Cultural diversity :: essays research papers fc

Many people are affected by cultural differences, but if one tries to break the barriers, the attempt is usually received with open arms and graciously. I remember when preparing for my trip to Germany friends asked why I chose Germany. I responded with â€Å"why not?† Then I was confronted with reasoning like â€Å"look what happened in World War II, you do not know their language,† and my favorite, â€Å"all there are is Nazi people over there.† I looked at them for a second then replied with something to the affect that I have always had a fascination with World War II and especially Adolf Hitler and Germany. It is true that I do not know the language, but English is becoming more and more a universally recognized language, and while it is true there are Nazi types of people there, I’m sure there is an equal amount of â€Å"hate† right here in the United States. While this is interesting, it so far simply doesn’t respond to the assignment , which is to respond to an essay from Language Awareness. You need to make clear from the start what essay you’re responding to. Not deterred by other’s comments, I set off for Germany in November of 2002. This was post 9/11 so I was a bit nervous. The first jaunt was from Cleveland to Toronto where I had my first encounter with traveling outside the United States. Toronto has many Muslim people. As I approached the security gate to get into the area where I was to board the plane, I noticed a Muslim man yelling in Arabic or some other Middle Eastern language to someone across the security gate. By yelling, I mean angrily and forcibly. Being that this was my first international trip and only my 2nd airplane ride in my life, I was already nervous to begin with. Add the fact that it was post 9/11, I was nervous as hell. I thought to myself, â€Å"Did World War III break out in the hour that I was in the air to Toronto?† Then I realized that just maybe the person was upset about having to unbuckle his belt or something trying to get through the gate. I landed safe and sound in Frankfurt which has the largest airport in at least Europe. This is where I had my first cultural shock. I knew I had less than