Intercultural Communication: A Personal Narrative

From the moment I was accepted into this program, I have been in shock. As soon as the plan put down its wheels and I landed in London It hit me we were in London, but not as hard as I thought it would. London at first impression was they drive fast and it was scary when crossing a road because I still do this day do not know which way to look so I look both ways. The ambulance sirens and are ten times louder than any United States one. London was not what I expected, but better. The dogs all run around with no leashes and are surprisingly well trained, even the deer are bigger and are not afraid of humans. The way of life from transportation, values, and food are all different, but the first week of the semester prepared me for this and …show more content…
In Italy, I used a lot of body language. I found that not a lot of people spoke English there. My server and waiters at restaurants did, but none of the locals could speak it at all. Using hand signals and trying to speak some of the language helped a lot. I learned a lot from other cultures. The way they talk and just go about their day. In Spain, lunch is their biggest meal. They also do not come to your table often t see how you are doing which is nice. I never felt rushed at all. The waiter in Spain even helped us with the menu when deciding what to eat. In Dublin, everyone mostly spoke English, which was a nice and easy to communicate where we were going or trying to get. In Madrid no one asks where the bathrooms are in restaurants it just should be assumed they are in the basement floor in the back to the right. I would never have thought that was something to just be assumed. In addition, when it comes to personal space I also noticed in the dating section that people are very much affectionate. So personal space and PDA are not a problem here since I have seen many people make out while on the Tube and around town. It is a norm since no one looks at them, but I tend to feel slightly uncomfortable. In the United States, at least the situations that I have seen people usually do not make out in wide-open public places or else people stare. People are not afraid of personal affection at …show more content…
I have grown and become more independent; I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone multiple times and have tried new things. I felt prepared coming to London, but some things you con not prepare for, but only experience for yourself. I am proud of myself to have stay connected with my friends and family back at home, but have also adapted to many different cultures while being here. I have never flown out of the country before, and after this trip, I think I will be doing it again very soon. So far, I have been to Rome, Venice, Dublin, Cork, Madrid, and Barcelona. I want to even go back to some of the places I have been and see new places such as Paris, and Tuscany, Santorini. I have set me on my bucket list to go to those places and sooner rather than later, and I know I will. One thing the book did not prepare me for was how much I would fall in love with all these different places and want to see more, experience