Culture Shock

Culture shock is defined as a person’s reaction to entering a new, unpredictable and therefore uncertain environment. Basically you have a hard time determining which of the millions of sights, sounds and smells are important and which ones should be filtered out. You have a very hard time interpreting all of these perceptions which bombard you. This is a phenomenon, which everyone will suffer to one degree or another. Even if you have traveled extensively before, you will still experience culture shock when entering a different culture than the one you have been immersed in recently.

Culture Shock“When going through a culture shock – keep going.”

Some Cultural Facts about the Indian

Society*These are generalisations which come from common understanding and not scientific method. This is subject to individual behaviours and the situational context

Shyness

Indians are known to be quite shy and not very outspoken. You have got to realize that you are in a completely new country and have to make an effort to get to know people. Indians may seem aloof and brusque. You will, however, not find them lacking in friendliness.

Speaking abilities

Foreigners are quite pleasantly surprised with our English speaking abilities. Most people speak basic English, and are adept at conversing in the language. Though, you might have to be careful with your accent, as Indians speak English in a very ‘dictionary’ accent & fast pace.

Collectivism

Whereas western culture believes in individualism, we believe in collectivism. An individual’s life is interdependent with his surroundings. In a way our lives are run with the support and cooperation of our fellow beings. This is also one of the chief reasons why social motivation gets an upper hand in our work environment.

Culturally Sensitive

As mentioned above, Indians feel very strongly about collectivism. From that emerges the emotional nature of Indians. Indians are generally very patriotic. We expect internationals to respect India’s culture & norms.

IST (Indian Stretchable Time)

The Indian concept of timing is very flexible. Being late by about 15-30 minutes is quite normal. This followed more in the case of socializing and parties. This is not a universal phenomenon specially in case of professional & traveling activities.

Close minded and Orthodox

Many things that you may see or experience during the course of your traineeship may come as a shock to you. A lot of Indians have a tendency to be very close-minded and conventional, and not accept the fact that people may have completely different lifestyles to their own. However, the younger generation is generally more open-minded.

Safety for Women

India has an international reputation for crime and scams especially against women, but most problems can be avoided with a bit of common sense and an appropriate amount of caution.Millions of tourist visit India & thousands of female interns come to do internships through AIESEC India. By maintaining appropriate amount of caution, your experience in India will be delightful and safe. As a pre-caution you can get in touch with local AIESECers & previous interns to know more about the safety. You can also read more about India on credible travel websites like lonely planet.

Hierarchy

There is a strong sense of hierarchy in the Indian society. Generally, Indian people are very formal with their seniors. Even in a work environment this is followed. However, this also depends on the specific culture of the organisation & the personality of the supervisor.

Tendency of Not Refusing

In some cases, Indians avoid saying no as they consider it impolite. This might lead us to make promises that are difficult to be fulfilled. If there is a difficult task that needs to be managed in a given time please clarify and set expectations. It might help to request the person to be frank and give you a realistic answer. However, this tendency can’t be generalised and is subject to individual behaviour.

1.2 billion people live here

There are so many of us in India. Specially in big cities. You would need to get used to the crowd. As they say, the more the merrier.

Disorganised Environment

India is a developing country. There can be a lot of chaos at a lot of places, for example at train stations. Its not uncommon to find animals, garbage & rash drivers on Indian streets. You are best advised to adapt to the situation. Its India, all will be well here.

Love for Food

Cold cuts, Raw fish, Hard bread – do not really appeal to a lot of Indians and we prefer our own curries and cooked vegetables. A lot of families use chillies and spices to add taste to their food. You must be careful in pre-warning them if you are sensitive to chillies and spices.