Culture Shock or just Poor Adjustment?

March 16, 2015

As a part of my "No Censoring Series", I am publishing a draft post written sometime in January. Initially, I wanted to post this to share my feelings and process what I was going through. Then I thought, "No, I can't say that. That is too honest, too gully, too real. It's no big deal. And, what if someone takes it the wrong way?" The truth is anything I say can be taken the wrong way. And the bottom line is this is MY experience, the good and the difficult. Adjusting to a new university, new home and new country is not easy but it's not a horror story either (at least in my case). The post is below.

First Sleep now Food 

When I first arrived in Gaborone, I could not sleep throughout the night. The time difference made it extremely difficult to adjust. I would sleep for 3 hours a night and be up for a least 24 hours daily, back to back. It felt like I was pulling all-nighters. It took two weeks for me to be able to sleep throughout the night. 

Now, I'm not eating. I know back in the states, I din't eat much during  the school year because I was constantly running around. This is different though. Yesterday, I ate two pears, a pack of cookies and a bag of chips. I am commuting back and forth to campus for the first time in my life. And, There just isn't any time for me to sit and eat. I also believe the food selection is playing huge role too. Usually, I eat multiple times throughout the day. I rarely follow a set eating schedule where I'm eating 3 full course meals at 8am, 12pm and 6pm.  So, I need more "on the go" selections. I need can goods, frozen goods, lunch meat etc.

The problem is, I had very poor eating habits back in the states and now those habits have followed me to Gaborone. I think I'm a binge eater dude. I can eat 4 full course meals everyday for days or even weeks. Then, I won't eat anything for days at a time. Or I'll eat, but it won't be enough. 

I believe the food selection and dinner schedule here is contributing to those poor eating habits and making it worse.  

To update you on this particular situation, I am fine now.  I believe my body was going through culture shock (if that makes sense). Mentally, I knew I was in another time zone but my biological clock was still set to Eastern Standard Time. So, not only was I struggling to sleep, but I was fighting to eat according to the demands of my new environment. Due to the heat, Botswana demanded that I drink double the amount of water I drank in the states. Botswana demanded that I eat enough to sustain my energy during my journey to and from school.

But ultimately, the challenge was communicating my needs to my host family. The last thing I wanted to do was offend them, but I needed to have options that worked for me. It is true, sometimes I eat and sometimes I don't, but having 'quick-fix' options work for me. And, I definitely didn't want my host mother cooking for me everyday. She's not a maid and I don't desire to have one. It all came down to having a simply conversation about my lifestyle and eating habits.

So, I spoke with my host mother just telling her what I liked and didn't like, what I ate and didn't eat. I did't go into a long spill of my own beans saying, 'Oh yea, I usually eat sunflower seeds and ants in May, two donkeys in June and 3 fried ticks in July.'' lmao. It's a joke :)  But what I did tell her is that I don't usually eat on a set schedule and the time it takes to prepare meals daily is not feasible in my lifestyle.  I'm a college student. I usually, cook 2-3 times a week and the pasta I make lasts for 2-3 days. She understood and we went shopping :) End of the story. Now, I eat at least three pieces of fruit a day, toast in the morning, I cook and help my host mother cook, I make sandwiches, drink tea, eat Chicken Pies and everything else according to my schedule.

So what I would say to new students studying abroad is be honest with your host family and coordinators. Tell them what you need to be comfortable. Let them know that you may be going through physiological culture shock. Let them now if you need assistance coping or just finding where you belong. If you miss home, tell them. If the language barrier between you and your professors is too stressful, tell them. And if your having trouble processing your experience, ask for their guidance. If you got a boyfriend at home who use to cook for you and now you're missing his boiled eggs, tell them.  If you think sleeping with no drawers on in 170 degree weather is too ethnic, tell them. If you're thinking about accepting that proposal from the local dude in the janitor jumpsuit, tell them. The bottom line is they are there to make sure you are okay. Try not to bottle up everything an be honest about what you are feeling and how you are responding to your new environment.




:) I hope this helps someone and I hope you appreciate my sense of humor ;) Sometimes, laughing is necessary.