Some Basic Questions about your Host CountryOrientation Questions after Arrival in your Host Country
Primitive and Civilized Cultures
Culture Shock and Reentry Shock
Test your Knowledge: France Today
The following fifty basic questions are not intended to be an inclusive list. Many more will be suggested as you attempt to answer them. Nevertheless, when you have the answers to most of them, you may consider yourself well acquainted with the culture of your host country.
1. What are the host country's official languages? What are the social and political implications of language usage?
2. Are there ethnic minorities? What languages do they speak?
3. Can you recognize the national anthem? What is its name?
4. Who are the country's national heroes and heroines?
5. How many people who are prominent in the affairs (politics, ahtletics, religion, the arts, etc.) of your host country can you name?
6. What is the predominant religion? Is it a state religion?
7. What are the most important religious observances and ceremonies? How regularly do people participate in them?
8. How do members of the predominant religion feel about other religions?
9. What are the most common forms of marriage ceremonies and celebrations?
10. What is the attitude toward divorce? Extra-marital relations? Plural marriage? Abortion?
11. What is the attitude toward gambling? Drinking? Drugs?
12. Is the price asked for merchandise fixed or are customers expected to bargain? How is the bargaining conducted?
13. If, as a customer, you touch or handle merchandise for sale, will the storekeeper think you are knowledgeable, inconsiderate, within your rights, completely outside your rights? Other?
14. How do people organize their daily activities? What is the normal meal schedule? Is there a daytime rest period? What is the customary time for visiting friends?
15. What foods are most popular and how are they prepared?
16. What things are taboo in this society?
17. What is the usual dress for women? For men? Are slacks or shorts worn? If so, on what occasion? Do teenagers wear jeans?
18. Do hairdressers and barbers use techniques similar to those used by hairdressers and barbers in the United States? How much time do you need to allow for an appointment at the hairdresser?
19. What are the special privileges of age and/or sex?
20. If you are invited to dinner, should you arrive early? On time? Late? If late, how late? Do you bring a present? What kind and for whom?
21. On what occasions would you present (or accept) gifts from people in the country? What kind of gifts would you exchange?
22. Do some flowers have a particular significance?
23. How do people greet one another? Shake hands? Embrace or kiss? How do they leave one another? What does any variation from the usual greeting or leave-taking signify?
24. Does the host country employ a foreign labor force? How is it composed? Where do these people live and what is their living condition like? Are they being discriminated against?
25. What are the important holidays? How is each observed?
26. What are the favorite leisure and recreational activities of adults? Teenagers?
27. What sports are popular?
28. What kinds of television programs are shown? What social purposes do they serve?
29. What is the normal work schedule? How does it accommodate environmental or other conditions?
30. How does your financial position and living conditions compare with those of the majority of people living in this country?
31. What games do children play? Where do children congregate?
32. How are children disciplined at home?
33. Are children usually present at social occasions? At ceremonial occasions? If they are not present, how are they cared for in the absence of their parents?
34. How does this society observe children's "coming of age?"
35. What kind of local public transportation is available? Do all classes of people use it?
36. Who has the right of way in traffic: vehicles, animals, pedestrians?
37. Is military training compulsory?
38. Are the largest circulation newspapers generally friendly in their attitude toward the United States?
39. What is the history of the relationship between this country and the United States?
40. How many people have emigrated from this country to the United States? To other countries? Are many doing so at present?
41. Are there many American expatriates living in this country?
42. What kinds of options do foreign visitors have in choosing a place to stay?
43. What kind of health services are available? Where are they located?
44. What are the common home remedies for minor ailments? Where can medicines be purchased?
45. Is education free? Compulsory?
46. In schools, are children segregated by race? By caste? By class? By sex?
47. What kinds of schools are considered best: public, private, parochial?
48. In schools, how important is learning by rote?
49. How are children disciplined in school?
50. Where are the important universities of the country? If university education is sought abroad, to what countries and universities do students go?
LUGGAGE: Maximum two pieces -- one to store, one to take around on your various trips:
1. One to store, no bigger than what you can carry with ease. Wheels help at station/airport etc., but don't help much with stone-paved sidewalks, and numerous stairs. When full, your suitcase should not weigh more than what you can handily carry around the block three times non-stop.
