Culture Shock

Everyone who immigrates to Australia suffers a culture shock of some kind. A culture shock means that you see something that is totally different from your country and you feel very uneasy about it. The problem is that it does not cause any alarm to the people who live in Australia. You can become greatly alarmed and think that it is a danger to you, your children and every member in your family. You are not sure what to do.

Let me give you some examples of cultural shocks. When I first came here to live in Australia, my first culture shock was that men and women were kissing in public. I saw them kissing inside trams, trains and buses. To me this was a big culture shock. In my country it is a private thing. You see it only in the cinema or on TV but not in everyday life. Another culture shock was that in Australia drivers drive on the left side of the road. In my country and in many other countries drivers drive on the right.

Another shock for me was that gambling and prostitution were allowed and the media promoted them. A culture shock for me was to see that the Australian TV shows sex scenes in movies after 8.30 at night. Some people can't overcome their culture shock and decide to go back to their countries. They give up very quickly. After a few years, the culture shock becomes less and less shocking. People decide to ignore it and live with it. It becomes part of everyday life. It does not mean that people accept what happens as right.

When Australians travel overseas they get many culture shocks. They complain that the streets in many countries are not as clean as the ones in Australia. They complain about road safety and food hygiene. They complain about cities being crowded or messy. They complain about not being allowed to kiss in public because it is not allowed in the country they are visiting to kiss in such a way. Can you think of any culture shocks that an Australian may get if he or she visits your country? Email your text to me and I will put it on this blog. Thanks.