Christopher Novak works for a multinational financial organization based in Britain. He was transferred to Japan ten months ago to impart training on a new process to the executives at the company's back office. After experiencing the initial excitement of getting to know the new culture and surroundings, Christopher has begun to feel frustrated that he cannot carry out a single conversation satisfactorily due to his lack of fluency in Japanese. He now misses home and feels helpless in this foreign assignment. Christopher is experiencing the _____ phase of the adjustment process