CROSS CULTURAL ENCOUNTER PROJECT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

CROSS CULTURAL ENCOUNTER PROJECT - Essay Example This helped us develop our friendship and learn more about each other’s culture. We discovered that we both love sports and enjoyed watching international football games among the teams that we support. We also found out that we enjoy playing football as we both played it in junior and secondary schools. We spent a lot of time playing various video games at the local village arcade and in our apartments. Our friendship was enhanced by the fact that we are both international students who share a similar history and similar dreams and ambitions. In addition to, we dined together on numerous occasions and got to enjoy traditional meals that taught us more on our cultures. While I am Muslim, Patrick is Christian and this has not stopped us from learning more about each other’s religions and cultures. For instance, he joined me for Jumma (Friday prayers) in a Mosque in Arlington, Virginia (House 55). I attended a Sunday service with him where he celebrated ‘Palm Sunday ’. I learnt that the difference between the two religions is not so pronounced as they both focus on preaching a positive message to its followers. We have visited various exhibitions that show case different cultures and we have learnt so much about our rich cultures and familiarized ourselves with our mutual heritage. Patrick and I share numerous mutual friends hence we spend a lot of time together. It surprises a lot of people that a Muslim and a Christian can share such a close friendships, we have a lot in common, than what meets the eye. Although Patrick has spent most of his years in the United States, he is interested in learning more about the Asian culture and the language skills by visiting the Asian region. Patrick intends to go back to Indonesia after completing his studies and constantly visits his family back his home country. This shows the level of dedication that Patrick has towards learning more about the Indonesian culture. Identified Differences. In spite of a close friendship, there are various clear differences between us. To begin with, there is a huge age gap between us as Patrick is 27 years while I am 22 years. Patrick has lived in the United States for 15 years while I have been in here for three years. Patrick described his family as originating from Indonesia where his paternal and maternal ancestors originated. While Bahasa Indonesia is widely spoken in Indonesia, Patrick and his sibling speak English fluently having lived in the US for fifteen years. On the other hand, my family comes from Saudi Arabia while some members of my family live in Syria and Egypt. I am fluent in both Arabic and English and therefore there are no communication barriers between us. We eat a variety of foods in our homes including rice, sushi, pasta and various types of meat apart from pork. This is because I am Moslem. Patrick is Christian and Indonesian and they have no reservations when it comes to different types of food. Patrick’s fami ly owns a food processing company that specializes in processing high quality rice that is sold across the country. The business’ performance has been exemplary over the years and the plans to expand its activities in the Asian market in future. My family owns a Textile industry in Saudi Arabia and is planning to open new branches in Dubai and Qatar. This shows that our families are involved in different lines of business. Our cultures define the size of our families. I come from a family of six children that is