CULTURE SHOCK Reading Quiz

Circle the correct answer, answer the question, or fill in the gap. Please include a note about where you
found the answer in the article paragraph number, section, quotation, etc.

1. True or false? If people prepare and study the culture of the country they are travelling to, they will not
suffer culture shock. False (the answer is highlighted in paragraph 1)

2. True or false? To understand another culture, you must be prepared to learn and change. True (the
answer is highlighted in paragraph 3)

3. Why can the UAE be both an easy place to adjust to and a difficult place to adjust to?

Easy: it has lots of cultures and nationalities which make transitions to society mush easier.

Difficult: dealing with different people with different background can be an exhausting.

4. What are some of the factors that affect an expatriates experience of culture shock?
- Work
-Living environment they land in

5. Name the stages of culture shock as they happen, according to the article.

a honeymoon

b cultural shock kicks in and things can go downhill.

c. give up and return home. OR d. adjustment/ acceptance

6. How are the stages listed here different from the stages on our handout last week?
The handout has two more stages beside honeymoon and adjustment which are recovery and re-entry
shock

7. True or false? Very few people believe that the UAE should change to match the culture of their home
countries. False

8. What does the author say about jaded expatriates and cynics?
- Jaded expatriates: the one who searches each other out, create groups based on their prejudices and
generally love to sit around.

- Cynics: the one who takes every opportunity to explore the country and the culture.
9. The author suggests that children living here are shaped by their culture experiences

10. At the end, the author talks about empathy. What does he say about how to start being empathetic?
- Look at the world through the eye of people around us and admit that there is more to be learnt than
what we have in our culture.

Culture shock is an issue for Emiratis as well as expatriates

Getting used to a different culture can take an effort. Idly criticising a different culture may
be easy, but it can do more harm than good.

By Taryam al Subaihi (Oct 28, 2011) The National

Having lived much of our lives with friends, colleagues and even family members who are
expatriates, many Emiratis have become experts on the various cycles of adjustment to our culture
that visitors experience.

No matter how prepared people thinks they are, or how patient and tolerant, when they arrive in a
foreign country for work, study or a long visit, they undoubtedly end up stumbling over the cross-
cultural speed bumps.

Human beings all share the same basic emotions, which tricks many of us into believing that
becoming part of a new culture simply requires a good heart and a patient mind. However, for each of
us, our cultures have a unique way of expressing these emotions that can take months or even a
lifetime to understand, depending on how much time we are willing to dedicate to learning and, more
importantly, how much we are prepared to change.

Depending on how you look at it, the UAE can be a relatively easy place to adjust to - or a nightmare.
On one hand, because of the rich mix of cultures and nationalities, most expatriates can find a group
with a similar, if not exactly the same, culture and traditions, allowing for an easy transition into
society and everyday life. On the other hand, having to deal with so many different people from
different backgrounds can be an exhausting, although rewarding, learning experience.

Emiratis have seen the range: expatriates who pack up and leave after as little as three weeks and
others who have been here for over 30 years and have made the UAE home for their families and
their children. Neither decision is right or wrong, but simply a matter of preference. Each person will
have a different experience of adjustment based on many factors, including the work and living
environment that they land in.

Many will go through the honeymoon period when everything is new and exciting, an unbelievable
adventure into Arabia. Next, the cultural shock kicks in and things can go downhill from there. There
can be other stages, but eventually there is the choice to either give up and return home or continue to
the final stage of adjustment: acceptance.

Arriving at that point can be an exhausting experience, not only for expatriates, but also for many
Emiratis. Expatriates who choose to stay in the UAE despite the culture shock should take pride in
their decision. But unfortunately one way in which many people choose to cope with that culture
shock is by taking refuge in the belief that UAE society needs to be moulded and "improved" to
match the culture of their own country.

Emiratis understand the importance of benefiting from the knowledge and experience of every
expatriate who lives within our borders. The country has come far by accepting the many nationalities
that live side by side in the UAE.

But that is not the same as conforming to principles that are imposed from abroad by misled
individuals who cannot see that there is a reason for the original ideas that exist here - they work
better for this country. There are jaded expatriates in every country who search each other out, create
groups based on their prejudices and generally love to sit around and complain about the situation
they live in.

Along with other expatriates who take every opportunity to explore the country and the culture, we
have all met these cynics, some of whom will go out of their way to recruit newcomers to their way
of thinking. But of course people who are in a constant battle to prove that there is a problem with
everything and promote stereotypes are wasting time for the rest of us. That kind of close-minded
view blocks us from the interactions that are part of the UAE's strength, and prevents expatriates not
only from learning about Emirati culture, but about each others' as well.

However, it is never too late. For newcomers to the country there is a unique opportunity to interact
and learn about the many cultures that live side by side in our everyday lives. Families will find that
their children's entire lives are shaped by these experiences.
To overcome cultural difficulties, we all have to be willing to look at the world through the eyes of
those around us. For some, this might not be as easy to do as for others, yet taking that first step is
only a matter of admitting that there is more to learn about than just the culture from which we come.

(Taryam Al Subaihi is an Emirati political and social commentator specialising in corporate

communications)