Culture Shock Faced by International Students

Oh wow! This is big

    I often appreciate how this world is formed because our world is filled with all kinds of different colors and flavors. Just take my own experience; for example, I can find countless funny stories of cultural differences.

    “That is big，” “Look at this big one，” “Oh my gosh, this is massive!”；those probably were the words I said most often when I first came to this foreign country. I remember the first time I went to an American restaurant called The Cheesecake Factory in Chicago; I was shocked by the sizes of all the food we were ordered. We ordered Caesar salad, deep-fried calamari ring, and nachos with guacamole on the top for appetizers. I will never forget the unbelievable facial expressions we made when the waiter showed up with our food. I felt like those plates were even more significant than my head. After we finished our appetizers, my friend and I had to put our main dish, that we barely ate in a to-go box for home. Suddenly, I had my first impression of this country: Wow! Those people can eat well!

    My story was continuing. My friend and I went to the mall the first week after school. Due to we were starving, we figured we could find something that would be similar to our Chinese McDonald since Ronald McDonald is everywhere. But despite our expectations, nothing was alike. Basically, every single burger here has cheese on it, which I could not stand at the beginning. More surprisingly, our drinks were massive. I learned the lesson last time not to order much, so I ordered a medium drink. But when they gave me the cup, I thought they misunderstood me because of my Chinese accent. So, I repeated the word "medium" to the guy three times. Apparently, that huge-size for me size was medium. Suddenly, I told my friend that I would be gaining at least twenty pounds this year.

Back home in China, every dish is tiny compared to American size. You would hardly find a place in China where they sell super-size drinks. But overall, this is the reason why we are different. This is the reason why our world is such a wonderful place. That is why we call it a cultural difference. It is everywhere, and it can be anywhere. Just as the article “The Beneficial and Consequential Effects of Study Abroad Programs” sates by the author Brittany Smith, “Going into an exotic new culture with an open mind allows for a student to become somewhat of a sponge, soaking up beliefs, values, and mindsets of a very different ethos.” I am happy and honored that I have the opportunity to see the other world.

Work citied

Smith, B. (2013). The Beneficial and Consequential Effects of Study Abroad Programs. [ebook] Available at: https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1022&context=jogc [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019].