Culture Shock has been defined as the normal response to unfamiliar social and emotional cues. Each of us will experience Culture Shock as we travel together on this mission trip.

Even the most experienced traveler can experience these responses to the new social cues of the "host" country.

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“The key to dealing with Culture Shock is not denial or avoidance but in understanding and navigating”

Culture Shock comes in Phases:

1) Honeymoon: This is the phase where team members fall in love with the host country. The grass seems greener, the sky seems bluer. We recommend you thoroughly enjoy this phase, just refrain from any life changing decisions.

2) Break-up: In this phase folks tend to want to find the fastest way out of the host country. You've lost that "loving feeling", and everything seems way too foreign and frustration comes more quickly. During the "break up" it's important to share your frustrations with the team in a safe environment, and remember that this phase will pass.

3) Understanding: Understanding begins to settle in your mind as some of the foreign behavior of the host culture becomes familiar. You will start to recognize and even understand more of these new social cues. Take the mindset of a student and you will gain a new comfort even faster.

4) Acceptance: In this phase, you will begin to accept the wonderful differences between your home and host cultures. Culture becomes more clear and you can begin to see strengths in both. Resentment for either culture fades as you enjoy and accept these differences.

Culture Shock is cyclical, which means each phase will come around again.

You may likely process through this entire cycle several times on your trip. Experiencing Culture Shock with a team, and openly sharing your experiences is the best way to process through Culture Shock. We are very experienced travel hosts, and familiar with everything you will experience on your trip. We will help you navigate Culture Shock and keep everyone focused on the mission.

One of the most effective ways we have found to work through Culture Shock during a mission trip is though daily debriefing. Through a series of discussion questions and having ample opportunity to decompress from the day we plan to help everyone on the team find ways to navigate this very real