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LIVING IN A NEW CULTURE

Brad Breiten and Ryan Pascua

JETAA Rocky Mountain

28 June 2025

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outline

adapting to living in a new culture

  • What is cultural fatigue?
  • Causes
  • Signs
  • Stages
  • Coping
  • Resources

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What is cultural Fatigue?

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Feeling confusion, anxiety, uncertainty, exhaustion or disorientation when experiencing a new and unfamiliar:

  • culture
  • set of attitudes
  • way of life
  • social environment
  • work place

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Cultural fatigue is normal & dynamic

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What contributes to cultural fatigue?

DIFFERENCES

  • Language, dialects, & accents
  • Communication styles
  • Food & drink
  • Technology
  • Physical spaces
  • Work & school life

NAIVE REALISM & ETHNOCENTRISM & CULTURAL DISSONANCE

expectations

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Signs of cultural fatigue

PHYSICAL

  • Appetite or weight change
  • Fatigue
  • Sleeping more or less
  • Becoming ill more frequently
  • Upset stomach

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PSYCHOLOGICAL

  • Unhappiness
  • Homesickness
  • Loneliness
  • Withdrawal
  • Fearfulness
  • Low self-esteem
  • Irritability
  • Feeling “out of it”
  • Loss of motivation

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Reverse Culture Shock

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Coping: Before You Go

  • Recall a time you experienced transition shock
    • What worked well & what didn’t
  • Make goals
  • Prepare mentally
    • New vs. old self
    • Growing pains
    • Accept change
    • Embrace doing
  • Research

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coping: in Japan

  • Be mindful:
    • Check-in with yourself
    • Acknowledge your feelings
    • Try to find the root cause
  • Avoid:
    • Nostalgia pitfall
      • can be denial of the painful present & may leave you close minded
      • over-indexing on the past can make you miss the present
    • Bitterness
    • Conflating individual with cultural issue
    • Isolating yourself

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coping: in Japan

  • Forge/foster connections with:
    • Japanese people
    • JETs & foreigners
    • Family & friends
  • Remember your why:
    • Embrace the unknown
    • Personal growth
    • Get excited!

“No man is an island.”

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resources

Tofugu.com

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resources

JET General Handbook

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resources

  • AJET Peer Support Group (PSG)
    • Volunteer-based confidential listening & resource line
    • 050-5534-5566 or Skype “AJETPSG” everyday from 8pm - 7am
  • JET General Information Handbook
    • Health & JET Programme Support System Chapter
  • CLAIR JET Mental Health Counselling Assistance Programme
    • Provides a partial subsidy (50%, up to ¥30,000 per year) for counselling costs (either in Japan or overseas) not covered by health insurance.
  • CLAIR JET Online Counselling Service
    • Via web mail (no limit) or Skype (7 sessions/year)
    • Contact Contracting Organization or CLAIR News email

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resources

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  • Tokyo English Life Line (TELL)
    • TELL chat → free, anonymous, weekly hours
    • Confidential professional in-person & telehealth counseling offered in multiple languages
    • https://telljp.com/lifeline/
  • Int’l Mental Health Professionals Japan (IMHPJ)
    • Network providing mental health care, therapy & related services

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Questions?

Brad Breiten

vice_president@jetaarockymountain.org

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Ryan Pascua

rjp12470@gmail.com