Culture Conversations

While here, I've met so many great people from different countries, notably Germany. During conversations with both my German and Scottish mates, we've come across a few cultural differences, things as basic as food and words. For example, I've had to explain Thanksgiving to a few people. It's one of those American traditions that is so common, I've never really stopped to think about it. This is a reason I think study abroad is so important; it not only makes you examine a different culture, it makes you re-examine your own. You become more aware of your home culture as well as your host culture which prompts you to question, evaluate, and appreciate.

But beyond Thanksgiving, there have been little cultural things, more lighthearted, that are interesting to see; for example, my Scottish flatmate had her first ever PopTart. She watches a lot of American television and movies (much to my delight) and she mentioned how PopTarts are such a cultural reference so she really wanted to try them but she could never find them. Well, we found some and I taught her the ways of toasting a PopTart to perfection. She quite enjoyed it :) There are other food related things, like the British calling Jello jelly and having baked beans for breakfast rather than at a cookout (an idea I had to explain). Discussing holiday traditions was also cool (Germans tend to open their presents on Christmas Eve and the British have a holiday called Hogmanay which is the last day before the New Year where they have big celebrations).

Also, things like school are very interesting to discuss. In Germany, high school is six years, so it is common to begin Uni at 20. You can leave high school after four or five years and be qualified for various lower level jobs. Also, in Scotland, there typically aren't graduation ceremonies, or even diplomas when students graduate from high school. It's just not a big deal, so obviously grad parties are out of the question. This goes along with a comment my Scottish flatmate made after I explained the Fourth of July: "America seems to be very jolly." And I guess she's right, when you think of grad parties, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, and all the other holidays and events we like to make a big deal out of.  I'm learning and thinking a lot about small but significant cultural differences, so study abroad seems to be providing me with the new perspective I was hoping for.