So what is it like to pick up your things and head to a new country, a new culture, a new way of life? In the United States, there are so many immigrants from so many different countries, it may be hard for most of us to understand what it feels like to lose everything and gain something entirely new.

Here are the most talked about stages of immigration, beginning with the Honeymoon Phase. This phase is one of newness, excitement. Whatever problems that may arise are nothing more than part of the adventure. With each obstacle that is overcome, there is a new sensation of accomplishment and of promise for the future. This is a time of hope, of great expectations and a promising future.

Then comes the Rejection Phase. Here is where you sink or swim. You begin to get frustrated with everything. Nothing works as it should. No one sells the products you are used to. You can’t communicate as well as you’d like. You feel lost, misunderstood and begin to criticize the host country and maybe even the inhabitants. It’s a difficult time and not everyone sticks it out. This is the phase in which many newcomers decide to go home.

If you do make it, though, you may move on to the Regression Phase. In this phase, you begin to speak your own language, eat your home country’s food and maybe even make friends from your own cultural background. You are still frustrated with the host country’s ways and look back fondly on your own country. Everything seemed to run smoothly. You were comfortable and had a host of opportunities before you. Now, everything seems strange and you seem to be a stranger in what is now your home.

If you are lucky enough to move into the Recovery Phase, you are home free. In this phase, you have become culturally competent and can handle the language and idioms with much more ease than at the beginning. You have learned to accept the host country and can now see that no country is better than any other. They are simply different. You are different as well and are now able to adapt to new situations, people and experiences.

So how do these phases translate into everyday life experiences? We’ll take a look at that next time.

Photo: Okanagan College