Chapter Six:
Adjusting to a New Culture

The focus in this chapter shifts from identifying cultural differences to learning how to live with them. The attention here is on the process people go through in adjusting successfully, both professionally and personally, to a new physical and cultural environment,. You will be looking at three different aspects of this process:

• the cycle or stages of adjustment


• the levels of cultural awareness


• changes in attitudes toward cultural difference

In the latter part of the chapter, you will take a closer look at common adjustment problems of PCVs', at strategies for solving them, how to cope with the stress that goes hand in hand with adjustment.

Adjustment poses a singular dilemma for many PCVs: in changing some of their behaviors to be more culturally sensitive, they turn into a person they no longer like. Is cultural sensitivity, at the expense of self-respect, too dearly won? It's a question many Volunteers struggle with throughout their tour of service and one that is treated in this chapter.

As you read through this material, try to remember that adjustment is not all struggle and no rewards. While it can be a trying experience, it's also challenging and enlightening, the kind of experience you would expect to have by joining the Peace Corps. If you approach the entire cross-cultural experience with your antennae out and plenty of humility, you will certainly be up to the challenge.

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