I need a story i experenced but tie in how culture shock played a party - Essay Example

Yet, everywhere I turned I was faced with a culture very different from my own. As I confronted my anxiety, I began to conquer my fears of an unknown world and found myself participating in and enjoying the rich Bahamian culture. On the surface, the Bahamas appear to be very much like the United States that I had been used to. The native people speak fluent English and have a booming national economy. They have all the most modern conveniences, luxury items, and technologies. Yet, beneath this thin veil of Westernized capitalism lay a fundamentally different culture.

The population was a majority black that were descendants of the slaves brought from Africa to work the plantations until slavery was abolished in the early 19th century. The islands have been able to retain many of the African traditions of music, food, and style. The people also have a much less formal style of interaction. In the Bahamas, strangers are treated as if they are lifelong friends. This was far different from what I had been taught in the United States by adages such as 'don't talk to strangers'.

Friendly faces and warm smiles frequently approached me, but I would shy away with the fear of not knowing who to trust. As I got used to their style of communication, I soon began to feel as if I was at home.One of my first adventures in the Bahamas was to go to the market to do some shopping. The market was a large open area that had hundreds of vendors selling everything from T-shirts to perfume. I decided to buy one of the unique straw hats that the locals make out of palmetto leaves. I shopped several booths until I found a hat I wanted that was priced at $29.

I liked the look and feel of the hat and quickly gave the lady the full price for the hat and wore it proudly as I continued shopping. While I shopped at another vendor, I noticed a man buying a hat very much like mine and similarly priced. However, he paid only $15 for it. I remarked that he got a good deal on the hat and he informed me of the process of 'haggling' over the price. In the Bahamas you never pay full price, you make an offer for what you want to pay. I was uncomfortable with this at first, but soon learned to enjoy the process and shopping became an even more exiting adventure as I bargained for ever lower prices.

After hours of shopping and 'haggling' we were all very hungry and found a quaint cafe to get something to eat. Though the surroundings were all very normal and similar to any other restaurant, the menu was as foreign as Morse Code even though it was written in English. I recognized almost nothing on the menu. The Bahamian food is based around the sea and has the influence of African spices and tastes. I was an American teenager who didn't like fish and would prefer salt and pepper to cayenne or cumin.

After some due deliberations and a small argument, I ordered a plate of food I could not pronounce. When it came, I was shocked to see that it was fish, laced with fruit, over a bed of what appeared to be garden weeds. I was in shock and almost sick to my stomach from the sight of it. However, I again got control of my anxiety and tried it. To my amazed delight it was delicious. It was like nothing I had ever tasted and was