All of the recent activities in class have shown me that I am much more stereo typically American than I previously thought. While I agree with a lot of the characteristics of Americans that have been presented, I had never seen it in words before or given it much thought. It is in my nature to be extremely direct and work on a schedule based on time.
In order to prevent this from being a problem, I plan to start learning about French culture before I leave and try to quickly learn more once I get there. Maybe I can find a book about French culture to read ahead of time and learn about the culture once I get there mostly through observing. Hopefully I will be able to let go of my American tendencies at least for the few weeks I will be there. Usually I am able to stop doing certain things once I am consciously aware of them.
Some aspects of the French culture I would like to learn more about are their pace of life and their food. It seems so foreign that people would take an hour or two to leisurely eat lunch. While Americans eat a lot more than the French, the French are more focused on food than we are. They take the time to realize what they are eating and savor it rather than do everything, including eating meals, on the go.
I do not know what to teach other people about American culture because I do not know what they will find interesting about it. Once I get to know some of the other students and some of the locals, we will be able to have more discussions about our respective cultures and I can answer any questions they have.
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