<p>As the topic, tell me more about the shocks between Asia and your country, would you be friendly to the asian? do you like ansian ppl?</p>
<p>I don´t know about Asia, I´m from Eastern Europe (which some Americans think is in Asia, cause they don’t know geography) and I was quite shocked by some things Americans consider normal - like not using a fork and a knife, chewing w an open mouth, lack of modesty in many situations. Fir the most part though, Americans are cool and nice ppl. Just learn to accept that cultures are diff and don’t be too “asian” (i made the mistake of trying to be not American in every way possible my first year here… not a good idea)</p>
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<li>all the people i know use fork and knives</li>
<li>we chew with mouth closed</li>
</ul>
<p>western people are shocked too when people in the west do what you just stated above.
your obviously not a good source.</p>
<p>@pinkyana - i think a big culture diff. is the western world is very affected by pop culture and media.
for example, a lot of the music today expose sex.
sex is no longer “conservative”, you see it EVERYWHERE.
this is just one example though to get my point over.</p>
<p>What culture shock you experience will depend on what Asian country you come from. The culture shock would probably be substantially less if you came from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, HK, or Singapore, than if you came from Vietnam or other parts of Indochina for instance. The culture shock would be very different if you came from India or Pakistan (if you consider either of those “Asian”) than if you came from eastern Asia.</p>
<p>By the way, if you’re Japanese, there’s a whole segment of the population who think Japanese culture is super-cool and will want to know everything about your and about Japan, and that’s all they’ll ever want to talk to you about. These people are very weird, stay away from them. I don’t think many of them go to college though, so there’s not that much to worry about. </p>
<p>Asians are generally well received, so long as you’re not a total jackass. Asians are generally considered smart and can find friends among all races of Americans (if you want to). Be friendly. </p>
<p>And not using a fork or knife? What do you mean? People generally eat tacos, sandwiches, pizza, fries, and chicken with their hands. People don’t generally eat mashed potatoes, pasta, or steak with their hands.</p>
<p>QwertyKey,</p>
<p>Exactly - our friends from Europe came over for Christmas and we went to a pizza place… They were the only people to use forks and knifes. The same with french fries - it’s not that hard to use a fork instead of hands.
I am not saying all Americans do that, but many people at my high school do</p>
<p>^ exactly; there are certain foods we eat with our hands (like pizza, sandwiches, etc) but most food is obviously eaten with utensils. i’ve been to Italy several times and from what i’ve seen, the norm there is to eat pizza with your hands as well, so I don’t think it’s some kind of abnormal habit Americans came up with lol</p>
<p>anyway, you shouldn’t have trouble making friends, assuming your English is decent and you’re friendly…one thing I notice is many of the Asian students here sort of self-segregate but i guess that’s to be expected when you’re abroad</p>
<p>also, how are people stupid enough to think eastern europe is in asia when it has the word “europe” in it? haha</p>
<p>i kind of want french fries now…eaten with my hands, of course :P</p>
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<p>It could be a Western thing, though. Then again, in Ghana, they eat soup with their hands. I don’t really understand how, but they do.</p>
<p>“chewing w an open mouth”</p>
<p>My roommate is from Korea and she eats with her mouth open and talks on the phone at the same time and generally makes more noise than a pack of three year olds when she eats. It’s so loud its distracting. </p>
<p>My suggestion is don’t get mad if your roommate tells you to stop doing things that annoys them. I waited a long time tell my roommate to stop talking on the phone at 3 am because I assumed she had common sense and knew it was rude but apparently she didn’t know. </p>
<p>And make American friends! She has been here for a YEAR and her english has not improved in speaking because she only talks in Korean to Korean friends. Dont be afraid to ask your roommate to edit your papers or talk about slang and whatnot. Talk in english as much as possible if you come here to improve it otherwise it’s a year wasted. </p>
<p>The easiest ally would be your roommate but don’t treat them like your automatic tour guide, show me around and take me places with all your friends kind of person. I invited my roommate places until she started inviting herself to things my friends and I planned for ourselves. =/</p>
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<p>As westernized as Singapore is, there were still TONS of differences when I was there. Of course, things are easier the more you expect your culture shock, because you can ride it out easier. </p>
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<p>Uh, ouch. I wouldn’t say all people who enjoy other cultures end up ‘not going to college’. There are francophiles, anglophiles, sinophiles…why not japanophiles? </p>
<p>I don’t know, I wouldn’t say all these people are ‘very weird’ especially if they’re trying to bond over mutual interests. </p>
<p>As for the chewing with my mouth open, I don’t know many people who do that. I do eat with my fingers often, but because I was taken to a lot of indian dinners as a child- fingers were the way to go, and India is very much a part of asia, and I can eat soup with them. 
I also can wield chopsticks fairly well. </p>
<p>I think the bigger differences is that Americans are more likely to say “No.”- many asian cultures avoid direct 'no’s in questions. Americans can often be more blunt and direct about things. I think this is sometimes mistaken for rudeness (which it can be at times) but mostly I think we can be a polite lot. We’ve also often got less of a personal bubble, and are more used to eye to eye contact.</p>
<p>"I think the bigger differences is that Americans are more likely to say “No.”- many asian cultures avoid direct 'no’s in questions. Americans can often be more blunt and direct about things. I think this is sometimes mistaken for rudeness (which it can be at times) but mostly I think we can be a polite lot. We’ve also often got less of a personal bubble, and are more used to eye to eye contact. "</p>
<p>I think you are dead on with this one. I realized that when I was in HS, I used to be very passive and quiet. It actually felt weird saying “no” directly and I never quite spoke what was on my mind. After living on my own I’ve started to make more eye contact when talking, speak more openly and confidently. I have no problem saying “No”/refusing someone’s request.</p>
<p>This doesn’t necessarily hold for East Asian cultures, but Americans have a really wide personal bubble, and that can take some getting used to. I had a teacher from Zimbabwe who had a tendency to stand extremely close to students. When he first began teaching it was an issue, but then he realized his mistake was merely cultural. He still slipped up from time to time, but it can be really strange to talk to someone when it feels like they are standing on you! For those coming from closer cultures, our stance isn’t rudeness, it’s just the way things are here.</p>
<p>I love “culture shock.” Maybe that’s sadist? I think being uncomfortable and learning how to act in different situations is extremely fun - not to mention a priceless learning experience. I did a visit to CMU last year where I meant I lot of Puerto Ricans. If you don’t know this, Puerto Ricans give *la boca<a href=“as%20I%20believe%20it%20is%20called”>/i</a>, which is a single kiss on the cheek. What fun it was to learn! The first time I accidentally planted the girl on the cheek (I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to move my head… aiyee… learning to kiss all over again). The second time I was kind of shocked, because a) it was a guy, b) it was sudden, and c) he was hot. But the third time was a charm.</p>