Different+cultures+within+our+country


 * Cultural Differences Within the US**

After traveling to Germany I became really interested in the different cultures within the United States. Before leaving for Germany I had prepared myself for a "culture shock" (if that is possible), but what I found when I got off the plane was that although some things were visually much different the German people were not very different from myself. I stayed in Wolfsburg which is where Volkswagen is located, I think that this may have been part of the reason the German part of this trip was not a culture shock, it was hard to find an "authentic german" restaurant and had every kind of food that you could find in any American city. The shock came when I met students from South Dakota, other people from the United States. These students shared the same demographic characteristics with me except for the part of the US that we grew up and live in. I was not suprised to find that politically we were pretty much divided but was suprised how deep this divide ran and how our interactions/realtionships were effected by it. The biggest shock came when we were faced with racist attitudes and beliefs that these "educated" individuals held.

This experience made me much more aware of how different people and cultures can be even if they appear, demographically, quite similar.


 * Traveling in the US**

I can relate to the above story. My employer had sent me to Texas for about a month to assist with the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe. This experience afforded me the opportunity to meet other employees that were from different regions of the United States. I also had a chance to assist our customers who had resided in Louisiana. My first day was the most challenging; at times it was difficult understanding what an individual was saying. It was also apparent that others could not understand me, as I was asked to “slow down” when talking multiple times. The pace was also slow which I was not accustomed to. The first week was a little bumpy as I did not expect to encounter these differences. This was a valuable experience for me and enjoyable once I understood how to overcome the communication barriers. This trip had taught me while there are many similarities amongst Americans there were also many cultural differences within each regions such as our pronunciation, vocabulary, mannerisms and mentality. The following links are interesting and helpful in learning about different parts of the US: [] []


 * StoryCorps**

I think that StoryCorps is a really interesting way to see cultural difference between people in the US. (It's also just interesting in general)

"StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening. By recording the stories of our lives with the people we care about, we experience our history, hopes, and humanity. Since 2003, tens of thousands of everyday people have interviewed family and friends through StoryCorps. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to take home and share, and is archived for generations to come at the Library of Congress. Millions listen to our award-winning broadcasts on public radio and the Internet. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, creating a growing portrait of who we really are as Americans." [|Link to StoryCorps] [|Listen to StoryCorps on their website]

NPR plays excerpts from stories every Friday morning. On their site they include a short transcript with the excerpt. [|StoryCorps on NPR]

[|**Recession Triggers Memories of Great Depression**] **-** Time relevant, I also think it shows how difference in culture between generations.
 * Interesting Stories**