Culture, is it really that shocking?

A member of our team - Rachel - wrote this piece for her local newspaper.

Culture, is it really that shocking? By Rachel Garner

According to the Oxford Dictionary, culture shock is “the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone when they are suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes”. So naturally when you are sending a group of 25+ teenagers to a completely different continent (Africa), with a significantly disturbing history (the Rwandan genocide of 1994), culture shock  is an issue that’s going to get flagged up. Both ICS and Tearfund continually mentioned culture shock during orientation weeks in both the UK and in Rwanda, and to the best of their ability prepared us for it. They highlighted possible behaviours that we could find distressing, offensive or just down-right weird.

One of our first weeks of placement - visiting the beneficiaries

However, I think that no amount of preparation is going to ready you for the reality of a different culture and that culture shock affects everybody in different ways. We were even given examples of In Country Volunteers (ICVs) who experienced culture shock within their own country. So given that we are a mixed team of UK and Rwandan volunteers I thought a good way to explore culture shock would be to talk to members of my team about their experiences; how they feel it has affected their time here; and also what advice they would give to other people going to different countries susceptible to experience a similar sort of culture shock..

From the team interviews, it is clear that we have all experienced some form of culture shock

“I felt overcome by everything that was different and felt like I had just been thrown into a completely new world” (Beth)

But what is fantastic is that, as a unit, we have been able to turn this into something positive and something to grow from.  One of my team mates described culture shock as

“realising that you are definitely an outsider in a situation” (Chinwe).

This can be particularly hard to move on from, but when you work together as a team, it is possible.

Members of the team working together at Kimihurura Farming Cooperative

Despite facing some challenges because

“culture shock influences team dynamics through what is considered rude in different cultures” (Beth)

which would sometimes leave one half of the team feeling as though they had been disrespected through a lack of understanding. Overall the differences in culture have had a really positive impact on the members of our team.

Learning from one another - different cultural skills

“It has affected us positively, you really get to know how other people live, and you adapt and become flexible because of the changing of environment” (David).

Culture shock has given us the opportunity to learn about ourselves and others, developing our patience, empathy, respect and understanding. Culture shock has even led to some of our most memorable moments as a team because

“it makes the team happy learning something new about another culture” (Sam)

and allows us to become more of unit as we create new friendships built on accepting one another for who we are.

Team Kigali, minus Beth who was doing some office work!!

So what would we say to other people who are at risk of experiencing culture shock? How can they turn it into a positive experience? My friend Henry said

“If you are truly a team, culture shock won’t be a problem.” (Henry)

meaning that no matter what happens, if you are able to work things out as a team, and find common ground, then you can’t really go wrong! But sometimes this needs helping out with a few top tips! The common theme throughout the interviews was to be open minded; be ready to find new experiences; be prepared to both ask and answer questions. I love the way Claire summed this up

            “to be flexible, patient and try to learn” (Claire).

At the same time it’s important to remember that…

“… if where you were was exactly like home then you might as well have stayed at home” (Beth).

Exactly! We went out to Rwanda to try make a difference and if it were no different to the UK, and if we didn’t find ourselves a little “shocked” at times by the culture, then we may as well have stayed at home. And I’m so glad we didn’t!