Culture shock is a broad term for a series of personal difficulties that people go through in new places ant is usually most extreme for those who can not speak the language of the place they have moved to or for those who aren't familiar with the social rules. Both of these things applied to me in China when I moved there in 2011. So, naturally I went through the full well-known stages of culture shock: the honeymoon, frustration, adjustment and acceptance.
When I arrived I was excited and optimistic but I quickly became annoyed by cultural differences, missing how things worked back home.
By the end of my first year I had totally lost my self confidence and I became a bit clumsy and sensitive person and I thought it was China that made me that way.
Then in my second year I started to pick up some language skills and I found fun activities to do in my spare time. I made great foreign and Chinese friends and later I developed an interest in Chinese history and culture. Based on the above I learned to consider myself a confident and happy foreigner.
Today I'm back in the US where I'm pursuing a PhD at university in my hometown. It's been a little tough to readjust to the life in my home country. I suffered at first from reverse culture shock, experiencing the four stages in the opposite order.
I'd complain loudly about the little things like I could no longer shout " fu wu yuan" to get a waiter's attention in a restaurant. But eventually I came to realize that my home had become an entirely new place when I was away. That, by itself, was exciting.