2. One to take, nice size, handy to carry yet expandable overnighter with dividers or pocket, where your things won't get jumbled up. You will take that on longer excursions and independent travel during spring break; post-trip travel if you plan to stay on (perfect if both straps are back-pack style).
3. Big handbag -- zippered -- for day-outings (books, notebooks, lunch, camera and personal items). Clutch-type billfold; French bills are big, and there are lots of coins.
4. Money-belt for passport, travelers checks, credit cards if any, jewelry if any.
REMEMBER:
- Very few or no clothes dryers available.
- Few laundromats.
- Think twice before throwing something in hamper: Is it REALLY dirty? Can I still wear it once more? How soon do I need it? (give it a good week).
- A lot of your wash will end up hand-washed in hotel sinks.
- Electricity and plug sizes are different. 220 current will cause your hairdryer, styling comb, or iron to blow up without a converter. Plug will not fit without adapter. If you want you can buy complete kit in luggage or electrical store. My advice to you: Forget it!!! Those things, no matter how small, get to be heavy and cumbersome; you will learn very fast to survive without them. A small hairdryer and travel iron, adaptable to 110/220 Volt and an adapter plug may be more practical.
WHAT TO BRING: Not much by American standards. Think European right away!
- Easy to pack, wrinkle-free, easy-wash/dry-fast clothing.
- Few items.
- Enough underwear for a week (overnight drying best).
- Ask yourself: Is this piece of clothing comfortable? Pretty nice looking? Can I wear this every day for a month, and not get sick of it? If you can answer all three affirmatively: take it -- if not, leave it behind.
- Fold-away clothes-line. Always handy: zip-lock baggies of various sizes -- great for wet/soiled clothing, soap bars, wash-cloths. Woolite.
- Slippers by all means; few carpets/cold floors down to hall bathrooms.
- A GOOD WARM COAT (we are outside a lot, waiting for this and that). Should be COMFORTABLE; you will wear it most every day. NICE enough for special occasion (add a scarf, broach). Could double up as bathrobe once in a while (rooms are not well-heated).
- A couple "good" outfits for dress-up occasions.
- Skirt/blouse/sweater combinations. Wear easy-wash shirt under sweater. to keep sweaters clean longer (shirt will dry overnight, wool sweater may take a week). Pantyhose, all cosmetics and personal supplies, as well as Kodak film are found everywhere, but at a much higher price.
- Pants/sweater outfits.
- Jean/sweat-shirt combinations.
- Wool clothing, hat, mittens.
- GOOD COMFORTABLE SHOES. You won't believe how many miles an average person walks in France.
- Some weatherproof footwear and a compact umbrella might be useful -- it rains a lot.
- Travel alarm-clock.
- Swiss Army pocket knife.
- Glasses, contacts, personal medicine, Pepto-Bismol/X-lax.
- Small notebook and pen -- always handy to take notes.
- Address book.
- A couple of spiral notebooks (the kind that lets you rip out pages with a clean border).
- Paperback dictionary for your purse.
- Personal journal.
TEST YOUR PACKING! Put everything you think you need carefully in a suitcase. Close it. Leave it closed one week. Open: What is unwearable because of wrinkles? Take it out. Then take half more out.
FINALLY:
- Favorite pictures of your family and friends to share.
- Picture books/postcards/slides from your state, city.
- Small fun gifts for future family and friends. People like American gadgets, cassette tapes of current hits, specialties or souvenirs from your area, scenic calendars, myrtle wood, souvenir T-shirts or sweat shirts, keychains.
- Sample of favorite foods, e.g. peanut butter, pancake mix and syrup, chocolate chip bags. Mexican specialties are almost unknown there. Brown sugar and baking soda are hard to find!
- Favorite recipes.
ERRORS MADE BY PREVIOUS MEMBERS:
- I brought too many clothes, I had to send boxes home. That was expensive!
In what ways should you attempt to orient yourself after you are actually in-country? Here are a few suggestions:
1. START with your room and work out from there.
a. What places are in the immediate vicinity, what stores, shops, services, offices, etc.?
b. Who inhabits the places nearby, the poor, rich, middle-class? Are they friendly, hostile or neutral?
2. NEXT, explore further into the neighborhood nearby.
a. Locate restaurants and other places where people gather.
b. Locate transportation.
c. Locate government offices--the post office, the police, the schools, administrative offices.
