Moving to a new country could be hard for most people since there are a lot of things to process. As an international student, you’d find yourself getting lost and confused with a lot of things.
There are a lot of things you can do to overcome culture shock, but they take time and effort. Here are some tips to help overcome the shock of facing cultural changes.
Be Patient
Getting used to a culture takes time like most things that are new to you. There are a lot of things that may be different in Barcelona and getting used to them will take time.
Give yourself some time to get accustomed to the city and try to talk to locals. You can make a list of the things that make you overwhelmed and look for ways that can counter that.
The more you surround yourself with people, the less you’d feel overwhelmed.
Keep an Open Mind
Not every culture is the same. You might see people behaving differently from you in various scenarios. You’d see a bunch of things that don’t make sense to you but mean the whole world to another person.
For instance, language is one of the parts of people’s culture. And just because you don’t understand what they are saying doesn’t give you the right to force them to speak otherwise. Keep an open mind to everything, you might just find the beauty of what their culture means.
Avoid Comparing
The first thing you will notice is the change of scenery and practice. If you kept thinking how different Barcelona is from your old home, then you’d most likely find yourself still unaccustomed there.
A great thing you can do is to think of Barcelona as a second home. Yes, it’s not the same as before, but it’s still yours. Comparing things that are in Barcelona to your hometown could make settling more difficult
Talk to Your Friends
There are a lot of immigrants in Barcelona and even more in the whole of Spain. You may even find a lot of people who came from your country and most of them may be students too.
More often than not, they would also feel homesick and have a lot of things that they can’t get used to.
Talking to other people is a good way of expressing your emotions. Once you’ve settled how you feel, it would be easier to identify the problem and find a way to counter it. You aren’t alone in your new place, you can always find someone who will listen to you.
Coping with culture shock is just one of the many things you must do to adjust to life in Barcelona. To further help you with your new stage in life, you can read our guide to overcoming language barriers here at MSM Unify.
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