When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do

July 20, 2014

Although we are language learners, we still met with some cultural differences in America.This is the one incident I experienced.

Last week we went to the Yale University Observatory, we went by school shuttle bus.But when we finished the observation, it was 9:00 pm. The regular school bus was not in service, so we called for special service. The operator told us the bus would come in twenty minutes. When a bus came in twenty minutes, we went in.
After checking with the bus driver, we couldn't find any record to Morse College in the meter hanging in front of him.We thought that the bus was for us, even though there was no record of the destination, while the bus driver took for granted that we should know about the rule that since we didn't call for his bus, we should not take this bus, even the bus would pass through Morse College. And he didn't bother to tell us about it.So he stopped the bus, waiting for us to get off and we sat there, waiting for him to go.It was an embarrassing moment because we didn't know what's wrong. Then I went to him and asked," You mean we have to go off and wait for another bus to pick us up?" He said,"Yes". It was a relief to hear this yes.

In America, everything is under the rule and regulation. In some aspects, we feel democracy is not freedom; it's a burden. But to foreigners, the best policy is: When in Rome, do as Romans do.