My trip to Europe was an eye opening experience. It awakened my senses to so many different aspects of life I had not already been introduced to. It was almost like watching a movie, from the minute I stepped of the plane everything was different. When I think about the trip and what experiences I had many sociological concepts come to mind, such as, Culture shock, ethnocentrism, culture, social locators, cultural transmission, norms, language, and subculture. It seems being placed directly in the middle of something that is so different made it easier to pick out the different concepts.When I first got off the plane I immediately experienced so many different emotions. People were talking all around me. But they all sounded so different. Instead of what I was used to, American accents mixed in with the occasional foreign accent. I was now the foreigner. I never before had experienced anything different than I had been taught; now I got to see with my own eyes what a world there is out side of the United States. I had never experienced culture shock before, or for that matter ever really understood it.When I was in France I noticed how different I was treated by the people there. The majority of people I met were polite because they were friends with the people I was staying with. But the people I met just out and about was rude. Even when I tried my best to talk to them in their language was ignored on some occasions and some just chose not to try to communicate. Once when I was in the post office trying to mail a package home I asked the Man in French is he understood English and in English he replied no. Thought that was interesting that he answered me in a language that he didnt understand. France more than any country displayed ethnocentrism. They definitely left me with the impression that they did not like Americans in their country.In each country I experience a different variety of culture. In general though some things were...
