Comparison/Contrast Essay

The Best Lifestyle

I had a cultural shock when I saw my American host family’s lifestyle for the first time. I had been to the United Sates of America for only one week when I was a high school student. Almost everything was new for me at that time. There were a lot of differences between my Japanese family and my American family.
My thoughts about the meals were also different. My Japanese family considered meals as one of the most important things in life, especially vegetables and rice. My grand parents were growing many kinds of vegetables, so there were always a lot of fresh vegetables during every meal. It was a very healthy way to eat. Also, we had to eat three meals regularly every day. However, My American family said that enjoying delicious foods was the most important thing. They sometimes ate very sweet lemon cheese cake for breakfast. What’s more, they decided to eat only when they were hungry. So their meal times were irregular. I was used to my Japanese family’s style, so I was a little confused.
The values toward experiences, money and study were also a little different. My Japanese family used to say “Studying is important but I will not force you to study. You can decide what you want to learn.” They had never said “Go to your room and study!!” On the other hand, my American mother and father always checked their children’s grades. If they got bad score on exams, they scolded them very much. When I saw that, I was so surprised and felt very sorry for my host sisters because my parents had never scolded me about the results of tests.
Our family forms and rules were very different. There were grandparents, parents, and three children in my Japanese family. We lived together. I had to respect elders very much and be polite. My grandfather often told me that women should be obedient to men. The highest-ranking person in my Japanese family was my grandfather. I had to obey and couldn’t talk back to him. He made many strict rules for his grandchildren such as “Come back home by 5 o’clock p.m. If you broke the rule, I won’t let you enter the house.” Or “Don’t eat meals before I eat.” and so on. Actually, I hated those rules because 5 o’clock p.m. was too early and the latter one was stupid. Even though I felt so, there was nothing to do except obey the rule. However, my American family didn’t have such strict rules. They had a rule that they had a family time to get together and to talk at least once a week. I thought it was really nice rule. There were only parents and children in their home. Their relationships were fair. If a child and mother had any troubles, they talked and talked and talked until both of them understand completely. I have never seen such a family style before so it was the biggest different point between Japanese family and American family.
My Japanese family and my American family had very different life styles as I mentioned above. I can’t say which one I prefer because both of them have advantages and also disadvantages. I like my Japanese family’s thought about meals and I don’t want to force my children to study hard. But, I prefer American family’s rule. I don’t want to make unreasonable rules and ranks in my home. I want to talk with children if we had any troubles. Also, I want to select good points which fit me and create new family style in the future. It will be the best way for me and my future family.