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The following stories were submitted in response to a writing assignment for the Applied Linguistics class, English 108, at Ricks College. The stories have not been edited for technical errors.
STORY #1 THOUGHTS FROM GIANNI OF ITALY:
My name is pronounced like the name Johnny. I am from Italy. The salestax in America was my biggest surprise. I counted my money and the cost of the items that I wanted to purchase, but when I got to the cashier, the cost was always more. At first I thought I had made a mistake. The next time it happened, I thought the cashier was trying to cheat me. Since I knew very little English, I did not understand for a long time what sales tax was, and I concluded it was the American way to cheat people at the grocery store.
STORY #2 - THOUGHTS FROM KYOUNG OF KOREA:
What about it? "The Shower" stayed on my mind the whole time. I was going to ask my teacher about that "Shower", but I felt so stupid. How come I couldn't understand their conversation even though I knew all of those words. This afternoon our class discussed learning culture meanings when learning the language. I agreed that we need to know the Culture when we learn the language because of something that is happening to me.
This morning while we were having breakfast, we talked about Jeff and Emily's wedding, and my American Mom said we are going to make an invitation for the Open house. It went absolutely easy until then, but suddenly mom asked dad about that "Shower."
"When are we going to have a shower and where?" Gees! What is it? I thought it may be hard to get a shower while we travel in America! But that seems weird. I have heard of public bath houses, but not in America. It did not make sense. I was afraid to ask my American family why. They thought I understood all of our conversation, and there should be no doubt because I know those words. I realized that there might be some other meaning for the word "Shower" as we discussed in the class. I tried to ask to some other Koreans about it, but they didn't know what it was!
Several days later my simple, but tormented concern, about that shower was over. Mom asked me what kind of present will be good for Emily this coming shower. Aha!! I finally got that "shower" means to have a party for a bride. What a smile! If I had known her wedding custom, I might have understood what they talked about. I really learned we may have to learn more about Culture while learning English. It was silly, but a worthwhile experience also. Then, I don't have to worry where I can have a shower while I traveling somewhere in the United States.
My most embarrassing moment at Ricks was when I went to my art class. I had stayed up late doing the sketches that the art teacher had assigned. I worked very hard. It is really difficult to make art look nice of this subject and I spent much time. My classmates laughed at me. I had thought that Thumbnail sketches meant sketches of a Thumb.
Gestures are a very interesting thing. We Koreans say "Come here" by pointing our fingers down and moving them up and down. I went to the library to do an assignment, and I needed some help badly. I saw a boy working there that I knew could help me, so I put my hand up close to my chin and gave him the Korean "Come here" sign. He waved a very casual "Hello" back to me. I really needed his help, so I did it again even more strong. He looked at me funny and waved back at me again a little stronger. I did it again and again because I didn't know why he didn't come over to help me. Each time he waved, he got a more curious look on his face. Finally, he came over to see why I was waving at him so much so oddly. I then could explain to him that I needed help, and he showed me the American sign for "Come here". I had to turn my hand over to give this message the American way.
STORY #3 THOUGHTS FROM ANGIE OF CHINA:
Eye contact is an important part of communications. I remember the first time that I stood in front of the class for the shared experience about initiating to meet a stranger. At that time, I didn't eye contact with the class. I looked at the garbage can. After I finished the talk, my teacher pointed out my problem. I absolutely accepted it because if you don't look interested in the people with whom you talking, how can the people pay the attention back to you? The reason I didn't eye contact with them was not because I wasn't interested but because it is my culture problem. I was just too nervous to look at people for a while. No one had told me and helped me prove it until I took this training with the group. I was grateful for the class and the teacher.
STORY #4 THOUGHTS FROM ANTHONY OF HONG KONG:
I'm so glad that I could be an International student and study in America, especially in Ricks college. It is interesting to study abroad to gain knowledge and experience at the same time.
I like Ricks College because it is located in Rexburg, Idaho. Before I came to Ricks, some of my friends told me that the people in Rexburg were really nice and friendly people. I cannot agree more about it. However, even though the people were so nice to me, I did have some embarrassing experiences.
At first, I was not quite used to smiling and saying "Hello" to strangers when I walked down the street. Most of them are really nice when we have the eye contact. They would smile back at me and say "Hi." This was a totally different culture compared to my country. In my country we are taught to look down to show respect, and we would never say "Hello" to a stranger or else we would be considered crazy or having wicked motives.
I had to take some time to get used to this. Finally, I thought I was well prepared to smile at a stranger and remember to smile back or say "Hi" to the other person. However, when I tried to say "Hi" and smile to the stranger, the stranger was not greeting me. He was greeting the people who walked behind me. It happened several times. Even though my experience was kind of embarrassing, I still feel it was an unforgettable, but worthwhile experience. I have learned how to follow eyes without staring and know when someone is responding to my attention now.
STORY #5 THOUGHTS FROM VIGIN OF HONG KONG:
I remember that when I just came to Ricks, I heard many people here say "Hi!" and "How do you do?" to each other, even though they don't know who you are. At that time I felt very strange, and I didn't know why they said "Hi" to a stranger. Also, I heard many people say "Thank You" frequently. But now, I know that this expression is used as a polite response to different kinds of favors and compliments. When I hadn't read the book Beyond Language, I didn't know that direct eye contact and firm handshakes during introductions are customary in the United States. At that time, if I talked to people with direct eye contact, I felt embarrassed, and then looked away to the other things. Now, I know that this is wrong. It is good manners to have direct eye contact when you have a talk with people in this country. Also, I learned that shaking hands firmly and briefly is the correct action during introductions.
