Culture

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Culture

Culture is everywhere around us.It is what makes us who we are.When growing up in a certain environment for so long it is hard to adapt to anything else but what we have been brought up with.This past summer I took a trip where my culture in the United States did not match up with the vacation my family and I planned.Trying to adapt to a new cultural environment takes time and patience that took me about the whole trip to figure out.This trip to Italy was a trip of a lifetime, and to make the best of it, I needed to adapt to the culture around me.

Since the first moment I stepped off the airplane, I needed to start making cultural adjustments.As I was looking around, I realized I was looking into a whole different world.My dad packed our suitcases into the rental car, and my family and I made our way to the resort area in Sicily, where we were staying.The one thing I noticed right away was how small the cars were.The new Volts Wagon Beetle would be considered a large car in Italy.Also the streets were extremely small.One lane we have here would be a two-lane street there.Those were not major changes, but its not what we see here everyday in the United States.When we reached the resort area (Cintada de Moda) everyone was dressed so differently.The women are usually more dressed up in sun dresses or black pants.The men wore tight fitted flare jeans, something that I was not quite used to, with either a T-shirt or a button down shirt.My dad checked us into our rooms and I noticed that there is no carpet in the rooms, it is all tile.The bathroom shower just consisted of a curtain made into a square to be the shower.After my sisters and I got adjusted to our room we decided to go to the pool for a little while.The w...

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...ent landmarks of those countries.Of course I did not fit in the whole time I was there.I did not speak the language, I did not dress according to the Italian culture, and I did not have the same values as the Italian culture.

Being in a different cultural environment and adapting to knew cultural practices, customs, and values was not easy.Not being able to speak the language and communicate with others was even harder.I think I overcame those difficulties pretty well the three weeks I was there.I have learned to accept different cultures and have a new respect for how foreigners live their lives.I think this was a trip that I will remember for the rest of my life and I thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to go on this trip.Also I am grateful to experience a new lifestyle while getting to meet different people of the same cultural background as me.

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