3. BEGIN TO LEARN the basic names and phrases that appear on the signs, the names of foods, or services. Learn to read the street signs. Learn the monetary system.
4. LOOK FOR THE DIFFERENCES. Are needs met differently here from the way they are at home? Are things organized differently? (What is the logic or custom behind the naming of streets?) Are there different combinations of food or other goods in the stores or markets? What goods are displayed most prominently? What does that tell you? What buildings stand out? How do you get a taxi, pay on a bus? There is bound to be something vital to you that seems to be totally missing. Does this society ignore a basic human need? Do not panic! The need is probably met in a different way from what you are used to.
5. TALK TO PEOPLE. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Most people are very anxious to tell foreigners about their country. Go systematically into the different stores and offices and strike up conversations with anyone who will talk with you.
6. ACCEPT THE HELP OF OTHER AMERICANS, BUT . . . You will almost certainly encounter other Americans (not members of the Lewis & Clark College group) virtually the minute you arrive. Other Americans can provide you with much information quickly. Because of other Americans and friendly host nationals, in fact, your transition into the new society will probably be relatively smooth under any circumstances.
BUT it is important to remember that living in another country stirs up complex emotion and responses. Each person's reactions are very nearly unique. Yours will be too. It is therefore important not to let your perception of your host country be filtered too much through the eyes and experience of other Americans. Accept their help and friendship but be wary of their opinions, especially if they focus excessively on the alleged shortcomings of their hosts. In short, gather information only from Americans who have a basically healthy and positivie attitude toward the country and its people. You don't need other people's worn-out prejudices and stereotypes.
Societies in industrialized countries have certain ideas regarding what it means to be civilized and what it means to be primitive. We have been taught that civilization represents an advanced state of human development, with an extremely high level of achievement and sophistication in the arts, sciences, technology, government, and social institutions. Primitive, on the other hand, denotes a state of simplicity bordering on ignorance, or at least on the simplicity of the untutored child. That which is primitive is rudimentary, unsophisticated, and superstitious. Primitive peoples, according to the common definition, are closer to the state of our primordial ancestors who wandered the forests on all fours looking for food and shelter. Therefore, the picture we carry in our minds looks something like this:
This idea flowered in 19th-century Europe when, under the influence of Darwin, theorists attempted to apply the idea of evolution to the development of society as a whole. One of the results was that the 19th-century Europeans saw themselves as the end product and the apex of human civilization. This kind of thinking was graphically epitomized by Lewis Morgan, a well-known 19th century anthropologist, in his Pyramid of Human Development:
To accompany the Pyramid, Morgan developed clear and precise definitions for each stage, from lower savagery to higher civilization, and then classified every known group of people within one of the stages. More recent anthropologists have made honest attempts to find an acceptable term to describe the differences which clearly exist between industrial and non-industrial nations, having over the years gone from one term to another:
Yet, in the end, they have all proved equally insulting because Lewis Morgan and his Pyramid still lurk within us. In order to neutralize the effect of Morgan's ideas we should compare cultures on a co-equal basis, as in the following diagram:
Any area of commonly held values which exist, and there are usually many, may be diagrammed in this way:
How do you go about bringing your ethnocentrism under control? Here is the answer: Shift the emphasis from cultural inferiority and superiority to cultural similarities and differences.
CULTURE SURPRISE usually occurs during the first few days of your visit as you initially become aware of superficial differerences. Examples: people dress differently, signs are in a different language, nonverbal behaviors are different.
CULTURE STRESS is a fairly short-term response to "stimulus overload." This occurs when you begin to respond to the behavior of the "new" culture. Examples: trying to drive a car, doing your own shopping, hearing comments about yourself.
CULTURE SHOCK is a normal, healthy psychological reaction to the stress of living in a different culture. You experience feelings of tension and anxiety because you have lost familiar cultural cues. Your actions do not always get you what you want. And your inability to communicate effectively with others is frustrating.
SYMPTOMS OF CULTURE SHOCK are both physical and psychological. Symptoms can include: headaches, stomach aches, dizziness, rashes, nausea, irritability, insomnia or excessive sleepiness, depression, loneliness, withdrawal, paranoia, anger, aggression, hatred, fear, crying, and complaining.
