Cultural Plunge Experience Essay

My second cultural plunge was a rather different experience. I wanted to do something different that I hadn’t already experienced before. Choosing my second cultural plunge experience proved to be more difficult. Ultimately, I choose to go to Café Beau Soleil since it was close to UCI. I never been to Fashion Island, so I didn’t know what to expect going there. When I researched places to visit on the internet I became interested in this café. Before going to the café I already started having misconceptions of what it would be like. Some of the thoughts that I had was that it would probably have foods such as French bread, pasta and croissants and that all the workers would know French. Yet, when my friend and I went inside the café, I concluded

that it was different from what I expected.
My perspective was challenged sense what I though was completely wrong.

Some of the preconceptions that was challenged was my belief that all the food was going to be French. Majority of the dishes were French but some of the dishes had some American influences. The menu was mostly in French but it was also translated into English. The waiter was really friendly but he was surprised to see my friend and me there. Most of the costumers where middle aged or late 20’s adults. In addition the customers were pre-dominantly white. My friend and I were neither. What I learned about this experience was that cultural differences doesn’t necessarily have to be about going to a different ethnic place, but also seeing variances in different economic places. To clarify, Fashion Island can be a high-priced, and so this experience was more in regards of how my interaction would be through an economic lens. My friend and I weren’t dress in any fancy attire, and it was a little alarming to see how other individuals dressed well during a weekday. I felt there would be some social inequality present if there were people who wanted to eat there who didn’t look more formal or had nicer clothing. During this cultural plunge experience, I noticed the interactions of the customers and I even saw the Head Chef in one of the tables talking to a costumer. Their interactions seemed natural, and it was a different experience in seeing a Chef talking to the customers, the reason being is that I never

been to a restaurant where you can talk after your meal. Furthermore, what I learned was that learning different experiences is voluntarily going to this place is different from going to eat it because you are hungry. In addition to this, it also had me rethinking the different culture environments that can be differed even in the same region.