Interpreting American Small Talk
I believe that every international student will experience different kinds of culture shock as soon as he sets foot on the soil of the United States. One problem is interpreting American small talk. As I come from an Oriental country, China, I often find it confusing.
When I first came to the United States. I was amazed to hear and felt that it was a task for me to use the words, "Thank you!" or "Thanks a lot!" In the grocery store, the clerks would say these words to me after I finished paying for what I had bought. At the loan desk of a library, the librarians would say them to me, as soon as they passed me the books. On these occasions, I sometimes would be a little embarrassed, for I did not know that people used these words more to show their politeness than really to thank you. Even when I understood these words, I still felt uncomfortable when I tried to use them. When I was ready to get off a bus, I would say to the driver,"Thank you!" Whenever I uttered these words, I would have such an uncomfortable feeling. In China, we do not use these words very often. We usually give a smile to the people who have offered us some favor. Normally we say, "Thank you!" only when we really and sincerely appreciate the people who help us a lot. Otherwise, a smile is enough.
In the first few weeks after I arrived here, I could not fully get the meaning of "How are you?" and "I am fine." These words may be the most frequently used words by Americans as a conversational greeting. When you run into an acquaintance somewhere, he would greet you by saying, "How are you?" In response you would say, "I am fine." But actually you might not be fine. You probably wanted to say something else from the heart. Even if you were possibly afflicted with some illness, or you were going to die, you still said, "I am fine." You would not tell people about your sadness or your trouble. Why? I guess that people do not want to know about you. These are just greeting words. In this way, these are quite similar to our greeting words in China. In the morning, on the street or in the hallway, we say, "Have you had breakfast?
Common curtesy has us saying “Thanks” to the point that we may have lost the intentions associated with the response. W.S. Merwin sums up this anomaly in his poem “Thanks”, saying “with nobody listening we are saying thank you” (Merwin 29). We say thanks for so many meaningless things that it no longer carry’s the true intent of the speaker. Instead it is a response to acknowledge the receiver rather than giving true thanks. This repetition allows for questions regarding what are we truly thankful for, and how we make this known to the receiver. Carl Dennis, in his poem, “Thanksgiving Letter From Harry”, struggles with this question. Not seeing himself thankful for all the negative atrocities around him, he tries to find something he can stand up and be thankful for with limited success, “I’m, thankful today I don’t reside in a country/My country has chosen to liberate” (Dennis 2-3). Generic overuse of such a simple, but meaningful word, has made saying “thanks” somewhat mundane, making it harder to express their gratitude to the receiver seamlessly.
4.Exhaust: After the Air/Fuel mix has been burnt the remaining chemicals in the cylinder (water and CO2 for the most part) must be removed so that fresh air can be brought in. As the piston goes back up after combustion the exhaust valve opens allowing the exhaust gasses to be released.
Opposition to intellectual property laws are becoming increasingly common. The moral aspects of intellectual property rights are coming into question, as limiting information and ideas is not benefiting anyone but major corporations. According to Libertarians, advancements may well come to a halt in future years if monopolized ideas are not disseminated for the greater good. On the other hand, disregarding current intellectual property rights internationally is leading to corporations “losing market share dramatically” to copycats producing generic versions of otherwise brand-exclusive medications (Shah, Warsh & Kesselheim. 2013). Priorities must be considered, what is important or beneficial to citizens is rarely what is important to corporations.
There are six general areas in forensic. Theres a medical examiner, crime laboratory analyst,crime scene examiner and a forensic engineer. determining which one you want can be hard, but its easier to talk to someone who does that job. They can tell you different things about the job.
My experience with culture shock is far different than what one would expect from a freshman in college. My experience does not fit the mold of what someone would normally think of as culture shock. I have never struggled with the idea of adapting to a new environment, simply because moving place to place has been a constant factor in my life. My culture shock revolved around the idea of being subjected to a set of ideas that I had never been subjected to. My culture shock was experiencing the death of my father, and my mother being diagnosed with cancer in a span of two years. These events required me to grow up faster than I imagined I would ever have to.
