Culture Shock Without Leaving the Country

When people hear the phrase “culture shock,” they usually imagine someone moving across the world and experiencing a completely different language, lifestyle, and set of traditions. Before learning about cultural psychology, I thought about culture shock in this way too. However, I have realized that people can experience cultural differences without ever leaving their own country. Moving from my small rural hometown in Ontario to university at St. Francis Xavier University showed me how different cultures and communities can exist within the same country.

Growing up in a small town, I was surrounded by a very specific environment. Many people knew each other, families had lived there for generations, and there was a strong connection to agriculture and community. Because it was the culture I grew up in, I never really questioned it. The routines, values, and expectations around me just felt normal. Cultural psychology has shown me that people often do not recognize the influence of their own culture until they are exposed to something different.

When I moved away for university, I met people from different provinces, cities, countries, and backgrounds. Even though many of us were Canadian, our experiences growing up were not always the same. Some of my friends grew up in large cities, went to much bigger schools, or were surrounded by more cultural diversity. Through conversations with them, I started noticing things about my own upbringing that I had never thought about before.

This connects to the idea that culture shapes our “normal.” What feels natural to one person may seem completely different to someone else because everyone is influenced by their own cultural environment. For example, growing up in a rural community influenced my values around independence, responsibility, and knowing the people around me. Other people’s environments shaped them in different ways.

Moving to university also relates to the process of acculturation. Although this concept is often used when discussing immigration, it can also apply to adapting to a new social and cultural environment. When I came to university, I had to adjust to new expectations, routines, and ways of interacting with people. I became exposed to different perspectives and started incorporating some of those experiences into my own identity.

University also made me think more about my own identity. Growing up, I was used to being one of the only people of colour in many spaces. Coming to university introduced me to people with many different cultural backgrounds and experiences. It helped me better understand both my similarities and differences with others. I became more aware of how my upbringing influenced the way I communicate, think, and view myself.

Learning about cultural psychology has helped me realize that culture exists everywhere, even within the same country. Moving away from home taught me that my experiences were not universal, but they were a reflection of the environment that shaped me. Leaving my small town allowed me to understand my own culture more clearly because sometimes you do not recognize the impact of your surroundings until you experience something different.