We often use the term ''culture shock'' to describe the state of mind of an individual who struggles establishing himself in a foreign country. However, I don't think that you necessarily have to be in a country different from yours to be victim of a culture shock. I am myself from a small town and when I moved to Quebec to do my college and university studies, I had difficulty adjusting to the life in the city. Indeed, I found it hard to let go the calmness of my town to go live in the city. I think that I experienced my own culture shock in a certain way. Nevertheless, this is open to discussion because I am aware that there is a difference between this type of culture shock and the type experienced by a foreigner in a new country.

Samuel

I agree that there is a difference between culture shock that people experience when going to live or visit another country however I agree with you that we do not need to go far to experience a small amount of culture shock. I moved to Quebec three years ago from Ontario and even though my family is Quebecois I still experienced a small amount of culture shock. Things as simple as crossing a street were different (in Toronto we can cross with the direction of traffic but in Quebec you can cross diagonally when the 'piéton' light is flashing). Finding products that I normally can find in Toronto and that I can't find here also cause a small amount of culture shock however the biggest culture shock was interacting with Quebecers and their different attitudes and values which I was surprised were so different then mine.

I Think Mr. Tremblay is right, I come from a small town too and when I moved to Quebec I was a bit disorientated. The same situation would be also true if I moved to another part of Canada I think. When you grow up at a certain place you become used to your little microcosm of culture, and just a few kilometers away people may live a lot differently. But then again, it’s less of a cultural shock and more of a lifestyle shock. I’m sure it’s ten times more of a shock for foreigners when they come around here then it is for us when we experience and learn new things in our culture.

I agree with you Samuel. I think that we can live a culture shock within our own country.
I went through the same thing in high school. I come from a small village (Valcartier Village)and we were a total of 27 (yes, in all) in the whole school. Since there aren't many english schools within the school board the "Valcartier" kids have to go into town for high school. When I first visited Quebec High School I found it huge and scary! There were hundreds of students in the school! I was not used to that. I was used to knowing everybody in the school, and being related to almost everbody in the school! It was a big change for all of us coming from Valcartier Elementary! I remember that we used to say that we felt like a bunch of "hillbillies" as a joke, because it was just so overwhelming. We felt so out of place!
I guess that this is exaclty how immigants must feel when they first get here.

I also agree with Samuel. Culture shock is not only for foreigners. Indeed, i also come from a small city and I had to adjust myself to the city life. The way people think and the way they are acting as a community is different. However, I think that travellers are aware of culture shock. When you travel, you expect to see different things and manners and you know that you will need to adapt yourself. Otherwise, what would be fun about travelling? =) So, when you arrive in a new city it may take time to adapt yourself, but in the end you will be more than happy to discover a new culture!

It is interesting to talk about culture shock but I think it is worth to talk about how to prevent it. I think that by incorporating cultural elements and the descrition of these different cultures in our class we can help arouse cultural awreness in our students. This will help bridge the gaps between cultures and also reduce the cultural shocks that can happen in the futur of our students. It can be a good idea to have a lesson on cultue shock and to start by demonstrating that it can happen even in the same province ( state of region). A following activity could be created in order to explore culture shock in different context and countries.

I agree with the fact that a cultural shock can happen within your own culture. I personally come from a small town close to Quebec City (about 30 minutes from it) and I can tell you that the cultural clash happened. The calm and friendly environment that my city provides is very different of the dynamic culture of Quebec. In my school process, I went to small schools, but for the university. When I first studied in Cegep in Quebec, I decided to move to a smaller scale school that had only 1700 students, instead of a bigger one. That allowed me to keep the friendly and calm environment that my own culture has taught me. I could not stay in a bigger city that has so much different perspectives. The fact that I chose small scale schools helped me accomodate slowly but surely to the dynamism of Quebec City.

I sure agree with Samuel. It is important to understand that there are certain customs which may differ from urban life to country life. However, I believe we have to define our terms. Is the experience of Samuel a Culture Shock? I'm not so sure. Probably more an adjustement from a quicker rythm of life. I believe that a culture shock relates to bigger issues. For example: religion, clothes, women rights, food. Those are only a few examples of all the many differences you may find during a trip of another culture. Maybe I am wrong and maybe there are different cultures in the native quebec population. However, I do believe that a culture shock does relate to bigger differences.