One Aspect of American Culture—Part Two --American's Humor

  One Aspect of American Culture—Part Two --American's Humor

  How time flies! I have been in America for about 3 weeks, but I really feel like staying here for about just a week. Thinking that I am going to leave here in a week, I find that I am really not willing to leave here, for there are teachers who are very nice and kind, stuff and strangers who are very friendly, beautiful scenery,  fresh air, bule sky and bright sunshine……There are too much to say ,and I believe that this travel will become a good memroy in my life, surely an unforgottable memroy. 

  In my previous blog before, I have mentioned that I feel Americans are very friendly. Here I want to write something about their humor. 

  Before I came to America,  I have watched some TV shows.,TV series and TED Talks. I soon find a phenomenon that when the audience laugh, I always watch the video and really can't make out what they laugh about and the reason why they laugh. Sometimes I may laugh too, because their laughter is funny and interesting. I think it is the culture gap or the understanding of English that make me not be able to find the reason. 

  Although I have came here for a couple of days, I still cann't laugh with them when they are very happy. However, I always keep smiling to show my participation and politeness.  

  Gradually, I find that the reason that makes people laugh sometimes may be really not so interesting, but people try to laugh as possible as they can. If you can become happier, why not just do it? Day by day, they have the ability to make other people as well as themselves laugh, and they all know the priciples of it. No matter what happens, there is one thing that never changing—it is trying to laugh. 

  Surely, smiling and laughing have a lot of advantages. For example, decreasing embarssment, making people feel happy and relaxed, and many invisible effects that many of them we may still haven't realized yet. It reminded me of a TV series that I have just watched a month ago. The hero of the drama belongs to a sprcial troop, he always do very deangerous work ,some of which may lose his life. I guess, it is because his working environment that makes him have a strong ability to tell jokes and discover funny things. If you meet dangerous accidents very often, it is really a good idea to make some fun for both yourself and people around you. It is a effective way to get relaxed.This is an example of the effect of humorous. 

  Now , I find myself laughing with people together, which I think I may not do that before. I just find it is very interesting and Americans usually have various kinds of ways to make you laugh. Like friendliness, I think it is also an aspect of Ameican culture, and only when you really go deeper into thier daily life and make more connection with them ,can you find more charm and interesting things in them. To tell you the truth, something wonderful is really hard to say in words, it really needs your own experience! 

  Even though there is only one week left, I will still try to do more new and fresh things and experience more of America! 

What Chat Taught Myself

  I like talking with different people. It is really a wonderful experience, because I can not only get a lot of information which is quite new to me, but also have some feelings and reflections from the conversations. 

  Last Saturday , when the whole group of the studying tour were on the way to the museum, I have a short conversation with a person sitting next to me. Let me call him Jack please, because I don't know his name. 

Jack asked me a question—what is your best experience or the strongest feeling during these days? 

  It is a difficult question, I consider. Everyone has its own thought on how to define the best experience .What's more, believe it or not, I think I have experienced many best things.Because they are all different, so it is not contradictory to say that they are all the best. After all, there aren't same experience. 

  However, I must have an answer to his question, which is also a answer to myself, as a brief conclusion to my trip up to now.Therefore, I answered like this-- 

  ''Generally speaking, I want to use a word to describe my experience. It is possibility. This trip gives me a chance to meet more possibilities that I won't meet  if I stay in my previous place. This trip reminds me of what my teacher, Lin 's words,  that if you want to have a new and different experience, try to go to a new place. You won't have a wholly new experience without the changing the environment. 

  That's true. Since I came to America, I have seen ,heard,and experienced a lot of wonderful things that I didn't have before. I think this trip gives me a chance to meet these possibilities." 

  After hearing what I said, Jack nodded his head, without saying anything. Out of curious, I also asked him the same question. His response was quite different with mine. 

  "I fond the people here was very different from Chinese. Especially in Oxford, local people are super nice." 

With deeper talking, I knew that he had been to the eastern America before we started our trip in Oxford.He had more time than us to learn more about Americans. 

  Whether it is truth or false, it represents a person's perspective and I think it is no need to commenting it is right or not. 

  Through the conversation, I fond that every body's opinion is an interesting perspective,and if you add them  together as much as possible, you will discover an amazing land. I am sure I broaden my own horizon through it. 

  In my opinion, the progress of chatting is not only a progress of getting to know each other, but also a good chance to know about ourselves. 

One Aspect of American Culture—Chapter One--Friendly Americans 

  

  One deep impression American leave on me is that most of them are really very friendly. When I am walking on the street,  a stranger walk towards me , although he or she would walk past me in a few seconds , they are probably to say hi to me, with warm smile on their faces. When I order a meal in the dinning hall,  the stuff would have a small talk to me and perform a very nice way to help me finish my order. Also, when I do morning exercises and jog in the campus, the people who will pass besides me would often say Good Morning to me, which makes me feel so nice that I can't help thinking that it is really a very good beginning of the day and then I start my happy day. 

