My Fourth Meeting With Angela

In my fourth meeting with Angela we talked a lot about her adjustment to the United States and the transition she experienced from Colombia to the United States when first moving here. She discussed the difficult transition between the cultural norms and the communication barrier she experienced at first. She said when she first moved here she barely knew any English so it was difficult for her to go shopping, go to restaurants, etc. She had a lot of trouble communicating with people which made her avoid going to public places. Now that she knows more English she said it is still difficult sometimes because people cannot understand her due to her accent but she has a much easier time then she did when she first moved to the United States. I had traveled to France in the past and though I knew a small amount of French, I could definitely sympathize with Angela’s situation. It was so frustrating to try and communicate with people because due to the language barrier there was no way to get your point across. I remember being discouraged by this, so I understand what Angela went through when she first moved to the United States. I also asked her about the differences between how people in the United States and Colombia interact with one another. She said they interact pretty similarly except she thinks people in Colombia are more loving and show their affection more easily. She talked about how in Colombia people greet each other by hugging or kissing on the cheek while she has noticed in the United States people shake hands much more. She said people do handshake if they are meeting a new person or if it is in a professional environment but for the most part people in Colombia show their affection much more freely then people do in the United States. We also talked about the cultural norms and values that are promoted by society. She said what she has loved about living in the United States is though she has been given the opportunity to experience a completely different culture and her eyes have been opened to things they may never have been if she had lived in Colombia her whole life, the values and beliefs are the same. In her experience she said she has met many friends and classmates who are similar to her and they share many of the same values. She said it has been an impactful experience to broaden her horizons and gain new experiences while continuing to surround herself with people that share her same value system. Listening to Angela talk about how similar people in the United States are to people in Colombia has been a reminder to me that though we may come from extremely different backgrounds, you can still have a lot in common with someone. It has been really fun for me and Angela to discover how much we have in common while also learning new things about one another’s family, friends and cultures.