How Do You See American Culture?

Hi, there people!

I just came back from Japan to the US few days ago. There was a long long line at the US Customs, taking about 1.5 hours to get out of the airport. It was so frustrating. Moreover, I was asked to go to the secondary check AGAIN!! Last time I came back from Japan, I went to the secondary check and investigated my legal status, visa, and I-20. The officer said to me that there was an error in the system and he made a correction so that I wouldn’t have to go to there again. Nonetheless, this happened again. Even though this time it took me only a few minutes to get out because the problem was the same thing. I think I really need to visit the international office at Chico State in order not to let this happen again in the future. If I have to go through every time I come back to the US from the vacation, it’s gonna be a disaster.

You know if this kind of stuff occurs to, even if I do nothing wrong, I feel really unsafe. ;(

Anyways I hope things are going to be well during this school year.

It’s been a one year since I started studying in the United States, and the second year is just about to start. The summer vacation in Japan was totally awesome, and I really enjoyed all the experiences. During the vacation, I tried to learn and feel Japanese Culture from its religious, historical, and traditional perspectives. After exposing myself into those stuff, I am having a weird feeling of being in the states. I kinda feel like I am new to here because of my experiences during this summer in Japan.

So I decided to write a post on how I feel American Culture with my photography work from the last semester. The following series of self-portrait photos were created as my final project in the digital photography class. Each of them are showing cultural differences that I have particularly noticed though my life at Chico State.

I am going to explaining one by one.

1 – The Opening 

This is the beginning shot of this series. A photo of me looking outside from the window in my room. This one is trying to describe how I felt when I first arrived in the US. I was a little nervous about starting my new life at Chico State as an international student. I had no friends at first. No one to talk to. I really didn’t know how to begin communicating and interacting with new people in English.

2 – Lunch Time 

This one is showing the scene that an American version of me eating a piece of pizza while   walking. On the other hand, a Japanese version of me sitting on the bench and start eating the pizza. I think in Japan, people always try to find a place to sit and eat lunch there, but in the states, people look like busier and don’t mind eating something, while they are walking.

3 – Hugging

There is a bunch of different ways to greet friends here in the US. Particularly, hugging is the most unconformable way of greeting to me simply because I didn’t get used to hugging people. I don’t even hug my best friends in Japan. It is not common in Japan. When you meet your old friends, how do you greet them? Probably, you would just say hi to your friends. So yeah, I think I might have made this “feeling awkward” face before, but right now I am got used to this:)

4 – Sticking the Gum under the Table after Finish Chewing it

I don’t know if people actually stick the gum like this after they eat it, but there are tons of gums under the tables in the library at Chico State. Not only in the library, but also are those gums stuck everywhere. Literally, EVERYWHERE. According to one of my friends, there is a sightseeing spot, called the “gum wall” in Seattle. I hope this is not the actual American Culture…. lol

5 – Bathroom Experience

Have you ever used a bathroom in other countries? Sure you have if you have gone outside of Japan. I think that bathroom is one of the most interesting cultural differences to find because it’s not always the same. Here in this photo, you can see me realizing that there is a relatively big open space between the door parts and looking at the other me in the room. I mean people don’t actually look inside of the room like this, but if you were inside of the room and saw people waling nearby, you would feel exact like this. In Japan, almost all of the public bathrooms are completely closed; there is no space between the door parts so it’s hardly possible that you would see people inside.

6 – Partying

Party is a big part of American Culture. You will often see people having a party in a movie. I think it is a very good way to meet new people and socialize yourself if you can use it in a good way. However, some parties are just as crazy as a huge storm. People just get drunk and become insane. In an extreme case, it would end up with a police investigation. My university has actually sent its students an e-mail to warn us those risks. You need to know the risk of participating in them.

7- Energy Drinks

What kind of energy drinks do you know? We have Red Bull and Monster in Japan. What else do we have in the US? There are tons of energy drinks that you can choose from. People drink them like water and coffee, and containers of those energy drinks are huge. It is so surprising that people in the US drink them on the daily basis. I usually use them when I have to keep awake in order to study for exams. I have had two cans of Rockstar (A famous energy drink brand) once before a final exam during this summer. It worked well, but my stomach didn’t feel well afterwards… Lol So be careful if you decide to drink one of them!

I have been mentioning some of the differences that I had noticed though my life in the US. It is very interesting to notice those stuff and tell people who have lived in this culture to see their reaction.

Btw, today is the first day of my second year at Chico State. I thought this semester is going to be less intense than the last semester, but it doesn’t seem so.

I hope I can make it and pass the portfolio review this semester.

See you soon.