Behind My View

                                                                  Behind My View

        

         The old men in ancient said: “ When in Rome, do as Romans do.” The famous quote means people should learn to appreciate and embrace the new cultures when they get to a new place. I moved to Chicago in 2017 and went to high school since 2017. As the one of the biggest cities in the United States, Chicago gave me lots of good impressions when I got here. However, I have figured out there is one thing that I will not fully accept as time goes by.

         People who have not been to the United States might wonder what was the first thing and the first impression come to my mind when I got to Chicago. I would tell them the first thing and the first impression come to my mind was culture shock. The United States, as the biggest country of immigrants has almost every kind of culture from all over the world. In my opinion, freedom is the most important and the necessary thing for people who live in a country. In Chicago, I have a strong feeling that people have and celebrate their freedom. For example, when I am walking down a street in downtown Chicago, I can always see people singing and dancing down the street. This kind of phenomenon does not exist in China. In China, when people are trying to sing and dance in public, the officers and security will stop them and ask them to leave because it disrupts the environment. In my point of view, people in Chicago are open. They have passion in their lives, and I am appreciate and enjoy the atmosphere of people here very much. In addition, I am a car guy. Like many boys, I love cars. Buying myself a dream car has always been one of my goals and I can feel the car culture in the United States attracts me the most. Every time I walk down the street I can see a lot of sport cars, hypercars, and luxury cars that I have never seen in China. In the United States, people are free to build themselves a car, and I can’t imagine this happening in China. In China, only few people can own a car because the prices of cars are high and the policy of license plates.People need to draw lots to get license plates. The traffic laws in China are extremely strict and many of the drivers don’t follow the rules. In the United States, I can feel that I am getting closer to my goal and I enjoy the atmosphere here that people are free and easy to own a car.

         However, I have to admit that there is one thing that I will not fully accept in Chicago and it is food culture. In my opinion, compared to other cities in the United States such as New York and Los Angeles, the varieties of foods in Chicago are less. In China, there are countless types of foods and they represent every cities or place of China. For example, Yue cuisine represents the south of China, Xiang cuisine represents Hunan, which is a state in China and Chuan cuisine represents Sichuan. These styles of cuisines have huge differences although they are Chinese food, and these only the tiny parts of Chinese food culture. Sometimes American food is easy to eat, and it’s fast to eat. It’s very convenient for people who are starving. But the taste of American foods like burgers and sandwiches are same. They are not special that I imagine.However, Chicago has a lot of great food from around the world, but most of it is not my type of food So I wish the foods in Chicago are getting better and better.

         In conclusion, the United States has lots of interesting hidden cultures are waiting for me to explore. It is reasonable that I feel strange and uncomfortable when I get to a new city. I will always appreciate and embrace the new cultures in America and keep the quote: “When in Rome, do as Romans do” in my mind.