Cultural Adjustment Curve: Where am I?

It’s been four years since I’ve started visiting Turkey regularly and a little over two years since I’ve moved here. I’ve relocated in my life quite a bit and thought that the level of my intercultural competence is pretty high. By moving to Turkey, however, I’ve found out the hard way that it was a lot more difficult for me this time around to embrace yet another new culture and country. 

Back in graduate school I took a class on Intercultural Communication, where I first learnt about the Cultural Adjustment Curve. All of us who move to another country go through same cultural adjustment stages. 

I am definitely staying true to the curve. I had my honeymoon stage when I couldn’t get enough of Turkey. I was fascinated with Istanbul and everything the city and the country have to offer. Then I hit the bottom of the curve - denial and rejection. I had a complete turnaround in my feelings about Turkey. I saw Istanbul as an ugly dirty city, life here exhausting, and food uneatable. I rejected everything Turkish and only felt comfortable in the company of our foreign friends. This stage lasted for the long two years. Every time I went home for a visit, it was very difficult to return back to Turkey. Fortunately, I feel like I am finally getting out of that stage and moving up to the next one while learning to accept the reality and find comfort in it. 

We still don’t know how much longer we will stay in Turkey, but I hope that one day I will fall in love if not with the whole country but Istanbul all over again. Will keep you posted! 

Stage 1: Honeymoon. This is how I saw Istanbul on a daily basis.

Stages 2-3: Rejection. Three months before Sophie was born we purchased 

an old apartment in 'Istanbul that had to be completely renovated. This is 

how the apartment' looked on the 1st day of renovations. During my stages 

2 -3 this is how I saw Istanbul in general. 

  This is how the apartment looked 3 months later on the day Sophie was born. 

  I, however, was still in stage 3. 

    Stage 4: this is how I am starting to see Istanbul again.