Narrative Paper Essay Sample

1. The presentation and look of the dishes itself was so appetizing that I was easily tempted to try out different foods. Being a student with limited finances I had to spend wisely, but since the range of food available was so wide I could conveniently buy a delicious meal at a low cost. My fair understanding of English gave me a deep insight of the American people. It was so relieving to experience that they are very cordial people who treat others with utmost respect and are very thoughtful. They are helpful and kind both in actions and words. I was impressed by the way Americans dress up immaculately yet stylishly. It made them look so attractive and smart that one could tell that they really took out time to dress up well every day.
2. Americans grow up in a way where they are taught and encouraged to take up challenges and new opportunities to learn and grow. This makes them bold and more confident compared to people in my country where we feel comfortable doing what we are doing and don’t feel too bold to take up challenges easily. Americans are very expressive in their way of talking and use of words, and they can easily initiate a conversation. They are very expressive with their gestures and body movement also when they talk. Whether it was on the streets or markets or a movie theatre I was often greeted by a smiling “Hello” by people who were complete strangers to me. Their conversations are loaded with many words as they like to explain and talk in detail. Whereas in my culture, we are a bit reserved and introvert, which makes us less confident to initiate a conversation. Our body language shows us to be very timid and gentle. We talk less and the volume of words in our conversation can therefore be relatively less.
3. American culture is very vibrant and lively. People make friends easily as they are naturally not very timid and love interacting with one another. Americans are adventurous people, as they like to do a lot of outdoor activities such as trekking, cycling, picnics, playing baseball etc. They love to have fun and enjoy themselves when they are free from work. Their love for food is seen in the vast number of eating joints, restaurants, mobile eating vans, etc. there are all over the place. Every person you see on the road, market, corridors of the college, will say ‘Hello’ irrespective of the fact that they know you or not. They are very courteous and well-mannered in their speech as well as actions. If they want to enter a room, they’ll ask “May I come in?” or if they are leaving to go home or elsewhere they always ask politely “May I take your leave?” This was a good learning for me and I started following this practice consciously. I liked saying ‘hello’ to everyone around me and started interacting with more people.
4. I worked on a Chemistry project (name of the project to be filled by the client) with a fellow American student, and I must say it was a wonderful experience to see him work so hard at it. He was very focused in his work and regularly planned out the investigations with me each day. He was very motivating towards me and his working style really impressed and inspired me. Every day we would take turns taking notes and doing the investigations. He always asked for my opinion and suggestions, and gave me his opinions very candidly. He also understood my background that I came from another country and was very supportive of me. Even though I could not express myself as openly as he did, he was never imposing and behaved in a very respectful manner with me. I thoroughly enjoyed working with my partner. He offered me meals at his home and made me feel comfortable in America in many ways.
5. Ashland University is very different from any university in my own country. In my country boys and girls study in separate colleges, so the environment in Ashland was absolutely new for me where boys and girls studied together. Co-education here was a new concept for me and I was honestly a bit intimidated in the beginning, and wondered as to how is it possible. I used to avoid talking to all the female students in the classroom, and felt very uncomfortable if any girl came and sat on the seat next to mine. I simply couldn’t focus on the lesson and had a hard time concentrating. I would just keep watching my hands or shirt wasn’t touching the girl’s body in anyway and sat in class with a rather baffled and blank face. Gradually I got accustomed to the whole idea of studying together with girls and working with them on the same project as a team. And I must admit that now I feel quite comfortable studying with them and also feel impressed how knowledgeable they are in the subject.
6. Living in America I realized why and how Americans behave and think differently than I do. Our cultures, upbringing, religion and customs that we have grown up in are very different, and have therefore impacted our thought process and conduct in various ways. In our religion boys and girls stay aloof and don’t study together which creates a lot of gender difference. Whereas, in America people don’t separate boys and girls in schools and colleges, rather give equal opportunities to both. My religion is very conservative and orthodox which is another reason for this demarcation. While on the other hand Christianity (mostly Americans follow this) is very liberal in this aspect. Once when I was invited to a friend’s place for dinner I saw many of my female classmates who were there as well. I had assumed it would be a boy’s party, but seeing the girls interacting with boys very comfortably was a new experience for me. They came together in a car pool and stayed late night which was absolutely acceptable by their parents as I later found out. I was quite taken up by the independence the girls enjoyed in this country, unlike mine.