My most memorable cross-cultural experience was during a wonderful summer vacation. I attended an ESL course at Columbia University, where I made friends with people from all over the world. At first, I was a little scared because I was not adapted to the new environment and there were many people from different countries. When we talked our experiences and lives, I could not share my experiences very well because my classmates did not seem to understand what I meant. However, after one week, I became more active and made friends with my classmates. My classmates were from France, Japan, Korea, Columbia, and Germany. I learned a lot about each of these individuals and a little about their cultures as well. For example, I learned that the Japanese like to share their food, and they always bow at 90 degrees. Koreans are very similar. In my memory, the most special person was the French. I have already known that French is very amorous, but there was one thing that surprised me.
One day when we were in class, the French student’s girlfriend came in without knocking on the door to find her boyfriend. After talking with her boyfriend, they just kissed in the class. I was so surprised because this thing would not happen in Taiwan or other Asian countries. However, my other European classmates felt comfortable. However, our teacher still reminded him not to do so in the class. There were many interesting things happened in the class. I loved my classmates a lot and tried to accept every culture that came from different places.My best friend came from Japan.
She is a mother and she settled down in New York City. In order to improve her English ability, she came to our ESL courses and became my classmate. She sometimes made food, such as sushi; sometimes she brought me to see an opera, or brought me to the play to see the fireworks. When my friends and I felt tired or missed home, she comforted us and hugged us, just like our mothers would. She was a very kindly person.In New York, I saw many things that were different from Taiwan. For example, there were fast trains and slow trains in the subway. We must pay attention to the trains or we could take the wrong train.
In addition, Americans like to listen to music in the park. They liked to enjoy wine on the grass. I remember that one day my friends and I want to imitate the Americans and listen to music in Central Park, but we did not bring or prepare anything; we only brought a camera. When we arrived, we were shocked. The Americans were really enjoying the music. The sun was declining and the scene was very beautiful. The Americans put cushions on the grass, and they drank with each other. My friends and I just put newspapers on the grass. That looked so stupid. However, we also enjoy the songs very much.There are still many special things that have yet to happen to me in New York. I am cherishing my experiences with so many people who come from different countries and the American lifestyle. Every person has his own culture and sometimes some people may not feel very comfortable about other cultures. However, we must try to accept everyone because everyone is sharing our world.
