Teaching English in Taiwan

Adapting to Taiwanese Society

Living in Taiwan can be exciting and stimulating, but it can also be confusing, frustrating, even overwhelming. Culture shock is a condition that affects even the experienced overseas resident. It's a form of psychological stress experienced when familiar cues or patterns are no longer present. These cues include the many ways in which we orient ourselves to the requirements of daily life. The lack of familiar cues may cause discomfort, often accompanied by irritability, resentment, homesickness and depression. Culture shock may be mild or severe. It may be fleeting or last several months. Most foreigners experience culture shock to some degree at some stage of living overseas.

It is important to be familiar with the symptoms of culture shock. When the strain of adjusting to change is marked, a number of physical and emotional reactions are common. These include sleepiness, apathy, depression, compulsive eating and drinking, homesickness, exaggerated yearning for all things and friends back at home, negative stereotyping of Taiwanese people, a decline in efficiency, recurrent minor illnesses, and obsession with cleanliness or health.

Symptoms may be aggravated by a lack of proper exercise, rest and/or poor diet. The symptoms tend to surface within the first three to six months after arrival, when the novelty of a new place begins to fade and settling in becomes imperative.