Sweetland+Reading+Response+3

My Freshman Year: In chapter four of My Freshman Year I found it a very interesting point when Rebekkah Nathan was discussing her observations on American customs. From my own experience I can agree with her conclusions. People tend to ask each other “How are you?” just as a way to start a conversation even if they don’t actually care about their response. Or people will talk about how they need to hangout or go get dinner together but unless they are really good friends this usually doesn’t end up happening. This suggests that in the college culture people are too busy with their own lives to or their own friends to take time to get to know some more people. People get so use to their group of friends that it becomes a comfort zone and they don’t feel the need to branch out to meet people that may be a little different from them. However; I disagree when she states that American students don’t have an interest in the international students and that those students say they feel lonely. At least for me personally I always find it so intriguing to hear about someone’s life in a different country and I always want to talk to them and find out more about their life. I also found it interesting when Rebbekah discussed the classroom life. I enjoyed learning about how the international students viewed the differences in classrooms. The way people didn’t care about how the dressed in the classroom and the way students would interrupt the professor with questions was so different to the other cultures it was fascinating to read about. Overall this chapter of My Freshman Year was very enjoyable to read.

The Mind at Work: This chapter of The Mind at Work discusses the challenges of being a waitress. Most people that go to eat at restaurants or diners don’t realize how difficult the waiter’s job actually is. They have to remember the specials and know everything on the menu, and get the customers’ orders correct, along with dealing with difficult customers and any mistake that could go wrong. If something is wrong with the food customers may blame the waitress when it was the chef who made it not them. I enjoyed how this chapter discussed the time management a waitress has to endure. Who she must attend too first and how to prioritize what is going on is a very important skill for waiters to have. To me being educated isn’t necessarily how well you did in school, or what job you have. It could simply be how well you can do your job and if you can successfully maintain a job that helps you support your life. Being educated could mean your street smart and can figure out how the corporate world works. Reading this chapter made me have more respect for waitresses, it seems like a very difficult job with a lot of skill required to be successful.