Managing Culture Shock with Adaptation of Students at Ciputra University, Surabaya

Abstract

Surabaya is the second largest city in Indonesia and marked as the popular destination of college students from other parts of Indonesia. Ciputra University is one example of private collages that some of its students come from eastern cities in Indonesia, which typically small and less developed. Those students experiencing a cultural gap while enrolling in the University. Students who come from different cities and cultures have to adjust to live in Surabaya as well as to the campus activities. The primary purpose of the study was to reveal the perceptions of students enrolled in International Business Management program study at Ciputra University regarding their experiences with culture shock. The qualitative approach was employed in this study and the data were collected using in-depth interview. On the basis of the collected data from interview, the paper will discuss the nature of culture shock in which most of the interviewed students had to deal with. In addition, having to cope with new environment, it is often more challenging and stressful than expected. Most students will experience some stress as part of this experience. How they cope with stress revealed their ability in the process of cultural adaptation.