Usually the symptoms of culture shock occur about half-way through your stay. Before all this sounds too discouraging, remember that culture shock occurs because you are trying to adapt to a different culture. It is a response that everyone who has spent time in another culture has experienced.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP CULTURE SHOCK?
First, recognize that you are experiencing culture shock, your reactions are not from some other source.Remember that many others have had the same experience, and that it is normal.
Understand that your feelings are part of a response to learning about the other culture and consider it a positive sign.
Give yourself permission to temporarily indulge the symptoms: If you are sleepy . . . . . sleep! If you feel like crying . . . . . cry!
Find others from your culture and spend time together talking about home, eating, sharing experiences.
Help someone from your home culture who has recently arrived. You will be surprised at how much you have learned.
Communicate with family and friends. Write letters or call, however, do not call during the first THREE DAYS (Watch out for those long distance charges!) Those at home might not realize that culture shock is a normal experience. Let them know it is a temporary phase of adjusting to life in a different culture.
Become an expert on some aspect of the other culture. Choose something you like, and learn more about it than the average person in the host culture. Examples: pottery, toys, doorways, plants, shells, the history of the local cathedral.
Maintain your sense of humor!
REENTRY SHOCK occurs after you have returned home. It is perhaps the most "shocking" because it is unexpected. After all, coming home means getting back to normal. Or does it? Since you have been gone, things have changed at home. And you have changed, too.
You are a different person than when you left. You have had new experiences, gained new understanding, and developed new skills while living in another culture. You may have added new words to your vocabulary. You may dress in a different way. You may have different interests and different opinions than you did before your trip.
Meanwhile, life at home has not stopped while you were away. People are older, important things happened in their lives, and you have not been around to share in their experiences.
All the expectations you have had about coming home may not match what actually happens. People may not care about your experiences. And they may feel that your experience in another culture has spoiled you, or made you snobbish or rude. They keep waiting for you to get back to "normal."
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT REENTRY SHOCK?
The fact that you have lived in another culture has changed you forever. But you will soon learn to fit back into the daily patterns of those around you. It will not always be easy, and some days you may wish you had not come home. The skills you learned by living in another culture can be put to use now to help smooth your reentry experience.Practice your intercultural skills. During your intercultural experience, you had to learn patience in dealing with others. And you kept an open and inquiring mind as you explored another way of life. Use those same skills now to understand your family and friends. Be patient, ask questions, and find out what has happened to them in your absence. Remember that their experiences are just as important to them as your experiences are to you.
Share your experiences when you are asked. No one is as interested in the details as you are. Select information that you think the questioner would enjoy hearing, and keep your responses brief. People who are really interested will ask you more questions.
Put your knowledge to use. Volunteer to talk to people who are going to the country in which you lived. Other groups may also be interested in your experiences and the information you have to share. Perhaps you could help someone who has recently arrived from the country in which you lived. With your knowledge of both cultures you can help the other to adjust more comfortably.
Do not abandon your old friends, but do make some new friends. People who have lived in more than one culture form a unique international community. And they tend to understand the process of adjusting to being at home, because they too have done it. Joining an international club gives you another outlet for your new, broader perspective.
Allow yourself to be sad sometimes. After all, some of your experiences were wonderful, and you will never forget them. Looking at pictures, writing letters to friends, and remembering your experiences during your trip are all important. Just don't spend so much time focused on the past that you miss the exciting things that are happening all around you!
IMPORTANT SUGGESTED READING:
John Ardagh, France Today, New York: Penguin, latest edition.
Test Your Knowledge: France Today
A. True/false questions (Place a T or an F before the number)
1. French society is mostly an agriculture-based society.
2. The Communist Party in France has become increasingly weak and marginalized.
3. According to a number of France's most able and reform-minded social analysts, France is still too much a blocked society, not really as open, mobile and democratic as the U.S.
4. Since the 1970s, within the French family, paternal authority weighs less heavily and parent/child relations are more frank and equal.
5. Fiat and Volvo cars are produced in France.
6. France is far behind in fast-breeder nuclear reactors.
7. The crises in French coal and steel industry are easily solved because of the extraordinary mobility of French factory workers.
