Reflections on Self (Take THAT, Culture Shock)

As I take my first international trip, which happens to be a year-long stay in Japan, understanding and coping with culture shock are of the utmost importance. I think that culture shock stems from both a rejection or misunderstanding of new culture, as well as not understanding how you fit in, in order to maintain your sense of self. 

While I have been researching culture shock, it is also important to research customs in Japan and research...myself! By better understanding how I will fit in, I can predict and hope to minimize the number of negative situations.

I took an online version of the Myers Briggs Personality Test, and my unfaltering type is INFJ: Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging, the most rare of types, held by only 1% of the population. Many INFJs in history have been activists, including Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa of Calcuta, and Nelson Mandela. Here are some words/phrases that my test results use to describe me:

Caring

Complex

Creative

Critical

Devoted

Hard-nosed

Highly intuitive

Patient

Protective of Inner Self

Sensitive to conflict

Stubborn

Systematic

First, I alphabetized all these words, and then I thought they would look cool in Wordle:

(Wordle is super cool, but to get a .jpg, you need to print screen, paste into paint, crop & save)

I guess the above can attest to how I can be both systematic and creative, which to me seems a conundrum. 

Here are some demotivational posters that, somehow, seem to be just right:

 And a comic (so true!):

I think many of these traits will indeed help me adapt to Japanese society. My intuition will help me better understand the "hidden meanings" behind Japanese communication, as what isn't said is as important as what is. I am protective of my inner self, and based on what I have heard, many Japanese also are. I am unsure of how introversion vs. extroversion is viewed in Japan. I like to think of myself as a gregarious introvert, so perhaps I will be able to adapt well enough.

My critical nature stems from holding myself to a high standard and wanting others to hold themselves to a similar standard, and the focus on group harmony in Japanese society seems to function much in the same way. It is clear that I am sensitive to conflict, as writing this reflection aims to reduce culture shock and the conflicts it may produce in my professional life in Japan. This trait will also help me fit into a new professional setting.

From these characteristics, I predict the biggest roadblock will be wanting to do things my own way and to question the way things are done (see: stubborn, hard-nosed), particularly because this trait has been reinforced by my American environment. It is useful to understand this limitation. I will make a serious effort to respect the way things are done, as I am on Japanese soil as a guest, and I do not have enough knowledge or understanding of the way things are done in Japan to assert my notions of difference.

I think that last sentence is a good summation of how I can best adapt to my life in a new country.