Reflection of our experiences

This is our last day in the United States, and our last blog.

Today I talked about stereotypes Germans have about Americans, I must admit that I had some too. For example, I thought that most Americans go to Fast Food restaurants, that they drive around in cars most of the time, that they are very strong religious, and that most of the Americans have guns.
I've learned during the last three weeks and my preparations that a small part of stereotypes is most of the time true, The important thing is to understand why Americans behave like that, or why they have things, which Germans don't want to have.
Gestures, discussions, religious, status symbols are parts of culture and we have to learn and accept them, even when we don't understand them. We can't be integrated in a new country, when we don't know anything about it, and when our only knowledge are stereotypes.

I have learnt how different culture is, and in how many parts of life it is integrated. I got a new impression how important it is to be prepared and open minded when you go abroad, even when it doesn't safe you completly from falling down.