College is Culture Shock

Culture change

What changes when you change cultures?

Almost everything: Communication and language, work and how we view life, and nearly everything else.

What changes when we start College?

Almost everything: Communication and language, work and how we view life, and nearly everything else. Yep, you’ve crossed into a new culture – the culture of Theological College.

As my dear wife says, ‘You don’t know how much you’ve got to learn as you start your theological education.’

College culture

Now you have arrived at College, here are some of the new things in your new culture:

• Academic, theological language – Suddenly, the language goes a lot deeper than a Katoomba Christian Convention sermon or a Bible study. You must learn a new technical language and terms for biblical studies and languages, theology and philosophy, ministry and church history.

• Academic writing – You’re not in high school any longer, Toto. You’re not even at university or TAFE studying your previous field. You’re writing in new styles, new genres, using new vocabularies.

• Academic sources – Suddenly, you must judge if a source is worth using. You discover that not everything in the library or from a database is equally good. Popular books and those familiar Google searches no longer make the grade.

• Academic voice – Now you must combine scholarly sources and develop your own academic opinions. You are expected to disagree with some scholars or even (gasp!) with your lecturers.

• Thinking critically – You suddenly have to assess the strengths and weaknesses of everything you read all the time.

• Major assessments and hours of study – You must focus more than ever before if you want to learn, grow, and pass.

• Life in a new community – At Moore, you study nearly every subject with the same exact people, and most of you live on campus for at least a couple years. You’re suddenly living in a new tribe.

• Community meetings – Chapel, chaplaincy groups, and service teams.

• In-depth Bible knowledge – You are suddenly pushed further than ever before, regardless how much Bible you have learned. And if you didn’t grow up with the Bible, you have even more to learn.

• If you are the first in your family to undertake university-level studies, you are entering even more unfamiliar waters.

• The hidden curriculum – This is everything you need to know but no one tells you. It is all the items above, plus the routines of life, where people and things are, how to relate to faculty and staff, managing the workload, and suddenly living in your new tribe.

What to expect and how  to deal  with it

Missionaries cross cultures, and they don’t find it easy. They spend their entire first term (three or four years) just finding their feet. Most feel like outsiders and novices until their second term. As theological students, you only do three or four years, find your feet, and then leave.

What to expect when you’re transitioning:

1. Expect culture shock (it will fade soon) – After the exciting buzz of the ‘honeymoon phase,’ there is usually a more challenging phase; after that, you adjust to College. Expect College life to jolt you about at times. This will eventually pass.

2. Expect culture stress (it will fade very slowly) – Culture stress differs from culture shock. It is the long-term tension of living in a foreign culture. This is not your native environment; you don’t belong here, it whispers to you. This can last a long time, especially for international students.

3. Expect ups and downs – Yes, College life is exciting! No, it is not always easy. Some weeks and months will be easier than others. The ups and downs will slow down and smooth out over time.

4. Expect imposter syndrome – You will feel like you don’t belong here. In first year, you miss many cues, you don’t understand the language, and you aren’t fully integrated into the community. Others exude confidence, seem to belong, and have no worries. But not you. Remember: These appearances are largely deceptive, and nearly everyone feels the imposter syndrome.

5. Expect changes – You may grow tired, want to isolate, avoid your studies, or become grumpy.

How do you adjust to your new culture? (AKA Practise being godly):

1. Give it time – Changing cultures is hard, but in the end, nearly everyone adapts. It might not be till second or third year that you feel at home here, and that’s all right. You will become a part of the place.

2. Lean on the Lord – Don’t let yourself grow stale. Feed on the Scriptures; pray to our Father; ask others to pray for you. And when you go to chapel or church, engage your head and your heart in songs, prayers, and sermons. For the rest of your life, it will be a challenge not to grow spiritually stale.

3. Look after yourself – Make friends, take up a hobby, work hard but sustainably, get your sleep and exercise, and have a social life. Look after your body and enjoy your relationships. They are vital parts of you as well.

4. Talk with others –Don’t wait for the perfect friend. Better a neighbour in time of need than a brother far away (Prov 27:10). You need people, so lean on them.

5. Remember your goal – You’re here for more than just a degree. You’re here to prepare for life and ministry, to know the Lord better, and to grow in godliness. Of course it’s hard at times. But it is often a joy, especially when you see the eternal fruit. When the semester or the month is a grind, remind yourself of the end.

College: It’s not just examinable content; it’s all of life.

Adjusting to College:  Treat this place as a new culture; it will be easier.

And when the transition is hard: Read College is Formative for some encouragement.

Open

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