Personal Narrative Sociological Concepts in My Trip to Europe
My trip to Europe was an eye opening experience. It awakened my senses to so many different aspects of life I had not already been introduced to. It was almost like watching a movie, from the minute I stepped of the plane everything was different. When I think about the trip and what experiences I had many sociological concepts come to mind, such as culture shock, ethnocentrism, culture, social locators, cultural transmission, norms, language, and subculture. It seems being placed directly in the middle of something that is so different made it easier to pick out the different concepts.
When I first got off the plane I immediately experienced so many different emotions. People were talking all around me. But they all sounded so different. Instead of what I was used to, American accents mixed in with the occasional foreign accent. I was now the foreigner. I never before had experienced anything different than I had been taught; now I got to see with my own eyes what a world there is out side of the United States. I had never experienced culture shock before, or for that matter ever really understood it.
When I was in France I noticed how different I was treated by the people there. The majority of people I met were polite because they were friends with the people I was staying with. But the people I met just out and about was rude. Even when I tried my best to talk to them in their language was ignored on some occasions and some just chose not to try to communicate. Once when I was in the post office trying to mail a package home I asked the Man in French is he understood English and in English he replied no. Thought that was interesting that he answered me in a la...
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...de these squats to support themselves. Some of them had restaurants, bars. And even one had an Internet café. You could drink and smoke marijuana without worrying about the police bothering you. These people exist in their own little world with their own laws and norms to follow. These People had their very own sub culture.
Deciding to take my trip to Europe was one of e best things I could have ever done for myself. Everyone should b lucky enough to get the opportunity to do the same. Now armed with the information about just the ginning of what is to be found out there in the world, I can find whom I am going to be and in which direction I wan to go. I realized that the States are just not as marvelous as we are told they are. The US such a small part of the entire world. There is so much going on around different foods religions languages culture, lifestyles,
... I, too, have traveled outside of the United States and have discovered the advantages of being open to cultural differences. My experiences have allowed me to accept people on their own terms more easily than I would have were I not able to break out of my culture, even though only for a short period of time.
When I first moved to America I had many difficult, but positive life changing experiences. My parents, five sisters, four brothers, and I were all very nervous and excited to start a new life. I had many life changing experiences when it was my first time in an airport, starting school to learn a new language, and moving to Lincoln, Nebraska.
Stepping out of my first plane ride, I experience an epiphany of new culture, which seems to me as a whole new world. Buzzing around my ears are conversations in an unfamiliar language that intrigues me. It then struck me that after twenty hours of a seemingly perpetual plane ride that I finally arrived in The United States of America, a country full of new opportunities. It was this moment that I realized how diverse and big this world is. This is the story of my new life in America.
“You are in America, speak English.” As a young child hearing these words, it did not only confuse me but it also made me question my belonging in a foreign country. As a child I struggled with my self-image; Not being Hispanic enough because of my physical appearance and not being welcomed enough in the community I have tried so hard to integrate myself with. Being an immigrant with immigrant parents forces you to view life differently. It drives you to work harder or to change the status quo for the preconceived notion someone else created on a mass of people. Coming to America filled me with anxiety, excitement, and even an unexpected wave of fear.
I am a 52-year-young white female, with ethnicity that spans from England and Ireland to
What is culture? Culture is the idea of what is wrong or right, the concept of what is acceptable within our society. Culture serves us as a guide, taking us to the "right way" and helping us to make sense of things that surrounds us. There are many different cultures around the world. A lot of them are similar in specific ways and others are just completely different, this difference explains why we think that people from different backgrounds are "weird".
Growing up in Midwest America, there is not much to look at. The trees, fields of grass, rolling hills, and small towns offer a dull environment for a teenager. There are hardly any monuments, sculptures, or architectural feats to gaze at in admiration. Ultimately, the Midwest appears very mundane. This monotonous landscape seems to push the idea of a typical lifestyle of conformity; one that customarily consists of attending school, finding a career, and settling down with a family. To fully procure an awareness and acceptance of different lifestyles, one must travel. Whether from town to town or on the other side of the planet, traveling allows a person to see the different cultures, beliefs, and beauties that make up our world; I believe in traveling.
