Culture shock: Why everyone’s feeling it, and how to cope, with Margie and Simon Gillham @ Moore College

“Culture shock is what happens when you move from one culture to another, and all your ways of dealing with the world become compromised by the changes you’re going through… That’s complicated and it’s exhausting. And that’s what everyone is going through right now. We have new ways of greeting people, we have new languages, new modes of communication…” Simon and Margie Gillham are former missionaries with the Church Missionary Society. Simon is now the head of the Department of Mission at Moore College, and Margie is a Mission Development Facilitator for the Church Missionary Society. They have a great deal of experience in helping missionaries adjust to culture shock. They shared with me their thoughts and experiences, with many practical tips for how to adjust to the “new normal” that has been brought about by measures to contain the Covid-19 virus.