How is culture shock experienced by international students? Data on international students in Çorum, stages of adjustment, loneliness and ways to find support.
A student who set out from Baku, Mogadishu, Banjul or Kabul gets off the coach at Çorum bus station at the end of a long journey. The September evening has turned cool, the signs are in Turkish, and nobody has come to meet them. The four years ahead are both an opportunity and a journey full of unknowns. In recent years Çorum has quickly encountered a cultural diversity it was not used to: the number of international students at Hitit University has multiplied within a few years. In this article we look at the experience of international student culture shock, together with data on Çorum and what psychology says about adjustment. The article aims to speak both to these students and to the city that hosts them.
What Do the Figures Say? International Students in Çorum
The number of international students at Hitit University has grown rapidly in recent years:
- 2018–2022: According to indicators in the YÖK (Council of Higher Education) Monitoring and Evaluation Report, the number rose from 172 to 805 (as the report is currently inaccessible, these values are second-hand).
- 2024: According to an academic study published citing university data (Özakyol, Manjang and Jammeh, 2025), 1,294 international students.
- Current picture: According to the total of the nationality table on the official "Study in Türkiye" portal, 1,318 students from 62 countries.
The main nationalities are: Azerbaijan (475), Syria (122), Somalia (79), Iraq (77), Afghanistan (66), the Gambia (49), Kazakhstan (43), Gabon (41), Egypt (36), Turkmenistan (36), Indonesia (33) and Djibouti (23). Azerbaijani students are by far the largest group; the second largest group is made up of students from African countries.
For comparison: the university's total number of students in 2024–2025 was 19,814. Across Turkey, according to second-hand reports, there were around 350,000 international students in 2023, roughly 5% of students in higher education. At Hitit, international students make up around 7%.
The limits of the data
International student numbers are given in different sources with different dates; the years and definitions do not match exactly. There are two academic studies examining the adjustment of international students in Çorum, but both were carried out with relatively small samples (one involved interviews with 23 students, the other a survey of 60 students). Rather than generalising their findings to all students, they should be read as guiding clues.
What Did the Academic Studies Find?
Two studies carried out with samples from Hitit University (Boduroğlu, 2025; Özakyol and colleagues, 2025) list the factors that make adjustment harder as follows:
- The language barrier: Without Turkish, it is hard to deal with everyday matters, take part in lessons and make friends. The small number of people in the city who speak English adds to this difficulty.
- Financial hardship: For students with limited scholarship or family support, worries about accommodation and living costs are decisive.
- Bureaucracy: Residence permits, registration and paperwork are tiring and anxiety-provoking for someone who does not speak the language.
- Experiences of social exclusion and discrimination: Some students say they feel outside the city's social life and have experienced discrimination.
- Few job and internship opportunities: For students thinking about life after graduation, work permits and the language barrier create additional uncertainty.
The same studies also point to protective factors: ties with family, friendships and the university's support units contribute to students' adjustment. The university has an International Office that handles international student procedures and an application and research centre for Turkish language teaching.
What Is International Student Culture Shock and How Is It Experienced?
Culture shock is the state of confusion, anxiety and fatigue a person experiences when they lose the cultural cues they are used to. Everything, from greetings to mealtimes, from the teacher-student relationship in class to bargaining when shopping, has to be learnt again.
In the literature, cultural adjustment is often described in stages. According to the "U-curve" model, the process usually unfolds as follows:
- The honeymoon stage: The new country and city are exciting. Differences seem interesting.
- The crisis stage: Language, loneliness, bureaucracy and everyday difficulties weigh more heavily. Homesickness intensifies, and irritability and unhappiness may increase.
- The recovery stage: The person learns the new rules, achieves small successes and makes their first friendships.
- The adjustment stage: The new culture becomes a space in which the person can live without losing their own culture. The student is no longer just a "guest" but part of the city's daily life.
The "W-curve" model adds something to this: when a student goes home for the holidays and comes back, or graduates and returns to their country, they may experience a similar fluctuation again. These stages are not experienced in the same order or with the same intensity by everyone; but knowing that the "crisis" period is temporary helps students not to judge themselves.
Why might culture shock be different in a small city?
In big cities such as Istanbul or Ankara, international students can more easily meet people from their own country, cafés serving customers in different languages and multicultural social settings. In a small to medium-sized Anatolian city like Çorum, however:
- Because local people's contact with international students is relatively new, curiosity and reserve may be seen side by side.
- The student becomes "visible" in the street; this can sometimes turn into warm interest and sometimes into uncomfortable stares.
- Finding people who share your language and culture can be harder, which can increase loneliness.
- On the other hand, in a small city, relationships such as neighbourliness and hospitality can offer closer support than in big cities once trust has been built.
A Psychological Reading: International Student Culture Shock and the Inner World
Culture shock is not only about differences outside; it also shakes a person's inner world. Common experiences include:
- Homesickness: The sound of family voices, familiar food, joking in one's mother tongue... Longing intensifies especially on holidays and when ill.
- Loneliness: Not knowing the language makes it hard to form bonds beyond the surface with people. It is possible to feel lonely even in a crowded classroom.
- Questioning identity: Questions such as "Who am I here?" and "If I change, will I lose myself?" may come to the fore.
- Pressure to succeed: Families often send their children abroad at great sacrifice. The thought "I can't let them down" can prevent students from sharing their difficulties.
