France vs. America
It was a Tuesday morning when I first decided to meet with my creating culture partner. We decided to meet in the Calvin T. Ryan library here on campus. I didn’t know what to expect at first. So, I spent a good twenty minutes before the meeting coming up with a definition of culture in case it was brought up in the meeting. I decided that my personal definition of culture is how a person lives their everyday life based on societal beliefs and norms. This lead me to think about the French culture, and how I have seen their lives portrayed. My partner Romane and I are from two different worlds. We can converse well with each other as long as we try to understand and respect the differences of our cultures. There are many
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Etiquette is a hot topic in both of our countries. We both try to be as polite, kind, and as courteous as possible. In reality, most of the things Americans do cross French people as odd or estranged. In both countries, it is considered common courtesy to wait for the host of the dinner to tell you that it is okay to begin eating. One thing I did not know is that in France, it is improper to eat with your hands. In America, we have “finger” foods such as chicken, hot dogs, and hamburgers. In European countries, it is typical to see people greeting one another with a kiss on the cheek. However, in America, this is not the case. We do not go around kissing someone on the cheek in fear of not knowing how the other person will take this gesture. We do hug people to greet them, however. We hug, pat on the back, smile, and ask about health and family. In France, personal space is not as big of an issue as it is in America. The French only use about an arm’s length of personal space. In America, we typically ask for about two to three feet of space in our “personal bubble.” What is considered rude to do in public? Well, in France, it is rude to sniffle or pick your nose, spit, and yawn. Here in America these actions are considered fairly normal. When I walk down the street I hear people sniffling because of the flu, parents yelling at their children to get their fingers out of their noses, and …show more content…
We compared the systems and the effectiveness of both education systems. Both France and America have similar systems in the fact that the ages are around the same when you start and end your education. We decided to look deeper and compare prices, the atmosphere of the classes, and the sizes of the universities. In France, universities are free for students, unless you decide to go to a private institution. A private institution is the path that Romane chose. Also, they do not have your traditional college campus. It is just the school. American college institutions can be, and are, very pricey. The price significantly increases if one would like to go to a private college. At Romane’s college in France there is a “Bureau des étudiants” which translates to office of students. This office is a group of fifteen students who organize student parties. There are alcohol at these parties because it is legal to drink at age eighteen in France. It astonished her that we are not allowed to drink, or purchase alcohol until we reach the age of twenty one. Our equivalent to the office of students would be the campus group named LPAC. Any function that this group puts together is alcohol
Have you ever wondered how High Schools are in other countries? Despite sharing some minor similarities, the differences between Nicaraguan and American High School education are clear. Such as, note-taking methods, grading system, classroom environment.
“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities “- Stephen R Covery. Living in two different countries is an experience that is likely to open anyone mind. One raised in a smaller country, then moved to a larger country mixed with multiple culture is an experience not to be taking for granted. Full of hardships. Yet, despite lacking in the modern luxuries that are readily available in the United States, they also live a vibrant life full of flavorful food, music, dance, ritual and celebration. There are many differences in the way Haitians live in Haiti versus in America, including school, work, transportation, and environment and while not all of these differences are negative, it is obvious that the great disparity of wealth between the
I like your example about the different acceptance between Haitian and American cultures. Not only Haiti but also many cultures believe that psychological disorders are from supernatural forces. Therefore, they want to seek spiritual and herbal treatment by their traditional healers whereas, people want to meet psychiatrists in Western culture. Cultures include custom, religion and patterns their ancestors made for a long time, so their belief or behaviors are various. As a result, symptoms of psychological disorders are similar, perception and treatment for the psychological disorders can be different in every culture.
The United States and France though very far away from each other have a lot income with they way they were started. The United states was not always the great nation it is now. Infact they were under the rule of the British until the American Revolution. Shortly after the American Revolution the people of France became inspired. The people of France got rid of the monarchy and killed the royal family then created the national assembly.Even though these two countries begin so different the belief that it is a right to have life and liberty made them very similar.
As I entered the home to conduct my interview, I was immediately greeted by very soft spoken female. She’s a 42 yrs old African American female, who’s married with two children. She migrated from the south 30 years ago along with her mother and sister. She’s currently working for the Department of Education as a substitute teacher with aspiration of becoming a child psychologist. The subject was eager to be interviewed. She thought it would be great to sure her views and perspectives of her culture. Culture is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as , the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which constitute the shared bases of social action. To me culture is rich and fascinating filled with family, traditions, memories, and many dialects.
