Whether teaching overseas might take you to Britain, Burma or Botswana, coping with the culture shock, to whatever extent it may smite you, is going to be part of the experience.
 

During my first year in Japan, I distinctly remember being on the floor of my bathroom crying hysterically because my toilet had stopped working. If I had stopped to think about it, I would have realized that I was in third stage culture shock, but at that particular moment of time, it was the worst thing that had ever happened to me. Things got better after that, but for that week I was absolutely miserable. Had I packed up and left after my third month, I would have missed out on the greatest two years of my life!

Experiencing culture shock can be identified into four distinct phases that anyone living abroad goes through. The length of each phase varies with each individual, but in general each phase lasts longer than the proceeding one.

1) Fascination: an initial period of time when everything is new; there are seemingly few problems since everyone is being extremely accommodating and the predominant feeling is one of exhilaration at finally being overseas.

2) Friendship: immediately following the initial euphoria come the stage in which the need to build a new community of friends. At this stage it can be potentially dangerous to gravitate towards the familiar – fellow country people in the same situation. These types of situations can easily solidify a we-they syndrome in the third stage.

3) Frustration: after enough time has elapsed to become familiar with the country to make initial contact with the people and to come to grips with the requirements of a new job, a stage of depression begins where the problems and difficulties that are inevitably part of the adjustment process seem to outweigh any possible, or potential, sense of achievement. The people seem to become intransigent, the physical environment unpleasant and the demands of the job impossible to fulfill resulting in hostility towards the host country and homesickness. There is a tendency to decide that the whole experience is not worth it and that an early return home is preferable to remaining miserable.

4) Fulfillment: fortunately, although the previous stage can be a very difficult one to live through, it does usually come to an end with the growth of cultural awareness and leads into a period in which the experience of teaching overseas becomes both fulfilling and rewarding. This stems from a personal realization and acceptance that the new environment, in all its aspects, and by learning to operate in it, one becomes happier.

There is no way to avoid culture shock, but by learning to recognize it and be aware of what is happening, and share your experiences with others, you can avoid the feeling of isolation. By creating little goals for yourself and by finding ways to achieve them, you will feel a lot more confidants and enjoy the experience a lot more.

Cultural fractions are going to be a big part of the experience and the success or failure of your teaching experience may depend, to a large extent, on how well you can integrate the best aspects of your home culture with the best elements of the new culture.

The long-term goal is to feel as comfortable in your new environment as you do at home