Communication problems are a major source of culture shocks to most foreigners. I arrived in Australia and felt excited and expected that I would see many things and meet many people. However, after a few days I found that every thing was the same as I expected. I started feeling depressed and didn't have self-confidence any more, especially when I talked with new people. It was not easy to use a different language especially if you struggle to use it. I still have some problems with English and my communication skills are not great. However, I am very lucky to meet some friendly and patient people.
In Australia a lot of things are different compared to my country. For example in Taiwan we don’t eat frozen food but now we eat fast food from Franchise shops like the 7-11(24 hours). We feel that we don't need to have kitchens at home. These shops are like a kitchen for Taiwanese people because they are around us everywhere. You can buy and do anything (like pay bills, send mail, save money……) in those shops. They are very convenient for us. We like to eat chicken feet and drink pig blood. Chicken feet can make the skin smooth and elastic. Pig blood can increase iron in our bodies. But Australians don't do such things. In Taiwan we like to use umbrellas to prevent sunshine in summer, but Austrians like using the sunscreen cream.
Even though there are too many cultural differences between Taiwan and Australia, I still like to live here.
Text by student Ching Hsien Shih
