The Culture Gap

On page 7 of Staying Together, Hiroshi said, “You can never really understand someone from another culture. I agree with this statement. Different cultures have different languages and different traditions. People are conditioned by their culture since they were children, when their minds were like blank sheets of paper. As a result, they developed a unique taste and ways of thinking. These differences lead to different habits. People can enjoy other cultures, and people can also respect different cultures but they can never really understand another culture. Even people within a culture do not understand each other completely, needless to say understanding someone from another culture. In my experience, I have met a Chinese woman in the plane. Her seat was besides mine. She told me that she had get married with a Swiss for ten years and had two lovely children, but if she wants to take children to china, she need to tell her husband in a formal way and receive her husband’s agreement, or her husband will call the police. It is difficult for Chinese people to understand this behavior. There are many other similar examples of misunderstandings in her life. She didn’t plan to divorce, but she regretted her marriage. I think this is a good example to support the quote.