Talking with Europeans

Last night a lot of us DePauw students here went to a café to hang out after dinner. There were not many people there, but a few of us ended up making friends with three university students visiting from Austria. They spoke very good English and I talked to them for a long time. It was very interesting to me because we talked about their views about the US and about Europe. They told me that they think that America is so much more interesting than Europe. While I think of Europe as being much more historical and beautiful, they said that they love the natural parks and the “red rocks” in the US. They said that the US has an easier way of living, while I have always seen it the opposite way.

I have also always thought that it would be amazing to be so near to other countries, to be able to experience so many different cultures so close by, but they said that America is so great just because it is so big. The “bigness” of everything in America is attractive to them, which is so surprising to me.

            This experience in talking to them about how we view our different countries really opened my eyes to the views that others may have about the US that I had never even considered. We have only been here for three days, and this experience has already convinced me that there is so much for us to learn here in addition to a new language.