D. Helping each other understand
2. Have you ever have been in a situation like the author's, where you really needed a friend?
One of my university friends introduced me to her uncle's German company named, Schott which was in Korea to educate the LG's maintenance team. Therefore I got to work at LG Display as an interpreter. The German technicians would show how the machines work to the LG maintenance crew who were Koreans, and I was to act like a communicative passage. They seemed to be somewhat knowing each other, but not that friendly. However, I did not know anyone. The LG people on one side and the Germans on the other, so I was in the middle, feeling lost.
Then came up to me, a German technician, who looked in his early thirties and asked what my name was. He was really kind and thanks to him I could easily be friends with other German technicians and even the entire maintenance team. From that day onwards, going to work was more enthusiastic and fun compared to before making friends, which really did not motivate me or made me smile. That technician's simple but warm approach may seem nothing and meaningless, but for me, it was more than what I needed and the most appreciated thing at work.
E. Discussion: Critical thinking
2. Can you be as good friends with someone from another culture as with someone from your own culture? Explain.
In my case, most of my best friends are not Koreans. It might be different for me since I grew up in Sri Lanka from when I was two years old and only came to Korea after I graduated high school. So I have lived in Sri Lanka more than I have lived in Korea, which possibly could be the reason I have more international friends than that of Korean friends. However, when it comes to best friends, it is slightly a different story because I felt many cultural differences with my friends, but still I made best friends.
I cannot really remember when I began to notice a difference between the people around me and I. I do feel home in Sri Lanka but there was this something inside me which made me feel like a foreigner, a stranger from outside. Obviously, the skin color was the biggest difference but I have never thought of it as a problem. If background was the problem, then it would not be possible to become friends even with Koreans because everyone has their own background. Then is it language? Well, it surely will be a problem if you cannot communicate and understand each other, but assuming both speaks English, it is not a problem. Culture will be different in many ways and some may be difficult to understand. However, it cannot be a factor which affects friendship because you only see the internal characteristics rather than the external ones, like culture. Even though I feel a difference in culture, thought process, and certain characteristics, I still feel being a part of them.
D: I have a similar experience, too. It is so kind of the person who speaks first. I read your story well because it was in narrative style.
ReplyDeleteE: Frankly speaking, I am not sure what you really want to explain. It would be better if you write your main statements more clear.