gabby224's blog

I was prepared to experience culture shock at some point on my trip. I wasn’t sure when or how it would manifest itself, but I was I knew it would come. I just wasn’t expecting it to come at the times it did.Despite the protracted pre-departure vacation that we had, I surprisingly spent little time thinking and musing about the impending, evidently life-altering voyage I was soon to be embarking on. So when the D-day finally arrived, I embarked emotionally and introspectively blind. In retrospect, I see that this is the only way I could have and should have entered this new world here. There really is no appropriate way to prepare.According to Dr. Carmen Guanipa, a teaching psychologist at San Diego State University, culture shock follows a particular pattern and there are specific stages.He first describes the “honeymoon” stage, in which “the new arrival may feel euphoric and be pleased by all of the new things encountered.” Surprisingly, this period didn’t come in the onset of my arrival. I have taken several trips to Europe, and each time, my overwhelming excitement eclipsed any discomfort that I felt.But in this case, perhaps since I knew I was here to live, and had to adjust and adopt a new routine and was lost and confused, incapable of immediately controlling the pace of my adaption, which, if I could choose, would be immediate.. but in retrospect, i guess you could say it is all part of the assimilation process.backing up a bit, to my initial arrival... my recollection is blurry. i remember disembarking the plane, drunk off fatigue and nerves, idling for several hours in the airport, shuttled to a bus. with my forehead resting on the window, my eyes scanning my surroundings.. we cruised down the highways and eventually, bottlenecked onto the city streets, finally arriving at the academic center, which was teeming with people and chatter. my disorientation began to hit.Like kindergarden children, we were told to wait for our "host" mothers to come pick us up. I attempted to mingle but i was restless and tired. I finally was found and picked up by Susi, my host mother. I discovered I had a roommate, Sydney, and we were led to a cab that drove us to our new home.My culture shock manifested in waves, of extreme highs and lows; I guess somewhat like bipolar disorder would feel. The highs and lows are intense and disorienting. The first 2 nights were hard. No one had cell phones yet, and my internet wasn't working, so I felt remote and disconnected from everyone. My spanish is at an elementary level, too, so I couldn't venture out and connect with new people yet. 3 weeks later, I still feel a similar sense of detachment, and it's starting to worry me. I'm hoping I am still able to met my initial goal of rooting myself in this new place. http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/CGuanipa/cultshok.htm

A New Pace, Buenos Aires
My name is Gabby Agin-Liebes. I just joined the class, so excuse my tardy post! I am from New York City and have chosen to study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
This is a significant change for me, especially since this is my first time leaving New York City for an extended period of time. I’m become so acculturated to the city; its smells, its pace, its people and especially its food, for the past 11 years that my leaving it is almost subversive—an unfamiliar deviation in the trajectory of my life. I also, unlike most of my peers, had never experienced the culture shock that comes with leaving home for college. I opted to stay in the very large microcosm that I’ve called home throughout my most formative years—its vigorous dynamism so thrilling and stimulating I couldn’t fathom living anywhere else.
But in recent months, and even years, I couldn’t help but notice that the energy of the city was outpacing my own by too unsettling an amount. I realized I had become utterly disillusioned by my surroundings, and the petty affectations of those around me. Disconnected from humanity, and myself, I had no choice but to leave. I chose Buenos Aires for several reasons: Its exotic location and nature lured me away from my North American city jungle. (I also realized I wouldn’t have to forfeit the urban, cosmopolitan life I am so attached to). I also had romantic notions of South America: the cordiality of its people, a culture texturized by the troubled political history and its beautiful, cadenced language. Most of all, I felt ready to disrupt my equilibrium and do something new and potentially uncomfortable in an entirely new environment.