J. Dillandro
ESL 100
February 21, 2012
Adapting to a New Environment Human beings are very adaptable. We can live in most climates of the world. In the past, people tended to stay in the place they were born, but now we move easily from countryside to city, from one part of a country to another, and even from country to country. Each place has its own customs and ways of life, and countries also have different languages. When I moved from Peru to United States, I had to make several adjustments to my life.
First of all, when I first came to the United States I already knew the language, but my pronunciation was not the best, so I have problems trying to make me understand; it depends on the state you arrive. For instance, in Tennessee, their pronunciation is more country, and I had to get familiar with the way they addressed to us using: “Hi, yall” and other words that they pronounce different. It really was a good experience, and I think it helped me improve my pronunciation, even though I still need some work.
Secondly, eating pizza was so tedious to me. However many guide books will tell you that you are not supposed to eat pizza with a fork and knife I always forget, and tried to eat it with a fork and knife. I remember once, I was waiting for the waitress to bring me a fork and knife and it took so long that I decided to eat it with my hands, probably everybody my look at me as an overly fastidious person, but this is the way we eat in my country. Definitely I had to adapt into this custom.
Thirdly, the transportation here in the United States was a concerned to me, since I did not know how to drive. I had to walk many blocks to the bus station, and sometimes under a rain or too sunny days. Once in the bus station I had to wait so long for another bus to come. I was so tired of it. I never had this problem in my country; it is so easy to find a bus, they are everywhere and stop in every block. This made me take the