I believe culture is a very important element in our world today. This is because there are so many different aspects that can define one’s culture and I think that it is the combination of all of these aspects that makes a culture unique. The world is fortunate to have so many different cultures living on earth because it allows individuals to experience many different ways of living. When people share a culture, it allows them to connect over the same topics and ways of living. For example, culture can include our religion, language, food and ways of interaction which we have learning from the readings in Professor Vaughn’s novel. People in a culture will see each other at the same church and share recipes on their traditional meals. These interactions socialize people because they have the same interests.
It is difficult for many cultures to come together because not everyone is always open to adapting to a new way of living. However, with the increase of immigration in America, people are learning to adjust and become more welcoming to new cultures. I feel that I am becoming more open to trying new things too. Since I did not attend a diverse grade school and high school, I was not exposed to other ways of living and different types of beliefs. However, at college, I can see many different ethnicities and practices just from walking through campus. I was open to new cultures before I came to college but I just did not experience them in my everyday life. Now that I have seen many different types of living, I feel that I am more open to new ideas, foods and topics which allows me to socialize more with diverse groups of people.
Vivianna must have experienced many changes already in her short life due to immigrating to a new country. First, I can look at her emotions which are “universal or culture specific or [can be] a combination” of the two (Vaughn 80). Immigrant children can be confused on what is culturally acceptable for their display of emotion. People in Mexico can display their emotions often and do not mind having little personal space, where people in the United States might prefer to have more personal space when communicating with another person. Therefore, Vivianna may be confused on how to talk and react to a situation when it is presented to her because she does not know what is socially acceptable. Then, Vivianna is learning english because some people think “that without understanding the language of a culture, the culture itself cannot be fully understood” (Vaughn 86). Vivianna, like other immigrant children and adults, has to learn to adapt to the culture in the United States and learn a new language so that they can communicate with others in their new culture. On the other hand, people in the United States need to adapt to immigrants’ culture because they need to be patient and understanding when trying to communicate with an immigrant to is attempting to learn english for the first time. However, even though immigrants introduce their culture to the people already living in the United States, they can also connect with other immigrants who have moved here from their same home country. The connection can be created because their similar interest in music, food and language. Vivianna connects with the other students in her school because they are immigrants too and they can relate to each other. Another problem Vivianna might experience it her rate of adaptation to her new culture in relation to her parents. Her parents, who have lived in their past culture for a long time, may have trouble adapting to their new way of living. Vivianna, on the other hand, has only experienced her previous culture for a few years so she will be able to adapt faster than her parents because she does not maintain as strong of bonds to her home country. All in all, I think Vivianna and her family will be able to adapt and teach many American’s new ways of living.
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