Culture Shock is a Mirror

How experiencing another culture forces you to see your own differently

The first time I experienced culture shock, it was something small a birthday card.

My friend, who is Muslim, gave me a beautiful card for my birthday, and I excitedly asked where she got it. Her face changed immediately. “You’re not supposed to ask that,” she said. “In my culture, it’s rude.”

I felt embarrassed.

To me, asking where someone got something was completely normal…almost a compliment. But in that moment, I realized that what seems polite in one culture can be offensive in another.

This experience made me think about cultural relativism, the idea that no single culture has the right to define what is “normal” for others. What we see as good manners or common sense isn’t universal…it is shaped by the values and traditions of the society we grow up in.

This became even clearer when I learned about Lakota traditions surrounding menstruation.

In Lakota culture, when a woman is on her period, she is treated with honor. She is relieved of responsibilities, given time to rest, and thought to be spiritually powerful. Compared to the…