"Culture shock" occurs as a result of total immersion (浸没) in a new culture. It happens to "people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. " Newcomers may be anxious because they do not speak the language, know the customs, or understand people's behavior in daily life. The visitor finds that "yes" may not always mean "yes", that friendliness does not necessarily mean friendship, or that statements that appear to be serious are really intended as jokes. The foreigner may be unsure as to when to shake hands, when to start conversations, or how to approach a stranger. The notion of "culture shock" helps explain feelings of bewilderment and disorientation. Language problems do not account for all the frustrations that people feel. When one is deprived of everything that was once so familiar, such as understanding a transportation system, knowing how to register for university classes, or knowing how to make friends, difficulties in coping with the new society may arise.

"... when an individual enters a strange culture, he or she is like fish out of water, " Newcomers feel at times that they do not belong to and feel alienated from the native members of the culture. When this happens visitors may want to reject everything about the new environment and may glorify and exaggerate the positive aspects of their own culture. Conversely visitors may scorn their native country by rejecting its values and instead choosing to identify with (if only temporarily) the value of the new country. This may occur as an attempt to over-identify with the new culture in order to be accepted by the people in it.