8. In France, many of the levers of power are in the hands of a small self-perpetuating technocratic élite.
9. In France, trade unions are weak and divided.
10. The Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) is the world's fastest train.
11. France is by far the largest cereals producer in the European Union (EU).
12. Today, in France, people of all classes tend to drink less wine, but they drink wine of better quality.
13. An arrondissement is a subdivision of a département.
14. The Georges Pompidou cultural center, usually known by its nickname Beaubourg, is a museum of the Middle Ages.
15. The Marais was Paris' most fashionable district in the 17th century.
16. Traffic in Paris is a problem, but parking is not.
17. The easiest way to get around in Paris is by Taxi.
18. The French mood today is colored by a disaffection for public institutions of all sorts, both State and non-State.
19. The Théâtre National Populaire is officially recognized as one of France's foremost drama companies.
20. Les Verts (the Greens) and other militant ecology groups are more active in France than in any other European country.
21. Today, all French beaches are subject to elaborate pollution controls.
22. In France, wealth and opportunity remain more unevenly shared than in most other West European countries.
23. The Académie Française does admit women as members.
24. The French woman regards herself, and is regarded, as the equal of man--equal, but different!
25. Abortion is prohibited in Fance; the law does not provide for any exceptions.
26. Social relations in France are dominated more by family ties than in Anglo-Saxon countries.
27. Whiskey is by far the biggest source of alcoholism in France.
28. In France, the Church has lost touch with its popular roots much more than in other Catholic Western European countries.
29. Atheism is spreading in France.
30. The French do not discriminate against Arab immigrants.
31. French students in higher education are equal; any student with a bac can enroll in a Grande École.
32. Today, the youth drug problem remains more limited in France than in the U.S.
33. In general, modern French literature lacks creativity.
34. The French general public prefers home-grown low comedies and Hollywood action films.
35. The music renaissance that took place over the last 20 years has happened on the grass-root and on the élite level.
36. The student protests of 1968 marked a bid for a more human and tolerant system, for more democracy and flexibility.
37. Irrespective of politics, the French civil service has a strong tradition of continuity and of service to the State.
38. A French person will seldom believe that a public servant is on his/her side and trying to help him/her.
39. Métro is the name of France's bus network.
40. Maisons de la Culture are centers where foreigners learn French.
B. Answer briefly (on a separate paper)
1. Why are many French afraid of the colored immigrants?
2. What happened to most private banks and to several major industrial groups when the socialists took over the government?
3. François Mitterrand was reelected in 1986. However, he had to embark on a new adventure, that of so-called cohabitation. Explain.
4. Under what conditions can the French industry continue to prosper?
5. What is the Conféderation Génerale du Travail (CGT)?
6. Why does France's automobile industry go through a difficult period, while the German one continues to soar ahead?
7. What do the Concorde and the Caravelle have in common?
8. Which is "Europe's space industry capital?"
9. What has been an important element in the modernization of French industry?
10. France is starting to exploit her biomass resources. Explain
11. What is Minitel?
12. What is the official language in the Bretagne (Brittany)?
13. Who are the pieds noirs? Why are they called by this name?
14. Grenoble, the "little Los Angeles in the Alps" is an unusual city for many reasons. List at least three.
15. Which is the European parliamentary capital?
16. What is the name of the political entity on the lowest level of the three-tier structure of government in France?
17. The departments (except in the Paris area) are all much the same size. Who determined their size?
18. What is pétrole vert (green oil)?
19. How has the image of the French farmer changed? List 3 ways.
20. Les Halles - What is it? What happened to it? What took its place?
21. What are the two kinds of wine industries of France? Where are they mainly located?
22. What are the margi-bouseurs -- the "dung drop-outs?"
23. What is the Parisian's first curse, leading to tensions in daily living?
24. What effect does the Boulevard Périphérique, the ring motorway, in Paris have?
25. By what novel means did the mayor of La Rochelle solve the problem of traffic congestion in the historic heart of the city?
26. Society in France is strongly compartmentalized. Explain.
27. The animateur is now a member of a key French profession. What does he/she do?
28. What does "devolution reforms" mean?
29. Why would you not take your meals regularly at a nouvelle cuisine restaurant?
30. What is the Club Méditerranée?
31. Why are the German tourists not welcome in Alsace?
32. How did Jack Lang make his mark as the most popular of Mitterrand's ministers?
33. Which city is the home of the Opéra du Rhin?
34. What is the Greenpeace affair of 1985?
35. What is étatisme?