Choc culturel aux États-Unis d'Amérique (document en anglais)

Culture shock in United States of America

Last summer, I went to New-York City in United States and I can say that I’ve had a little culture shock…

A culture shock is the feeling of surprise even anxiety when operating within a different culture. You can have a culture shock by immigrating or just travelling in another country.

A lot of people think the USA and the France are very similar as these are occidental countries. But that’s wrong, these are a little bit different! Their respective cultures are different. And I’m going to talk about this topic, this difference. What did I prefer? What did I hate?

Just arrived at airport, we took a taxi and we didn’t wait at all. Out to the JFK airport, a lines of waiting yellow cab! I was surprised to see so many yellow taxicabs (called yellow cabs in NYC) waiting for customers.

To go to our hotel, we passed in front of very tall buildings and skyscrapers of Manhattan. It was amazing and that was not usual for me!

Then, during the stay, we met many upset businessmen in the subway or in the street. They was stressed and like upset about the tourists who walk slowly and hang out in the city... That was annoying but we could still enjoy the travel.

However, in the shops or in touristic spaces, the staff and vendors are so helping, thoughtful. They were always saying “How are you guys?”, “I’m here if you need help...” or “What’s up?”. The French people are often kind, but in United-States that’s more than in our country. It’s a little surprising… but such a pleasure!

Then, I was a little shocked to see so many bums on subway platforms or in the street. They was like junkies and a little strange. Unfortunately, that’s the poverty/misery of major metropolises…

Also for the people, I was a little surprised to meet so many colored people like Afro-American, Indian, Latin-American and Chinese. How cosmopolitan this town is!

Finally, I would like to talk about something which impressed me most… It’s the shops which are opened really late at night and even on Sundays!! Maybe that’s totally normal in USA but that amazed me... In France, you can’t go to supermarket at 4:00 AM. In NYC, you can do whatever you want and at any time. The Big Apple never sleep, that’s so true!

As a conclusion, I would say that I loved my trip and this little culture shock was a very good experience. I loved the USA and l loved some things like the architecture, the fact that there was always people in the street and even at night! On the contrary, I didn’t like the disadvantages of large towns; a lot of tramps, the noise and the local people upset about tourists). But overall, I enjoyed my trip to America. So, I’m looking forward to discovering new places of the world, to having new culture shock since for me, that’s an unforgettable experience!

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