction is unique, the process remains the same.
First you will feel an overwhelming sense of Fun, the thrill of anticipating adventure and meeting new people in a new place full of new opportunity. As this wears off a stage of disorientation characterized by urges of avoidance and homesickness can occur Flight. This is usually followed by Fight, the desire to pass negative and biased judgments on your surrounds. Finally the expat is left with Fit, a point of plateau comprised of understanding and a willingness to embrace and engage.
How can you lessen the stress of culture shock?
Having information and understanding about culture shock is a first important step. Creating and maintaining a positive attitude and making the right choices will help you develop rapport and understanding then you will be able to actively combine both your new and your old cultural identities to develop a unique new character.
The following actions will help you lessen the stress of culture shock:
Focus on what you can control.
When we are suffering from culture shock, we usually feel out of control. So, don't spend energy on things you cannot change.
Don't invest major energy in minor problems.
We make "mountains out of molehills" even more quickly in cross-cultural situations than we do in our own culture.
Tackle major stressors head on.
Don't avoid things.
Ask for help.
Create a wide support network as quickly as you can in your target culture. This can include expatriates like yourself as well as people of the local culture. Arabs are extremely sociable and are willing entertainers. Although you may not be invited into their home they will readily extend hospitality in a restaurant or hotel.
Culture shock is often overlooked or underemphasized, and can be a serious hurdle to settling down in your new destination. Dont underestimate the effects, be sure to properly prepare beforehand, and continue to adequately address the issue throughout and after your move.
by: Stephanie Katz
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