Acculturation is a term used to describe how an individual or a group from one culture interacts directly with an individual or group from a different culture. Sometimes, these two cultures may be similar, or they may be very different. Unlike culture shock, acculturation includes the ways both cultures influence each other. Also, culture shock is only focused on the individual or group who is entering a new culture. With acculturation, both cultures are looked at. Many things can be exchanged between the two cultures like language, ways of living, or foods. Acculturation is focused on the process of two cultures interacting over a long period of time, not once or twice. Cultural diffusion is different from acculturation because diffusion may occur once or twice, and means that there is an equal balance between the two things involved; with acculturation, this equal balance is not guaranteed.