DESCRIBE A SITUATION WHERE YOU HAD TO WORK OR CLOSELY ASSOCIATE WITH SOMEONE FROM A CULTURE VERY DIFFERENT FROM YOUR OWN. WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE AND HOW DID YOU RESOLVE THEM?
5 feet 9 inches,V faced, brown eyes, black hair, slender body and a little sense of humor was a complete description of Zilkiflu Umar.Zilk was dark-skinned, I was light-skinned. Fura de nunu, a northern dish was his favorite dish which he ate in a way that disgusted me. My country, Nigeria, is one with a diverse culture with over two hundred and fifty ethnic groups. Several cultures were similar but those of the north and east were two extremes which was a major difference between zilk and i. He originated from the north while I originated from the east.
Unfortunately, by 11th grade, we were both assigned to the same room and I thought "how could I cope?" this proximity made me realize more disparities between us, his mother tongue, Hausa, a northern language altered his English leaving it with an accent. This made communication a problem for he had to repeat his sentences slowly before I could comprehend. After several weeks of coexistence, I came to the conclusion that we were definitely from different worlds.
The young Farmers" club was to present a project which had to be done in pairs. I began to suspect some unseen forces when zilk and i were paired despite our protests. With barely forty-eight hours to the presentation,i approached him and had a chat with him.it was a rough start but we eventually agreed to set aside our differences and aim for a common goal, success. Those hours of working together brought out our similarities. He enjoyed reading, helping junior students or classmates with their assignments and loved humanitarian services, all of which I loved.
After the project, we became like a matchstick and a matchbox, we were needed together to produce light which was evident in other activities. Such activities included heading the Red Cross team in the school's Inter-house Sport competition, donating drugs and a DVD Player to our high school clinic and so many others. My encounter and relationship with zilk made me realize that diversity is not a barrier to peaceful coexistence and productive living
He ate Fura de nunu, a northern dish, was his favorite dish which he ate in a way that disgusted me.
Your theme is very nice, and I like your last sentence a lot. But there is no period at the end of the last sentence! Also, don't forget to capitalize Zilk's name.
Because the essay is about something fortunate that happened (when you learned to appreciate diversity), don't use the word unfortunately here:
Unfortunately By 11th grade, we were both...
Great narrative, I like how you've emphasized how different you and the other guy were.
When you say that you guys put aside your differences and strived for success, i think i would like to hear more about that. i mean sometimes its not as simple as just "putting side your differences." how did you do that?
where you say:
Those hours of working together brought out our similarities. He enjoyed reading, helping junior students or classmates with their assignments and loved humanitarian services, all of which I loved.
I found it slightly random that you talked about him in general. Maybe you could talk more about how workin together on the presentation made you see your similarities.
cheers. =)
