Humanistic And Multicultural Experience

930 Words4 Pages
Interactions between different cultures can create new and wondrous interactions which can lead to lasting friendships or feelings of tension and stress. When dealing with an unfamiliar culture the individual can possibly be exposed to new kinds of foods, music, language and visual arts. Immersing oneself in differing cultures can cause a deeper understanding of other people and cultures—or it can also initiate feelings of resentment and aversion which could potentially color future interactions when dealing with the same or similar culture. The Party My parents were invited to a party by neighbors from the Philippines that lived across the street and due to the fact that I lived with my parents and I needed a multicultural experience for a certain paper that was due, I decided to attend. The circumstance of having my parents going with me made the experience easier to cope with as I suffer from social anxiety disorder and the prospect of meeting new people vexed me. I had several preconceptions before the party; one was that I was not going to have a good time no matter what transpired, I also had another preconception that the food would be good and perhaps one of the few things I had to look forward to. I enjoyed both Chinese and Japanese cuisine and I hoped that food from the Philippines would be somewhat similar. Although, I had had previous interactions with these neighbors but only in passing and very briefly these neighbors seemed like very nice people. We rang the doorbell and the male neighbor answered the door with a welcoming smile. We entered the living room and I looked around and saw several people of various ethnicities conversing and laughing. Immediately, I felt nervous and anxious with so many strangers around me. The neighbor led us into the dining room where vast arrays of strange and exotic foods were laid out. Sitting predominately on
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