'final draft for my paper'

Fahad Alqahtani

Professor Sara Tavis

Oct 6th 2016

My travel

I can still remember the first time I thought about leaving Saudi Arabia, my home, to study abroad. it was an important and difficult decision. So I made a list of eligible counties that I would love to explore and learn their culture. At first, I was leaning towards the UK because it was closer to Saudi Arabia than any other country on my list, and I thought they were better at teaching English. However, the UK was more expensive to live in, plus I felt the United States would be better in terms of living expenses and the people are friendlier than the UK. Being from Saudi Arabia, means I come from a different culture and there is a great deal of cultural differences between the two countries. For instance, the huge jumps in climate change, from a very sunny and hot weather most of the times of the year to an extremely cold and rainy weather in the winter here in Seattle. I also had to add a lot of winter clothing to my closet. Furthermore, I think these cultural differences I’m going to address in my essay have added a lot to my personality without even knowing .For example, after being through with many changes in all that particular time I spent here in the US,I have developed new skills, altitudes, norms, values and methods all with an aim to overcome many obstacles faced and suffered though due to the big ,vast and diverse differences between my culture and the culture of this part of the country, I am in right now. During my stay here in the Seattle area, I have had my fair share of awkward moments and encounters one of which is something called the private space. I even did not know if this term “private space” existed before. For example, when you kiss a male friend on the cheek, people around you might think you and your friend have some sort of a relationship, a serious one indeed. In some countries, it is completely normal and people do it on a daily basis without it depicting any relationship information. According to us, kissing is public way of showing respect. I have been doing it for over twenty years now. Due to their culture and norms, I had to use the normal American way of shaking hands which they were used to it, and may be give a small hug to my closest friends. The second thing was foods and drinks. When I arrived at America, I was not able to eat well .Additionally; I did not even know how to cook. Traditional Saudi Arabia cuisine is relatively similar to those other Middle Eastern foods. The most known middle eastern foods include: lamb, rice and a very wide variety of vegetables and spices. Saudi Arabia is an Islamic nation. Since pork is prohibited and totally not allowed among the Muslims, it is not available in all Saudi Arabia. Both Gahwah(a coffee of unroasted beans and cardamom) and tea, are very popular. There is a great difference in our types of foods and theirs. Ours is more of s variety of different foods at a time while on the other hand, the United States (US) is more centered and they value single dishes at a time. In addition to this cultural aspects discussed above, is the traditional Saudi Arabia clothing. For men, dressing code includes a throb, a long sleeved loose-fitting garment that covers the whole body from the neck to the ankles. I noticed that the throbs were either made of cotton or wool. They may be either plain white or very colorful with fine embroidery work. Ahead piece is also another customary which is designed to protect against the heat elements. In special occasions, In Saudi Arabia, men may wear a bisht, gold-edged cloak, over the throb while in the United States most males Saudi students adopt western standards of dressing, including fashionable brands as well as jeans-shirts, tight fitting garments among many others. I also observed women dressing code in the two countries and also put them In a comparative study. In Saudi Arabia, women do not wear the abaya(black long coat).The case is very different in the united states. Some do not wear the head covering at all, although most women do, depending on the family’s religious and cultural beliefs, it might influence how a woman dress after arriving in the United States. In conservative settings, such as the mosque, or for celebrations, both men and women are more likely to wear traditional clothing. Another conspicuous difference that I noted is that among us is the cohesive and strong bound relationship between family members. Saudi families are usually big and live with each other while caring about each other and the head of each household will provide if their kids take care of themselves. On the other hand, American families are very small and it is not common to have a big family and they live harmoniously and care about each other. However, many will leave their parents at home after completing high school studies. They then depend on themselves and might not even need any financial support from their parents. The close and cohesive relationship between them and their parents now gradually starts to weaken since at this moment, the children are more dependent on themselves. This is not the case in Saudi Arabian families.

In Saudi Arabia, holidays are celebrated in different ways. For example, in the Eid Alfater, which comes after Ramadan, they go to visit their families, friends and relatives and give children some petty money. This will last after three consecutive days. The scenario is very different in America. They celebrate holidays like Christmas, Easter Monday and Thanksgiving Day whereby they share the gifts and send holiday cards to them, their families, friends and relatives.

Finally, everyone has his/her culture, norms values beliefs and traditions. There is neither of the cultures which is bad or good, nor is there a culture which is superior than the other. The way each culture believes and does is right on their own way. We should value other peoples’ cultures and we should not be little them in any way. Though we are in this same big global society, we are brought up in culture. Therefore .culture remains to be a very powerful tool for prosperity of any community or society.

This cultural difference has taught me that different people and societies in the world have different beliefs altitudes and religion aspects. They have trained me on how to live with different people from different backgrounds. Personally, I love my culture and am not influenced in any way by foreign cultures though I now value other people’s culture. I have lived with people with a different culture and now am back to Saudi Arabia the way I left it, though now with additional knowledge about different cultures which I have learnt through observation.