fifth post

            Over the course of many visits with the two families’ I met the culture shock was very surprising to me. The family’s seemed like they are going to overcome it very easily by how excited they are to be in America, a place where they can be safe from all the bad they knew from in Iraq. The ability to overcome the difficulties of moving so far away from their friends and families seemed to be the hardest part. They did not like talking about that much obviously it made them very sad, as it would do to anybody. They both seemed to be very comfortable with their new lifestyles. I noticed that both families picked up on the way we did things very quickly. I did not notice really any type of depression or sadness about moving here other than the part of missing family and friends.

            What I learned from this service project was more than I could explain in a blog. It made me be more accepting of people of different cultural backgrounds. I noticed it after my first meeting that I was putting up a wall between me and other cultures. I liked the way the families’ made me think of every little thing differently and how we had to break things down and make them simpler. That had me thinking to myself if I ever just see things as difficult I need to break them down. I learned a lot more than they probably did from us. I like knowing that I was able to help them the most I could and I think they liked how understanding and patient we were with them and their progress they were making with our culture and us. I now can appreciate other cultures and want to be more involved with intercultural interaction.