One thing about U.S. culture is a lot of things are loud. Opinions are loud, people are loud, beliefs are loud, generally the overall culture is based on our freedom of expression. When you walk into a building you can hear people talking at a front desk, or when you walk into a fast food restaurant you can hear people working in the back. When you walk into a building, see stickers on laptops, pins on bags of different countries flags and pride flags. When you walk in a university classroom you maybe able to tell people\u2019s beliefs, religions, and opinions by taking a look at the stickers on their laptop. You can walk in a restaurant and overhear different conversations, hear stories of people you have never met or never will cross paths with again, or the restaurant wide signing of happy birthday for someone else. I don\u2019t necessarily think its a good or bad thing. But it\u2019s quite interesting how I can look at someone\u2019s things and be able to know a lot about them without even knowing their name. Knowing that day maybe a special day for someone, when for me it\u2019s just another Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I went to Taiwan over the summer for the CLS program, I realized as this aspect is uncommon. Things in Taiwan are quiet, opinions are not said loudly, there maybe temples on every other street but people don\u2019t openly talk about opinions or religion. The background noise I would hear in the U.S. did not exist there. Even when saying no, it was not loud, it was said in a soft indirect way. So, I\u2019m thinking that maybe expressing things directly whether it\u2019s religion, opinions, beliefs, and values are not so widely accepted in other places around the world. Loudness and voicing yourself may not be as appreciated as privacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This exercise helped me prepare for my time in Hong Kong because I never really stopped to reflect the U.S. culture in comparison to how others may see it. For me it may seem normal but for others it could be vastly different or maybe even socially unacceptable. This reflections will help me enter Hong Kong with a more open and receptive mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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