Week 3

                The first conflict I had while abroad was on the train in Erfurt, Germany. A woman poked me then got very stern with me on the train because I was talking too loud. I was shocked that she yelled at me, nonetheless touched me to do so. This conflict began with my original cultural identity (Remland, 2015). Where I am from, people speak openly on public transportation and I didn’t know that was a social faux pas in Germany. Next, the intercultural interaction took place and this is where she told me to be quiet. She obviously expected me to follow their social norms as a foreigner visiting her city and integrating into her intercultural community.. Which is completely understandable. Next, the intercultural context took place because I learned why people don’t talk on trains. Then upon returning to the last stage, cultural identity, I now know the train is a quiet place and not considered a place to socialize (Remland, 2015). At first when the woman yelled at me I was in the denial stage. I didn't see anything wrong with my behavior and I couldn't see there was a cultural difference on something as simple as the way people act on the train. But after identifying and realizing that there are many things that are simple that we do differently, I am accepting that I have a lot to learn in this culture. I would also like to state that i look forward to adapting new cultural beliefs and reforming my identity while abroad.