- Physical symptoms: Headaches, stomach complaints, sleeplessness or constant tiredness can be the ways in which the stress of cultural adjustment shows up in the body. Changes in climate and diet can add to this picture.
- Barriers to asking for help: In some cultures, talking about psychological problems may be considered shameful. With the language barrier on top of this, a student may try to carry their problems without telling anyone.
Let us imagine a first-year student from Africa who finds it hard to follow most lessons in Turkish in the first term. They share no language with their roommates in the dormitory, and their calls with family depend on the internet connection. When exam results do not come out as expected, the thought "I'm not going to make it here" settles in their mind and they stop leaving their room. Yet this picture may point not so much to a personal failure as to the crisis stage of adjustment.
Another example might be a student from Central Asia who learns Turkish quickly. Although the language barrier is relatively small, the feeling "People here are very like us, but actually quite different" may surprise them. Expecting similarity can make small differences feel sharper: table manners, the way elders are addressed, or how close friendships are. It is important to remember that culture shock can be experienced not only by those coming from "very different" cultures but also by those from cultures thought to be "close".
Our article on culture shock may also offer guidance on the general psychology of culture shock.
Culture shock is not a weakness; it is the fatigue of a mind trying to build a bridge between two worlds.
Through the Eyes of the Host City: Curiosity, Reserve and Contact
A cultural encounter goes both ways. While international students try to adjust to Çorum, the city is also meeting, in a short time, a diversity that is new to it. In this encounter, local people have their own feelings too: curiosity, a wish to be hospitable, and sometimes reserve towards something unfamiliar.
The approach known in social psychology as the "contact hypothesis" suggests that when people from different groups come together on equal terms, with shared goals and in a positive setting, prejudice can be reduced. A neighbourhood breakfast, a sports tournament, a food festival or the university's open days are places where this contact can happen naturally.
One point to watch in this process is the language of generalisation. Stereotypes such as "foreign students are like this" or "people from Çorum are like that" make it harder for both sides to get to know each other. When every student and every person from Çorum is known through their own story, the encounter becomes less a source of tension than an enrichment. For students, learning about the city's history, food and traditions forms the other side of this bridge.
Practical Suggestions for Students, the University and the City
For international students:
- Learn Turkish within everyday life. Short conversations in the market, on the bus or in the dormitory can build a bridge faster than a language course.
- Create a routine. Regular sleep, meals and exercise steady your mood during the crisis stage.
- Try to make friends both from your own country and among Turkish students. Closing yourself into a single group can slow down adjustment.
- You do not have to make everything look "fine" to your family. Sharing that you are struggling lightens the load.
- Get to know the university's International Office, your academic adviser and student societies; know where you can turn before a problem grows.
- Make time to explore the city. Museums, historic sites, the bazaar and local food turn the city from just the place you study into a place you live.
You can also take a look at our article on adjusting to university for the general challenges of the first steps at university.
For the university and the city:
- Peer mentoring or "buddy" programmes can make newcomers' first weeks easier.
- Cultural events create spaces where students can introduce their own cultures and meet local people. That positive contact between groups can reduce prejudice is among the well-known findings of social psychology.
- For shopkeepers, landlords and neighbours, small gestures make a big difference: speaking slowly, patiently giving directions, knocking on the door during a holiday.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
For most students, culture shock is a temporary period. However, if the following signs are present, talking to a mental health professional can be helpful:
- Intense unhappiness, crying spells or being unable to enjoy anything, lasting for weeks
- Not leaving your room, not going to lessons, withdrawing completely from friends
- Marked changes in sleep and appetite
- Constant anxiety, panic-like attacks
- Thoughts of hopelessness, worthlessness or that life is meaningless
If you have thoughts of harming yourself, do not wait; in Turkey you can call 112 (emergency services) in an emergency. Also let a friend nearby, a dormitory staff member or your academic adviser know straight away.
How Is Cultural Adjustment Addressed in Therapy?
In therapy the aim is not for students to give up their own culture, but to find a balanced place of their own between two cultures.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helps in noticing automatic thoughts such as "I'll never fit in here" or "Everyone is judging me" and weighing them up against the evidence. Small, achievable steps are planned to reduce social avoidance. Relaxation and problem-solving skills can be worked on for anxiety and sleep problems.
A schema therapy perspective helps in understanding old feelings revived in an unfamiliar environment, such as themes of "inadequacy" or "social exclusion". A culturally sensitive therapy process takes into account the student's values, beliefs and family expectations without judgement.
The individual therapy process can be planned in Turkish or English, depending on language options. Face-to-face sessions in Çorum and online sessions are both available.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does international student culture shock last?
There is no fixed length of time. For many students the crisis stage intensifies in the first few months and eases towards the end of the first academic year. Learning the language, friendships and routines can shorten this process.
Is it possible to live in Çorum without speaking Turkish?
It is possible, but challenging. Because the number of people who speak English in the city is limited, basic Turkish makes daily life and social relationships noticeably easier. Even a few phrases learnt step by step can open doors.
I hide my difficulties from my family so as not to upset them. Is that right?
It is understandable that you want to protect your family. But hiding everything can increase your loneliness. Sharing that you are struggling, honestly but without alarming them, helps both you and them to build more realistic support.
How can local people support international students?
Patient communication, a simple greeting, giving directions or an invitation to share a meal mean a great deal to a newcomer. Turning curiosity into questions and reserve into getting to know each other benefits both the students and the city.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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