I am Jennifer. In my senior year in high school, there were many exciting activities like dances, homecoming picnics, sports contests against the teachers, and, of course, the prom !

Prom night was coming, and tickets went on sale. They cost $89 for a couple. Single guys roamedthe school, looking for girls to ask out. A friend told me that one of his friends wanted to go to the prom with me. Eventually I met the friend, Eddie, and we got along just fine. Gentleman-like, Eddie offered to pay for our prom tickets. However, he insisted that I pay for the prom pictures, and trying to do my part, I agreed. At the prom, everything went just great. We danced, ate, andchatted for at least five hours.

After the prom, we went to a restaurant and had dinner. The dinner was great, too, but when it was over, the trouble began. Eddie just sat there, even though he had finished eating. Thinking that he was tired, I just sat there too. Then it turned out that Eddie expected me to pay for the meal. I was horrified because, according to Chinese customs, a guy always pays for everything when he asks a girl out. I was already surprised when Eddie had insisted that I pay for the prom pictures, but this was too much for me. Eventually I paid and Eddie drove me home. I did not talk to him for a very long time. Later on, I found out that there is an American custom of “splitting the bill,” where each individual pays half. It took me a long time to adapt to this custom!

我叫詹妮弗。高中毕业那年有很多有意思的活动，例如舞会，老生返校野餐会，与老师对抗的体育比赛，当然了，还有毕业舞会！

舞会那晚就要到了，正在售票，每两张票89美元。单身男孩在校园里转来转去，寻找自己想邀请的女孩。一个朋友跟我说，他有个朋友想邀请我一起参加舞会。后来我看到了这位名叫艾迪的朋友，我们相处得不错。他很绅士，提出由他来付舞会的门票，但坚持由我来付舞会照片的钱。为了礼尚往来，我便同意了。舞会上一切都很好，我们跳舞、吃东西、聊天，玩了至少五个小时。

舞会结束后，我们去一家餐厅吃晚饭。那顿饭也很棒，但到结束的时候，麻烦来了。尽管已经吃完了，但艾迪还是坐在那儿不动。我还以为他太累了呢，于是也没动。后来才发现艾迪在等我付账。按照中国的传统，当男孩约女孩出来时他应为所有花销付款，他坚持我付舞会照片的钱我已经很吃惊了，但这样真是太过分了！最后我付了钱，艾迪开车送我回家。我很长时间没跟他说话。后来我才发现有“分开付账”这样一个美国式的习惯，每人各付一半。我花了好长时间才适应了这种做法！