• Mirodir@discuss.tchncs.de
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    21 hours ago

    In a class on intercultural exchange we learned that most people who move abroad (semi-)permanently go through a U-shaped curve. Starting high with a Honeymoon phase, followed by a crisis/culture shock after about 2-3 months. And then a recovery and acceptance/adjustment/mastery/adaptation/whateveryouwannacallit phase. Many people also have this process repeating in waves.

    Interestingly enough, people who go through the U curve once and come out the other side usually also experience the same curve when eventually moving back to their “original” country.

    • mycodesucks@lemmy.world
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      21 hours ago

      It’s less like a U and more like a wave whose amplitude gets less and less every time until you stabilize in your new country (the peaks and valleys get smaller and smaller). It does also repeat if you go back to your home country (reverse culture shock), but the frequency is less and the total stabilization time is lower because for the most part, your brain is relearning cultural cues the connections already exist for, with an allowance for cultural drift depending on how long you’ve been away.