Sharri Whiting Kuperard, London & Random House, New York
I came from Los Angeles to live in Namibia in 1993. Once I emerged from classic culture shock, I discovered I had found insights into the society of which I was now a part. In 2008, I put that information into a book, Culture Smart! Namibia. The book is a brief look at the over a dozen ethnic groups in Namibia, their traditions, values and attitudes; it offers ways for visitors to this multi-cultural country to meet and understand these extraordinary people.
Like most humans, I found that relocating to a new country required getting up to speed quickly, especially as I had left behind the intensity of the LA lifestyle. Here’s how I experienced the four Cs of acculturation:
1) Control – Having no control over my environment was definitely the first sign of culture shock and I had a bad case. Where was the valet parking? What happened to deserts paved with green turf? Where did they put the water misters to humidify the outside, for goodness’ sake? I soon realised I had left southern California behind. There were real birds singing at five in the morning, which I could hear through my open window on a hill in Windhoek. The air was crystal clear. What was this?
2) Comfort – Comfort comes with the familiar and I couldn’t find it: where was the shopping on Rodeo Drive, the Hollywood sign, the crawling, bumper-to-bumper traffic? How was I to cope with Namibia’s amazing wildlife, the incredible creatures in my own back yard, in a country with fewer people than in my neighbourhood in LA, and – heavens! – no one was talking about their nutritionist, the latest diet, or their custom-made vitamin supplements. Instead, while slurping down the best oysters in the world, they chatted about camping in the vast Namib Desert. How odd and how wonderful.
3) Competency – The third level of acculturation is achieving the feeling of competency. Normally that comes from paying your own bills in your new country, ordering and getting telephone service, finding the emergency room if you need it, even buying an aspirin. In Namibia, for me it was taking an Alfa Romeo sedan on safari with my brothers, learning to live with the benevolent flat spiders that live behind the pictures on the wall (they eat mosquitoes), or jumping out of the car in the middle of nowhere, t.p. in hand, to find the perfect bush. I can pay a bill anywhere, but where else can I learn to steer a quad bike to the top of a dune overlooking the Kunene River and look down over a vast, natural landscape?
4) Confirmation – This is the high point of learning to live in a culture, when one begins to feel involved with the society and not just as an onlooker. Writing the book Culture Shock! Namibia brought me to that sense of confirmation.
Learning more about the values and attitudes, and the customs and traditions of Namibia’s over a dozen ethnic groups made for a richer understanding of how life is lived in this land of extremes. There are sections in the book that will teach you how Namibians live and work, the history of the country, and travel, health and safety information. Of course, there is a section on food and drink – it’s impossible to fully know Namibia unless you sample its cuisine. Bon appetit!
Sharri Whiting De Masi Sharri received her M.Sc. in Communication Management from Simmons College in Boston. She guest lectures at the American University of Rome, Italy, and develops the summer programme for graduate students from Simmons College held in Rome and Umbria, Italy.