These ragas, along with the rhythms played by the percussionist, convey the particular “tranquility, natural beauty, and spirituality” of Indian music and are the very backbone of its expression (Wright 432-433). Raga has a much richer meaning beyond its melody. Bailey (115) notes that the music theory behind raga stipulates specific emotions, “the deities with which they are associated,” and even the appropriate times they should be performed.3 Tala is cyclic in nature and may be linked to the spiritual importance of reincarnation within Hinduism (Wright 433). The sitar is a “North Indian stringed instrument related to the lute, consisting of two gourds connected by a teakwood neck with 20 movable frets, six or seven main playing strings, and 11-13 sympathetic strings on separate bridges” (Rain 116). The tabla are two drums played in accompaniment to the sitar, one of which will produce one sound, while the sound of the other is influenced by the amount of force with which it is struck (Wright
One of the first and most common problems most, if not all international students face when they first arrive in the UK for study is culture shock. culture shock is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary(2014) as the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone when they are suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes. When students first move to the UK they observe and experience several things for the first time and it tends to overwhelm them. New international students often find themselves feeling powerless and unimportant which often forces them into self-isolation(Bailey, 2005). The culture shock also tends to result in the students being unable to make friends in their new community because they are unsure of what is customary and regarded in good light (Bailey, 2005).
Apparently many American have been infected with the rudeness virus. Some might get it from the stressful and hectic life style they live or maybe the adult was just raised in an environment where manners didn’t matter.
In the Grenadian culture, everyone is greeted the same way however, in the Nigerian culture their greetings are very symbolic. Because in the Nigerian culture, one’s age and social status demands respect. Whenever you meet an elderly man or woman, you must greet them in a particular way; you extend your hands to them and bow your heads. Also, you must take time to ask about their health and well-being. Because, rushing a greeting is considered as being rude. Unlike the Grenadian culture, there is no set way in which we should greet anyone, furthermore, greeting people is a matter of choice. One can choose to greet or not to greet anyone, either way it can be considered as being
One thing that is easy to spot in a culture is the way that people great each other. The way that people great each other in America vs. Mexico may seem similar but actually are very different. The greeting in America’s pop culture has a variety. First off the greeting between two people that now each other is very relaxed. Usually a hug or a custom handshake is used to greet a friend. However greeting some one that you don’t know is different. People great with a normal handshake and make eye contact to try and make a good impr...
The first step taken to become a forensic scientist is to first pass the education required to become one. The education level chosen depends on what kind of forensic job you are interested in and what salary you are going for. Most entry-level forensic positions require a bachelor’s degree in forensic or natural science (Anne 1996). Undergraduate programs consist of toxicology, biochemistry, and criminal justice classes. The American Academy of Forensic Sciences also recommends English classes. This is because forensic scientists need very honed written and oral communication capabilities to write detailed reports and testify physical evidence in court.
Culture shock occurs because most Japanese cannot easily escape from the formula "politeness= indirectness." Compared to the American way of speaking, Japanese speak much more indirectly. Directness is considered a form of impoliteness in Japan. Therefore, when we want to be polite, we speak and act very indirectly. For example, we seldom say, "I'll go to a bathroom," except when we are with close friends. Usually, we say, "I'll go wash my hands." Especially when we are at the table or with an important person, we say only, "Excuse me. I'll be back in a minute" because we do not want to remind other people of the bathroom, which is considered a dirty place, even though it is actually clean. Also, other Japanese can infer that we are going to a bathroom from this phrase. But Americans cannot. They ask where we are going since they have no idea what we are going to do: make a phone call? buy something? Yet, in this case, these questions make Japanese frustrated, wondering why these Americans do not understand our polite expression.
Going to study in a new country can be a stressful experience, from learning the culture norms to new foods. Culture shock is common with international students. Culture shock can include, meeting new people, language barriers, social behaviors, and a sense of community. A students comfortability with the culture of their new home can determine their learning experience. It can be an emotional rollercoaster, being so far away from family and friends. American culture is difficult to understand. International students find Americans to be confusing. Social norms vary depending on the part of the country a person is in.
My brother knowing that I will definitely experience culture shock, started giving me tidbits of what I would expect. I remember him saying “This is America my sister, they speak different here, many things have different names from home”. He then told me “open the trunk and offload y...
Everyone deals with culture shock differently. People can often have preconceived notions of a specific culture that can cause them to be pleasantly surprised or disappointed (Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2012). Some cultures are also more different than other cultures. Someone moving from the United States to Canada is not going to have as much of an adjustment as someone moving from the United States to India, especially if they do not speak the language. The adjustment also can relate to certain personality attributes, like how open minded or stubborn someone is.