  Similarity situations are very easy to cite because it is really very common to see. No matter who, from passers-by on the street, to the sellers ,from the stuff in the dormitory, in the teaching building, in the library to strangers I even don't know how to classify , they are all very kind and friendly. 

  I have learnt a lot from this impressive experience. One of them is that smiling and extend warm greetings to people, whether you know about or not, will make others feel good. So is yourself.It is similar to a physics theory which tells a truth about the force and the counterforce.How you treat other people will not only affect the way other people treat you, but also have a influence on your own mood.If you smile at others,you will also feel good.It is your attitude and behavior that affect you much. I thought what my teacher said to me that if you want to be love, to be lovable. 

  In China, if we meet a stranger on the street or somewhere else, like in the elevator, waiting in a line. We seldom behavior like this, unless we are familiar with each other. In this case, sometimes it will really feel very embarrassed. Especially in the elevator, I often get choked.I want to find something to say, but it is difficult to break the silence. I really need a lot of courage to do so and I never succeed up to now.  

  Imagine if the similar situation happens in America, there may be different. We can have a small talk in the elevator and have a pleasant conversation. I am sure my mood will become better when I have a small talk with somebody, it is somewhat like something lighting my spirit. It surely is a very good experience ,because I have had it many times since I came here. 

  I really like the way people greet each other, and I want to bring it home, letting my friends, family and people around me can also get this wonderful and warm feeling. 

  

American Cultural Value on Sports

  Since I come to America for nearly two weeks, there is one thing that makes me very impressive.It is about Americans attitude towards doing sports.

  Americans sports spirit , in my opinion, is to participate. There are many ways to take part in the sports activities, from watching sports games, doing exercises, to learning a new sports. Americans really like it. During this progress, they can make new friends, strengthen the relationship with old friends, get to learn something new, keep fit as well as have fun.

  I really felt surprised that parents took their very young children to watch the competition when I watched the baseball game last week . In China, however, parents may think that the children are too young to understand the game. Taking the children to watch the game is a waste of money and time. Of course, not all the parents think so, but I believe the number of parents like this is more in China than that in America.

  Americans seem to  have a value that children should be available to various kinds of sports, and if the kids show their interests to a specific sport, they can get support  to fully tap their potential on it. Also, last week ,  when I was in the RSC center learning how to play basketball from my friends, we met a girl who is 13  plays basketball very well. To be honest, I feel a little embarrassed because I am 7 years older than her, but it was almost the first time that I started to learn how to play basketball! Our gap is to some extent due to our different growing environment, and the difference between us is that she could have more chances to get connected with these sports when she was younger.

  Also, I think their attitude to sports can be reflected on the facilities. When I first entered the REC , I was amazed by the kinds of sports facilities. With more access to them, I get to know that everything here, everything the stuff do is to provide a convenient and effective environment for people to exercise.

(The RSC stuff is helping us make a volleyball court.)

  (The amazing swimming pool in Miami University!)

(Excited audiences who  are watching the game and cheering up.)

 All of these is a reflection on cultural value about sports.I really like it and even though I am not an American, I am happy to have the chance to experience and learn more about their spirit.

(Note:All the photos were taken by the author .)

An Opinion on the Attitude to Treating Other Foreign Cultures

  On this week, we talked some different cultural values between China and America. With our deeper understanding of each other, I realize there is one thing that we all should pay attention when   we begin to learn about a foreign country, no matter which country and no matter who.

  It is the opening mind and thorough understanding.

   No matter which culture, it  is changing all the time.Therefore, we should have a attitude that we need to keep updating our knowledge . In order to avoid preconceptions and stereotypes, we need to continuing learning . Only in this way can we know about a culture better.

  During this week's communications with different people, I find a truth that most of them don't have a right impression on China. In fact, China is already not the country it was used to be. It has a lot of changes. Lots of Chinese who come back to China can't help praising that there have been so many dramatic changes in the last  few decades. I realize that some of Americans still have the old impression in their mind.Therefore ,in my opinion, if we want to learn a country better, it is beneficial to us that we keep updating our knowledge on it, so that there can be less misunderstanding and false congnization.

An Experience on Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks

Once I lined up to order my meal in a fast food restaurant ,I incautiously stood before one person who have waited longer than me. However, I didn’t realize I jump a queue. I still didn’t make out the right way to line up. When I finally understood how to queue up, I spotted him. I really felt sorry for my behavior, and I really didn’t do it deliberately.

However, he looked at me, in some way that seemed scornful and said: ”You go first.”  I was sure that he thought I jumped a queue. I wanted to explain, but he showed me in a way that he wanted to ignore me because I wasted his time.

To be honest, I felt very uncomfortable about that because I destroyed the image of the Chinese to some extent. I am one of the Chinese, and what I do represents what our nation might do in the same circumstance in some way .That is not the result I wanted to have, but surly it is.

I think he may not have much good impression on Chinese before, that is why his attitude is impatience. He didn’t give me the chance to clear out my behavior because his tendency to evaluate.

This experience happened 6 years ago, but I still can’t forget it.