Subject:
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Re: My Non-LEGO family experiance (Nice Story)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Tue, 29 Feb 2000 01:48:16 GMT
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Viewed:
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497 times
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<snip>
> > Wow, I didn't think the US was that bad...what makes Israel so much
> > better?
>
> Nothing is BAD about the US specifically - I'm just not getting along here.
> Kids aren't very friendly in my school, I don't like the cold weather, I miss
> my house, family and friends.
Couldn't help but toss in a couple of pennies; this conversation often
comes up with friends of mine who have travelled internationally. The
USA tends to have a "colder", more "closed" culture than many other
countries of the world. I put those words in quotes since broad
generalizations about a broad country produce a broad range of
exceptions. Also note that there is no value judgment with this cultural
statement, it is simply a statement of observation.
I spent ten months in Southern Spain as an exchange student in '92. The
people were definitely "warmer" there. However, I have to admit that
even though it was a life-changing experience (1), I was thrilled to get
back to the US. Along with the "warmer" culture of Southern Spain came a
bunch of unwritten rules about "how things work". As someone who often
didn't play by the rules, things like being expected to choose a
girlfriend and eat the "right" food (I was a vegetarian, and possibly
the only one in the region at the time), really started to get to me.
If it were a matter of my habits causing problems or extra work for
others, I'd understand, but this wasn't the case. I just didn't "do the
right thing". Luckily for me, my status as an exchange student worked as
a convenient excuse ("crazy foreigner"), so I wasn't ostracized for my
"habits", when natives certainly would have been. For the most part,
they became pretty accepting of most of my cultural habits rather
quickly. Which was probably one of the most valuable things I
learned--that I even *had* cultural habits. That's probably the most
valuable thing about being an exchange student: you get to see what you
take for granted, and find out that you are indeed taking some things
for granted.
I don't know if I preferred US culture by virtue of having grown up in
it, or because it is best suited for the way I live my life (and perhaps
it's not possible for me to make a distinction between the two). I'd be
interested to hear if anyone found a culture that they liked better than
the one in which they grew up, and moved there (or plan to).
Adam
bwappo@ee.net
(1) And one I would recommend to *anyone*! To all students: spend at
*least* three months in another country! Preferably one in which you
don't know the language.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: My Non-LEGO family experiance (Nice Story)
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| (...) I grew up in the UK, emigrated to Canada in 1981, and definitely prefer the culture here. Not that there aren't things I miss from the UK, or things I dislike about Canada, but on balance I far prefer it here. The main difference is the lack (...) (24 years ago, 29-Feb-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: My Non-LEGO family experiance (Nice Story)
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| (...) Nothing is BAD about the US specifically - I'm just not getting along here. Kids aren't very friendly in my school, I don't like the cold weather, I miss my house, family and friends. Basically, it's been eight months since I've moved here, (...) (24 years ago, 28-Feb-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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