Intermediate Listening Lesson 09 - Moving To Another Country

My friend Steve moved to another country.

He had lived in Canada all his life, and he moved to Japan.

Life in Japan was very different for Steve than what he was used to.

At first, Steve suffered from culture shock.

His whole life seemed different.

He was not used to the way of life in Japan.

Steve was not used to the large crowds of people that walked up and down the streets in Japan.

In his hometown in Canada, the streets were fairly quiet.

Steve had to get used to the food.

In Japan, the people eat a lot of fish.

Steve had never eaten much fish before.

Steve wanted pizza, but it was expensive in Japan.

Steve said that he had to adjust his eating habits.

The people in Japan have different customs than we do here in Canada.

Steve didn’t want to offend anyone, so he had to learn the customs.

He had to learn about what Japanese people considered polite and rude.

Sometimes, in a foreign country you can do something to insult someone

without even realizing that you are being rude.

At first, Steve had trouble with the language.

He said that the only way to really learn the language is to talk to people.

Steve talked to a lot of people.

He made a lot of mistakes, but people were patient with him,

and they tried to help him with his Japanese.

It wasn’t long before Steve felt more comfortable in his new surroundings.

You have to be willing to learn new customs and a new language if you move to another country.

Steve feels very comfortable in Japan, and in Canada now.

He is thinking about going to another country now.

He thinks that he might like to try and live in Italy.

I’m sure that he would get over his culture shock very fast if he moved there.

Moving to a new country can be difficult,

but if you are willing to learn, it can be a very rewarding experience.