Because my neighbor is considered suburban it often gets a bad rep. A lot of people think that suburbs are boring and aren't interesting. As this suggests, the problem is also cultural. For the most part, American culture and opinion are still created, even in the Internet age, in cities at either edge of the continent. If intellectuals do deign to look at the suburbs they assume that so much banality must be hiding something deeply
Food is a very important in France. They don’t eat fast food as much as Americans. After meals they tend to talk and linger while Americans do that mostly before they finish eating. It is said that in France they eat like kings, lords, and then servants for dinner. While in America our bigger meals are often at dinner. Dessert is really common while in America for example, I rarely eat dessert more than once a week. French drink wine often, but not to get intoxicated. They normally drink it with their meals and the purchasing of alcohol age is 18. This is different from America where consumption and purchasing power is age 21. My perspective is France sounds like it has better
I jumped and hastily removed my earbuds, startled by the man standing inches away. Suddenly he spoke: “Is that Stromae?” I followed his gaze to my phone, where “Ta fête,” a song by Belgian-Rwandan rap sensation Stromae, was playing. The man in front of me, who I learned was a recent immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), intimated excitedly that French was his first language. I enthusiastically told him that I had been learning French for six years. Our shared language had broken down the heavy silence.
Revolutions are embedded in the nature of humans, whenever change is needed man will have to implicate it himself. The two most recognized revolutions are the American and the French ones, mostly because they share some commonalities.
In this week’s lecture notes and text, the topic of discussion is culture, namely the significance of culture and its implications to students today. Culture acts as a pair of goggles and it defines, not only what we see, but the way that we interpret what we see. When working with students, it is important to practice tolerance, appreciation, and acceptance for individual cultural differences. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that some students may have only experienced exposure to their own family’s culture and may be a little close-minded to the way others think and live.
There are about 195 countries worldwide, yet if one were to be questioned about any one specific culture, they would not be able to answer. As already known, the United States is a country of immigrants. It could be described as “a ‘melting pot’ in which different cultures have contributed their own distinct ‘flavors’ to American culture” (Zimmermann, 2017). One of the most distinct cultures that have entered America would have to be the Chinese culture. China is a unique country in itself yet with so much to learn, it is safe to say that the average person would not know a small fraction of what makes up the Chinese culture. China, as every other country, is unique due to its tourism, customs, family life, and its government.
Often, I consider whether there are other living creatures around that we have not yet found. A while prior I had a thought to investigate the universe all the more intently. In light of my interest, I recently went by an irregular planet called Earth. As I landed on Earth, everything was extraordinary; it was as though I was trapped in a snow globe all my life and did not know anything past. Consequently, I felt ecstasy as I walked through a narrow pavement exploring the nature around me. Our own particular planet varies in a wide range of viewpoints. In addition, there are frequent significant differences in other living creatures. I observed a common species and examined them well; they refer to themselves as humans, more specifically Americans.
Culture is defined as the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another (Staff, 2015). Culture effects the way a person perceives, communicates and behaves in the world, what is “socially” acceptable in one culture is not necessarily acceptable in another. Common language, gestures and signals are used to communicate within each culture and are therefore an extension of culture and how you speak is effected by what you were taught and how you view the world. Communicating is a give and take process and it is an experience that you share with someone.
The rare but beloved by all but one, aspic gelatin that shows up during certain “Russian parties.”
In 2012, I went through the experience of stepping into the mind of another culture and seeing things from an entirely new perspective when I moved back to Chicago after spending most of my childhood in Nigeria. Many things were different in American society. Compared to Nigerians, Americans were a lot more private. In Chicago, I rarely saw my neighbors while that would have been the complete opposite in Nigeria where we saw our neighbors a little too much. America even had traditions, such as Thanksgiving, that were awfully foreign to me, but I learned to love the turkey and mashed potatoes. Another area of contrast was the pace of which things were taught at school. In my Nigerian fourth grade class, I was learning what an American seventh-grader would be learning. Schooling hours in Nigeria and America remained relatively the same, but during one’s last year in primary school, they had to attend four hours of school on Saturdays. Now that I have lived through cultural differences, it would be a shame not to inquire the same about France. I want to see how French people differ from Americans, taste authentic French pastries, and gain perspective of France while being on French soil. It became increasingly obvious every day I sat in French class, studying French in a classroom is necessary for building a solid foundation in that language. That said, it cannot compare to how much more we can learn from actually immersing ourselves in the culture. The relationships I can