My Experience With Culture Shock

Before coming to Ukraine I taught about culture shock to other exchange participants in AIESEC and I have heard about their experiences with it as well. Still, my experience with culture shock is still limited but I think I’ve learned a bit more with this internship.

The language barrier was always going to be a shock and I knew this. Despite not learning the language I think I navigated my way through Kyiv fairly effectively. Learning the alphabet was key to getting around but the language barrier makes the simple things difficult at first. Going to the supermarket, ordering food, asking for directions….these are all things I’ve managed to do, but they are always an event rather than just something I do. It makes life difficult when simple things require effort. I got used to it though, and even though I don’t know what the cashier is asking, a simple ‘nyet’ gets me through it.

A longing for home never really hit me too hard, but I think a big part of it was because I got the opportunity to meet so many new people and it was all very exciting. In a week or so, I lost stable internet connections and even though I didn’t long for home, I just want to have random, simple conversations back home. Conversations with new people are always good conversations, and I learn a lot, but sometimes I just want to have a simple mindless conversation as well. It’s also difficult associated with people when they are not going through the same experience. The other interns here are doing the same exchange, but they are coming from different countries and arrive at different times, so they are at a different stage than I am. The people who came at the same time as me left quickly to their camps, so I find myself constantly reliving the first stage of culture shock/exchange through and with others and find it harder to share my own current feelings with others.

I can’t tell much about coping methods, other than that I just constantly hang out with others and try to buy myself some free time to think and listen to music. The key for me has been to find that balance. I like talking to the other interns, but I need alone time as well.

Walking through the city, I don’t speak much. When I do, people look at me, but when I don’t speak I don’t think they notice that I’m a foreigner. This helps, because I can just enjoy the city…but overall I feel that Kyiv is very comfortable for foreigners to be. There has only been one incident where a drunk yelled at us to speak Ukrainian because we were in Ukraine.

As I type this, I’ve moved from city life in Kyiv to camp life in Skole, which I expect will bring new culture shock. Not only do I have Saskatoon to miss, but I have Kyiv to miss as well. I have made some good friends…I don’t know if I should feel bad about this, but right now I miss them more than I miss my family and friends back home.