“ You want to be the same as American girls on the outside.” (Tan, Amy) Like Tan in her narrative “Fish Cheeks”, everyone has had a time in their lives when they wanted to fit in at school or home. Sometimes it is hard to try to blend into the surroundings. Moving from Boston to Tallahassee has taught me a lot about such things like honor, pride, and self-reliance. Such is related to us in Wilfred Owens’s “Dulce et Decorum est” which is about his experience in World War I. Sometimes experiences such as moving can teach more about life than any long lecture from any adult. As the old saying goes: “Actions speak louder than words.”
When I was young, I never expected to live such a lit life in America. I was born in Laos which is a small country in the Southern part of Asia. My life was slow and my family didn’t have much. Then one day my mom met my stepdad in a bar and the next thing I knew, we move to America. My first impression of America was that it was way different than where I came from. I saw snow for the first time and never felt something so cold. My early life in America was a struggle, but as I grew up, I started understanding what my purpose was. I went from nothing to having great times with great friends, having cash flow, and riding motorcycles.
Every time I travel to a different country, I love to experience their culture and lifestyle. However, when I went back to my own country during the summer of 2015, I felt like a fish out of water. Sure, I looked like everyone, I knew how to use chopsticks, and could walk around like I lived there my entire life but it did not feel genuine, it did not feel like mine. It did not affect me like I would have thought. It was just another amazing
In conclusion, moving to another country is a culturally shocking experience for the following examples: social behavior, laws, and education. I enjoyed the experience since I love traveling. I know that this may seem like a scary experience, but I would totally recommend to everyone to move to another country at least once in their life since it is a perfect way to get to know other cultures and expand your
Perhaps my most gratifying research experience was also my biggest research obstacle. During my early undergraduate research in Professor Paul Sternberg’s Lab, I had grown to learn how to communicate science, determine the important experiments to conduct and obtain the necessary laboratory skills. These experiences came from my project in engineering C. elegans to express a photosensitive archaea proton pump in the mitochondrial membrane to explore how we can engineer a more efficient strain of C. elegans. In this process, I learned to construct plasmids using molecular biology and learned to introduce these genetic changes by injections and genetic crosses. Each successive step, I learned to troubleshoot and optimize. The hardest task to
Coming to America, by far was not what I expected. However, after living here for four years, I have learned to adjust to the surroundings. I was not mentally prepared for the culture change that I was exposed to in the beginning but as days turned into months and eventually into years, I realized that I grew accustomed to the culture and eventually became a part of it. I have gotten accustomed to calculating distance by miles and not kilometers, temperatures by Fahrenheit not Celsius, weight by pounds not kilograms. I have also been influenced to see beauty in different content unlike home where thick women are considered beautiful, healthy and happily married unlike here where everyone is trying to lose weight to enhance their beauty and health. However, not even a decade in America can make me forget the extremes I experienced when I first arrived.
The world is full of wonders and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, that we take advantage of. Traveling is the ultimate education and it never fails as a teacher. It teaches you things no class can about the world and yourself. Seeing a historical spot and being in the environment it is in teaches you what no text book can. Most people hear about what is happening in the world through the bias not understanding media. However, if you are a traveler the real world influences you in a way the media will never be able to. We understand how the world works with its many cultures and lifestyles. Being a part of and experiencing different cultures broadens your views of the world and changing’s what you think of the world. Having expanded knowledge and understanding about culture is not the only thing travelers have. Finding your true self and learning about who you are is the best thing about being a traveler. There is no better way to find yourself because when you travel you open yourself up to millions of opportunities. Without travel you may be completely unaware of your true persona. Your limits are tested and you are completely out of your comfort zone when traveling. Getting out of the comfort zone helps you grow as a person and see your potential. I have experienced many different cultures that have personally changed myself and my outlook of the world. Traveling has given me the greatest education I know more about the world, cultures, and myself. Being a traveler is a huge blessing in my life I am so glad I am able to travel and see the world. Nothing can take away the memories that traveling and being a traveler has brought me. Get out there and see this beautiful world for yourself and become a traveler, you will not regret
The flight to London felt like it took forever, we were all so tired and just wanted to take a shower and go to bed, but we had to get off that plane and get on another going to Scotland. When we finally landed in Scotland, I couldn’t believe I was actually in a foreign country, I was so excited. The first thing I did when we landed in Scotland was to look through the window, of course what I saw were other airplanes and men running around getting luggage and showing planes to the terminal. After we got all of our luggage and the rental car, we walked outside, as I looked around, I could see so much green in the distance; so many different colors of green. I had never seen so much beauty in one place.