Assignment 3 - Pedersen

     Last summer, my family and I traveled to Europe fitting as much in as we possibly could. We visited Paris, Rome, Florence, and London in a total of two weeks which left little time for comfort. While we were there we were engulfed in a completely new society with different cultures and ways of living. This was most prevalent in Paris and Florence where you could see a great variety of cultures merging. In Paris, there were many English speakers (fortunately for us), but even with a common language, the differences were far from hidden. Generally, the people who lived in Paris held themselves with more confidence as well as a direct and straightforward tone. It didn't seem like anybody wanted to make small talk or anything similar to it. This new type of interaction was very different and at some points it even felt hostile, however, as we eased into the new cultural background, we realized it was more common than not to get straight to the point.

    In Florence, the cultures were equally different from our own. Florence had a great variety of cultures and lifestyles that all meshed together. Regarding Florence it is difficult to make a general statement about the cultures involved. It seemed like every single person there had a completely different way of interacting with others. This type of variety can only be compared to the U.S.A and its great variety of cultures and classes. These new cultural experiences opened me up to a new world, helping me better understand those that I share a similar culture with and noticing more and more about my own culture and habits.