An American Abroad

 

An American Abroad

I think that I have a lot of positive qualities when it comes to learning about a new culture. In my short time in my adult years, I have made many friends from all over the world. I have understood from a very early age that there are other countries and cultures from my own, and each of those are just as important as the one I know. For me personally, I think it's important to try to understand the culture of my host country. However, I believe there will be times where I will have difficulty understanding. If that's the case, I will continue to try to understand while just accepting that "this is just the way things are here." I'm happy to say that according to my Culture Learning Strategies Inventory Worksheet, I am open to trying any strategy to better understand my host country. I cannot say for sure right now that any one strategy will help me the most, but I am very open to seeing how our cultures are both different and similar. Honestly, I'm not sure what I can bring to Japan from my American culture. I was very lucky to make a couple of Japanese friends with a similar sense of humor as me, but I don't know if I will be so lucky again. To be honest, I'm kind of nervous about this. However, if the natives of my host country understand and enjoy my humor, that may be the most noticeable aspect of American culture I can show them. I think other things will arise where I can explain the differences in American and Japanese culture, but I cannot think of anything else off the top of my head.

This is probably the only picture I took while I was being social. I should have taken more. T-T This, if you couldn't tell, was taken at karaoke.