Culture is defined as values, beliefs, behaviors and material objects that together form people’s way of life.
Culture can be grouped into many distinct categories including food, rituals, sports, generation, technology, clothing, norms, sub-culture and many more that can define culture. I love meeting new people who come from different backgrounds. I enjoy learning about their culture as they are different from ours.
It first started in high school. We would get new foreign exchange students each year and I would become friends with all of them. In my junior year, I became friends with three students. One was from Spain, another from Brazil, and one from Sweden. My senior year I became friends with a Netherlands student as well as an Italian student. The memories we made during their time in the United States will be unforgettable.
My college roommate Mariah was the one who introduced me to the Japanese boys. They are some of the visiting exchange students from Fukuoka University in Japan. The three we connected most with were Seiya, Keita and Ryota. We met them in the kitchen lounge, and they were all so nice and welcoming we started talking to them and asking them questions to learn more about them. They gave us candy and chips that they brought back from Japan. They made us try some chips that tasted like pizza, Hi-chews that tasted like cola, rice snacks with peanuts, rice crackers, strawberry Pocky and strawberry KitKats.
Nonetheless, they were all very delicious and that is coming from someone who is a picky eater. My three favorite ones were the chips, pocky sticks and the strawberry KitKats. In return we made them try many American candy and snacks. They got to try Jolly Ranchers, Takis, hot Cheetos, snake gummy worms, Nerd gummy clusters, pretzels, pistachios and so many other common snacks.
I am not from Topeka, so I did not know what there was to do around here, but we got to take them to Walmart, Sonic and Texas Roadhouse, which were all places that are in the American culture. We took them to the mall in Topeka but as you know it is not really a mall because there are barely any stores, and it is always dead. Keita wanted to buy a piece of clothing from Ralph Lauren because it is cheaper over here than it is back home. He was so happy with his purchase and seeing him smile and happy over a sweater made my day.
My roommate got to take them to KiKu’s Japanese Steakhouse as well as the Legends outlet mall in Kansas City. They loved Texas Roadhouse. They were so surprised that the bread and peanuts were unlimited and free. All three of them got barbecue chicken and steak with two sides. They all wiped their plates clean. We asked the server if one of them could get on the saddle to do the Texas Roadhouse birthday tradition so they could experience that. The server said yes, and Keita got to go on the saddle. All three of the boys were so content and happy they would not stop thanking us. When we were walking out my roommate and I noticed Ryota was walking a little funny. We asked him if he was okay, and he said he was so full he couldn’t even walk.
Every Wednesday my roommate and I go to conversation classes and help people who do not know or speak English. We asked the boys if they would like to come. We got to teach them how to pronounce words they were not comfortable with or needed more practice with. Around the same time, I was learning about global culture in Sangyoub Park’s, sociology professor, sociology 100 class, which was helpful because I could relate to certain things I learned while studying that topic.
We told them to download Snapchat because in Japan Snapchat is not used. We had to teach them how to use it, and once they got the hang of it, they enjoyed using Snapchat to communicate with us. To this day I still snap with them and get to see their faces and what they are doing over in Japan.
After the short amount of time we got to spend with them it was time to say goodbye. They invited me to their farewell dinner where they received their certification of completion for an intensive English course they completed while being here at Washburn University. While going to this event I got to see and meet other students who also got the opportunity to interact and get to know other Japanese students.
That same night the boys texted me asking if they could come by my room to drop off a surprise they had for me and my roommate. They came over and they gave me something I was not expecting. I received personal handwritten letters from the three of them. Their notes were so heartwarming, and I could not stop crying. I was very sad because even though it was not goodbye forever, I knew deep down I would not be traveling to Japan any time soon.
I would love to go someday to explore their culture and meet up with them but who knows how long it will be until I do that. The next day before I left home from Winter break, I went up to the lounge to say goodbye for the last time. I got to hug them goodbye, and they walked me to my dorm so I could get my stuff to leave. I could see they were sad to leave because their eyes started tearing up and they just looked very upset overall. This opportunity opened my eyes and made me realize it is simply about a newly bonded friendship I made with students from Japan.
In conclusion, if I could give you one piece of advice it would be to explore other cultures. It is important to remember that every culture has its own unique set of customs. It is how we identify a particular group of people. In society, it is important to recognize other perspectives and try to get insight into how they live. If something is different from our way of living, we should think of it as being relative to their culture and not to our own culture. We should continue to have an open mind and keep learning about other cultures so we are informed. Meeting new people who come from diverse backgrounds is the best piece of experience I could offer you. If you are given the opportunity at your school or university, do it.
Washburn University is expecting 19 students from Japan next week and they will be here for three weeks. We should welcome these students with open arms and embrace the opportunity of learning about a new culture.
Edited by Jeremy Ford.
