Pop quiz: You arrive in a country that officially makes your language the non majority. You brought no food or toilettries so the first order of business is grocery shopping. Fortunately you're with someone who has been to this country before and can show you where said store is. After that you're on your own. Cereal sounds like a decent thing to have around so you go in search of the most important ingredient: milk. Suddenly you find yourself standing in front of half a wall of milk. You assume that it's milk, because the "melk" looks similar to the English word, but there are so many choices! How do you make a educated decision on what to buy?Answer: You don't. You go for what's ever cheapest because that's the only thing you can judge (unfortunately the amount is in Euros so you can't even compare that amount to the American price you would pay) or you pick the carton that expires on 5/6/10 (if you remember that in Europe this means the fifth of June and not the sixth of May, which was two weeks ago). So the "melk" you choose expires after all the others. Is that normal? I don't know, you might have just purchased yourself some soy "melk."
I'd forgotten the culture shock we experience when we went to Paris some five years ago now, but it has all come rushing back to me in many ways, the most prevalent being my trip to the grocery store yesterday. It's intimidating being in a different country and not speaking the native language, even when everyone knows how to speak your language.
Then of course there are more cultural things than lack of knowledge of language. I personally believe the way a society eats is revealing of it's culture. If you can master the culinary rituals, you can master just about anything and look like a pro, even if you're speaking English while doing it. Unfortunately many times we must fall and bump our heads before we take those first steps. So it's ok to loiter in front of a restaurant to see if people just sit down randomly at the outdoor cafes, all the while knowing everyone has spotted you as an American, and try to enjoy sitting at your table and talking with your friends even though you finished your meal half an hour ago. We rush too much anyway.
Today has been a day with many cultural bobbles, but I've learned a lot too, like people don't start to eat dinner until 6 even though they start drinking at noon, don't try and smile at people you meet in the street (they won't respond), don't be afraid to ask for the English menu at a restaurant, and best of all the steps of the St. Servaas Basilica is the best place to sit and eat pistachio ice cream. I have three months here and I'm going to fake it until I make it. Until then, yes I'll eat my french fries with the mayonnase the waiter brought instead of asking for ketchup. Who comes to Europe to be an American?
