Saturday, May 31, 2014
Tyler Edge Culture
This trip, which is more so like an expedition has placed me in a position I may have been unprepared for; that is, culture shock hit me harder than expected. Of course, every trip into uncharted territory for someone may be difficult. Albeit, it has been one of the greatest experiences in my life; in addition, I can brag about my travels to Europe in future conversations. The most shocking thing to me was the larger than expected language barrier. It has hindered my ability to fully experience the attitudes and differences between our culture and their cultures. The problem with my assumption that nearly everyone would speak English has led.me.tocreate two new perspectives. It was naive of me to assume that most people spoke English in foreign countries. Also, how dare I go into a foreign country and assume that they should HAVE to speak the same language as myself. This leads me to the conclusion that it is an assumption of bigotry and means I still have a lot to learn about other cultures. Overall, I have done nothing but learn and become a better person by choosing to study abroad.
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I agree that I have learned and joined the study abroad with an open mind to get the full cultural experience.
ReplyDeleteMost Americans have the same mindset at home, that all tourists and travelers have to speak English. This trip has been very beneficial in learning about other cultures.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Max it defiantly is the same everywhere as in, in the U.S. people believe tourists should speak English, which if fine, but then we can't expect it to be any different if we go to the Netherlands and they expect Dutch, or go to Germany and they expect German, etc.
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