STORY #6 THOUGHTS FROM YEN-LEE OF TAIWAN:
This was a funny part in the class--holding hands. The United States is a country that doesn't hide the homosexual population. The people here are very sensitive about the same sex holding hands or embracing in arms, but in my country two girls holding hands walking on the campus is normal. That means they are good friends. When I first moved to America, I held hands with my cousin and walked around the store. I saw many eyes just looking at us. Finally, I met a school friend who had been in American longer. She told me what was going on. After that experience, I never do it again. When I had a chance to go back for a visit with my friend in China, I laughed when I saw that thing happen there.
STORY #7 THOUGHTS FROM KENSEI OF JAPAN:
I have many experiences about language. Especially, I cannot do the subtle distinction of pronunciation. The other day, one of my friends asked me, "Can I borrow your chapstick if you have some?"
I started to look for my 'chopsticks' in my desk. Although it took a time to find my chopsticks, I found them finally, and I brought them to him and said, "Here they are. Ask me anytime you would like to borrow my chopsticks." Suddenly, he started to laugh and said, "You are not understanding my English. I said chapstick, not chopsticks."
STORY #8 THOUGHTS FROM ANYA OF RUSSIA:
A few months ago, I didn't really realize that endings can make a big difference such as "ing" and "ed". One night I was really very interested in something, and when I said, "Do you know, I'm really very interesting?" the person whom I was with started laughing. He then said, "Oh yes, you are!" and I couldn't understand what was so funny about it. Then he told me that to be "interested" and to be "interesting" is two very different things.
STORY #9 THOUGHTS FROM MAKIKO OF JAPAN:
I lost my apartment key, so I told my roommates, "Don't rock for me!" I did not notice there was anything wrong with this message. Then I said, "I don't want to rock the door." My roommates really laughed and now they tease me. I chose to say rock because it is hard for me to distinguish between the r and the l. I meant to say, "Please don't lock the door." I will be famous by my slight mistake. My roommates always "rock" the door now when they leave.
STORY #10 THOUGHTS FROM YUKI OF JAPAN:
The hardest thing for me is pronunciation. Japanese people have a hard time to pronounce the "r" sound. I am majoring in nursing, and every time when I told people about my major, they didn't understand what I said. I said "Nursing," but they thought I said, "Nothing." The conversation always went as if I had done something wrong. They act as if they think I am at college to play which is looked down on in this culture, so I always have to explain to them about my pronunciation problem. Because I became interested in teaching of pronunciation, I have changed my major to become a second language teacher. Now that I can say teacher instead of nursing, I no longer have the problem.
STORY #11 LEARNING BY BEING SCARED:
One day I was trying to call my friend. The number was #39-115#(some of the numbers have been changed for privacy reasons.) By that time I had been in America for a month and everything was still new to me, but I thought I knew at least how to make a phone call. I knew if it's in Rexburg, I wouldn't have to dial the area code part of the number, so I dialed 9-115#. Someone answered, but I didn't know what she said because it wasn't a simple "Hello," and it wasn't my friend's voice either---so, I didn't say anything and hung up. I tried again the same number, 9-115#. The same person answered. She said "Emer---something" instead of a simple "Hello." I thought she was weird, so I didn't say anything and hung up again. I thought I must have the wrong number so maybe I should have asked her number.
Five minutes later, a policeman showed up and came into my apartment. He said, "What's going on? Are you guys O.K.?"
My roommates and I were so surprised and scared because we didn't know what was going on at all. Then he said, "Somebody called emergency twice from this apartment." My roommates started saying "I didn't," "I didn't," "I didn't," "None of us did."
I started thinking what he said, "Somebody called emergency TWICE. Oh no! It must have been me. Then I said "Well, I guess I did!"
My roommates were so surprised and said "AKIKO! What for?" "Well, to tell the truth, I didn't know what emergency means and 911 is the number for it. In Japan 119 is the number for it, so I didn't even think about it."
I told the policeman I was sorry and that I've been here for just a month, and I didn't know anything about it. He was so nice and understood me. I was so embarrassed again, but I learned something from this experience:
EMERGENCY IS 911 NOT 119 IN AMERICA!@!!
STORY #12 THOUGHTS FROM CHINH HUYUH OF VIET NAM:
Before I came to American, I lived in a refugee camp in the Philippines two and one half years. During the time I lived there, I used to go to class to learn English and hour a day. I didn't know how to speak English well when I came to America. When I came, I lived with an American family, my sponsor. They lived on a farm and speak different from people living in the city, so the first day when I came to live with them, they all asked "How are you?" I said, "Fine, thank you." But a few days later they ask me, "How are yah?" and I didn't understand what they said. I thought that they were making fun of me. Later that week I figured out that "You" is "Yah," and "How are you?" is the same--the difference being that they talk faster. Now when I hear them say, "How are yah?" I always remembered my confusion moment when I didn't understand.