Culture Shock

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Well, I think generally speaking, we could say that there are four stages to culture shock. First of all, the "honeymoon" stage. Uh, to the visitor, everything seems new, quaint, and novel. The food, the surroundings, the buildings. And it produces a feeling of euphoria: a desire to look around, to experiment, to explore. The next stage is the "horror" stage, where the newness wears off, and the visitor sees the country from a different light, and often begins to criticize the country, the life, and the values of the people. The next stage, we could say, is the "humor" stage, where people begin to reflect back and laugh at their mistakes in the earlier stages. And the final stage, we could say, is the "home" stage where people begin to feel at home, enjoy living in that foreign country.