I often tend to make observations before action, as many of the cultural learning strategies we reviewed the week of March 24th involve doing. However, there were also many strategies which involved taking more initiative than I am used to. Although some of these strategies are out of my comfort zone, I'm certain that utilizing these as I am studying abroad would be an eye-opening method of exploration.
Here are a few of the learning strategies which stood out to me the most: CLS 12: Use a variety of coping strategies when I feel I have "culture shock overload." I never quite imagined that culture shock could become something overwhelming, but it is definitely of importance to understand the normality of it for study abroad students. Without learning that culture shock may become an issue, it could end up damaging my mental wellness, making my study abroad experience not as positive as hoped for. It's easy for me to become wrapped up in negative experiences and begin overthinking, so I would like to understand more about what types of culture shock I may experience in order to prepare myself before I leave. This goes hand in hand with CLS 13: Keep reasonable expectations of my ability to adjust to the new culture, given the length of my stay and my particular study abroad program. Understanding my length of staying in Japan is crucial to my mental and physical health, as attempting to be a full-time student while also trying to venture out around the country, make friends, find a part-time job, join clubs and sports, go to cafes and concerts, etc. all seems quite nice but is certainly unrealistic in such a short time span. This is especially relevant to understand in terms of budgeting, as it is unrealistic to expect that I can fulfill every single one of my short term goals without also setting aside money for necessities such as food, tuition, housing, clothing, and more. CLS 25: Read local newspapers to better understand the current political and social issues in my host country. Reading newspapers also goes along with understanding books, comics, advertisements, posters, social media, etc. in the language of origin. This is something I have attempted while in the US, but find difficult due to a lack of source material from Japan. I can not receive week-of Japanese newspapers in its physical form, and much of printed media such as magazines and manga are typically only available in bookstores like Kinokuniya which are far from my area as well as expensive. This is a CLS I will definitely take advantage of while abroad. Many of the non-verbal learning strategies as well as those related to host families were interesting to me, as I personally feel like most of them were common courtesy. It is true, however, that things such as eye-contact, distance from others, and views on privacy are not often factors people consider before taking a vacation or studying abroad in another country. There are plenty of videos on 'What not to do in Japan' which involve more obvious aspects like dining etiquette, but non-verbal and more 'common sense' factors as I mentioned earlier are not as frequently mentioned. I would like to take more time to explore the strategies I highlighted as well as many of the CLS which involve me doing more research and being more direct about asking others to explain social and cultural norms.
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