Cultural Shock
East or west, home is best. I came to realize what it means while the first month was past in Iowa. Everything is so different here, people, living, food, entertainment, etc. I am still getting used to all of these.
I guess many people have their own images about the US. What is your answer if using a word to describe America? For me, it is ‘Big’. Everything is so big here, especially the mall! Going to a mall is a good way to kill time. Window shopping helps you to pass an idle afternoon. If you are walking in a mall, you will always see people carrying a bunch of sodas. I may doubt that those sodas will run out in one day. Let’s see what I find: a towel-size salmon, five-pound ground beef, and three-gallon milk bottle. I wonder who can drink three gallon of milk in one week.
Sometimes I face a dilemma of my poor English. For example, when you have a chat with American, you totally cannot understand what he says. However, after five minutes you finally figure out his words and you have lost the best timing to reply. Of course you can recall the conversation unless you want to make yourself look like a retard. To avoid this kind of consequence, the only thing you need is ask again and again. They might speak slower and you can beat your brain out a super cool reply in this period.
In general concept, we may say American is fat. The truth is, some of them are indeed fat, while most of them are sports fanatics. They eat a lot, but they work out even more. In a small town where is lack of entertainment, going to a gym is the routine for every students. Compared with American students, Asian students seldom watch out for their health. What makes the difference? I guess this problem will leave to those experts.
By the time I make more and more friends, while a circumstance comes up. That is, I have difficult to well recognize foreigner’s name. After an introduction to each other, I might forget his/her name in only five seconds, which is worse than a goldfish. I have tried many ways to improve it, while it doesn’t work well.
I once read a book that taught me a method to memorize. For example, if you meet someone named Tim, and he is thin, then you memorize ‘Thin Tim’ to connect the name and person. More examples are such as ‘Red Ted’ if his hair is red; ‘Fat Matt’ if someone is fat. However, I cannot guarantee what will happen if you call him ‘Fat’ in his presence. In fact, I have to say, this method sucks, because the guy who lives next to me incidentally named Tim. He is damn fat.
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