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- One of the biggest cultural differences that I observed throughout my time abroad was the attitude difference in public environments in comparison to the United States. At least from where I am from it is very custom to simply smile or make small talk to complete strangers, but in Europe, more specifically Paris where I was staying, everyone really just minds their own business. The customer service etiquette in stores or restaurants is the same as well, where you as a customer have to go out of your way to check out, get your bill, or ask for any help with anything. Unlike in the U.S. where the second you walk into a store and you have workers asking if you need help with anything and are circling you around the store ready to assist at any moment.
- Although this was a cultural difference that I observed, I did not find it hard to adjust to this new normal, especially since I started to appreciate and like it more than how it is in America. Being able to just walk up to any restaurant and get a table, have the waiter give you plenty of time to decide on your drinks and food, not feel pressured to leave after eating, and being able to enjoy the location for as long as one wants without feeling judged for taking up a table in a busy restaurant is something uniquely European that made me realized how rushed and in a hurry we tend to be in America.
- I think someone from my host culture/country would find it very amusing that after just a couple of weeks abroad I started to adopt the habit of taking my time at restaurants, minding my business while shopping, and not being outwardly friendly to people in public. I like to pride myself on my cultural awareness and trying not to be judgemental of differences right off the bat and I think this mindset really helped me learn and grow in my host culture/country. My French professor often mentioned how anytime he came to visit America he almost felt not wanted in a restaurant or so uncomfortable while shopping that he almost never wanted to go, because we are quite pushy and in a hurry that we don’t realize how that might feel for someone of another culture. So experiencing the opposite of this was a very interesting learning experience.
- This exercise has helped me look back and reflect on my time abroad and realized how much I have learned about my host culture/country in the short span of a semester. Seeing me notice a cultural difference but not being able to really criticize it, and actually commenting on how I started acting similar to this “difference” goes to show how important it is to not go in with any expectations or ideas of what your host culture is going to be like, with an open mind it is easy to make any place work.
