"When an individual enters a strange culture, he or she is like fish out of water." New comers feel at times that they do not’ belong and consequently may 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 values of the new country.
Reactions to a new culture vary, but experience and research have shown that there are distinct stages in the adjustment process of foreign visitors. When leaving the comfortably secure environment of home, a person will naturally experience some stress and anxiety. The severity of cultural shock depends on visitor’s personalities, language ability, emotional support, and duration of stay. It is also influenced by the extent of differences, either actual or perceived, between the two cultures.
Visitors coming for short periods of time do not always experience the same intense emotions as visitors who live in foreign countries for longer terms. The adjustment stages during prolonged stays may last several months to several years. The following stages are common: (1) Honeymoon period (2) Cultural shock (3) Initial adjustment (4) Mental isolation (5) Acceptance and integration.
Individuals experience the stages of adjustment in different ways. When visitors have close relatives in the new culture or speak the foreign language fluently, they may not experience all the effects of cultural shock or mental isolation. An exile or refugee would adjust differently form someone who voluntarily traveled to a new country. Certain individuals have difficulties adapting to a new environment and perhaps never do; others seem to adjust well from the very beginning of their stay.
What does the author mean by "Honeymoon period" in paragraph 3