Living With Different Customs, Practices, and Values

1917 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Addressing cultural diversity

Living With Different Customs, Practices, and Values

One of the greatest aspects of people from anywhere in the world is culture. Customs, practices, and values are all apart of culture that identify who we are as a person and where we come from. Being a stranger in a strange land has its basis of showing where you have come from and what your cultural backgrounds are. It is just as important to express the culture from where you have come from as it is to practice the culture to where you have immigrated.

It is 1988 and it is time to say to goodbye to all my friends in Russia. The long and awaited day has come for me when I would be immigrating to America. The different customs, the different language, the different practices, and values are amongst the major differences that I was so worried about yet so anxious to experience. Upon my arrival to the United States it was like nothing I have ever seen before. There really wasn’t much of this middle men in education where a student would just do “ average “ in school. It was basically all or nothing. Life was very difficult to come by for most people. Even though some people such as my mom’s parents were both doctors the average starting salary for them would be around $1,500 dollars a year. And most prices were the same as they are in America. However education in Russia even through college was free. However it was very difficult to be accepted to a fine state college. Only the richest people were able to afford to purchase a car and those people were considered to be the richest of the rich being well of. Going into business was what made many very successful in life however it was very risky. Many times what is known as the Russian Mafia would come into business and d...

... middle of paper ...

...rought up with.

Through Randal Bass’s essay, and my own personal experience I have realized that all people are different than others. Especially myself who has immigrated to a foreign country. Each person has his/her own values, customs, practices, and way of life. According to Randal Bass, although language barrier can be a great problem it should never let any one not be able to live their own life. The English language can have several meanings to certain words and people have to work with each other to be able to understand each other. America is all about working hard and striving to achieve. It is a place of freedom and opportunity and that should not be taken away from any person.

Works Cited:

Bray Randall. “ Borders as Barriers: Otherness and Difference, “ Bordertexts: Cultural Readings for Contemporary Writers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.

Show More
Related

  • The Borderlands Summary Sparknotes

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    I was able to relate to when Jessie said that borders are symbols of the divisions we make of each other. These borders are made up by people to keep each other apart from one another. Whether it is for social, economic, or cultural reasons, the division remains. As Brooke pointed out, these borders prevent freedoms and deny opportunities.

    Read More

  • How To Tame A Wild Tongue Summary

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    What makes someone an American? Do they have to be white, native English speakers? Those who immigrate to America and become a part of American culture are just as American as the old white man down the street who tells them to go back to where they came from. But, a necessary part of American life is the language; people also have the right to hold on to their cultures, just as people whose ancestors were European immigrants do. People may hold on to their language as a connection to their culture, which should not be

    Read More

  • Ethnocentrism Essay

    2139 Words  | 5 Pages

    Growing up in an American society, we are surrounded by certain customs and mannerisms. We pay little attention to them, as they have been ingrained into our society and is apart of our everyday lives. It is when a new culture or society gets thrown into the mix that we notice the different customs. Our first reaction is to think their way is wrong or weird, but when you take a step back you realize that it’s not weird at all, in fact it is as natural as breathing. They are from a different country, therefore they have different customs and way of living. To them, our ways are just as strange.

    Read More

  • Robert Scholes on Video Texts - Comparison

    2393 Words  | 5 Pages

    According to Robert Scholes, author of On Reading a Video Text, commercials aired on television hold a dynamic power over human beings on a subconscious level. He believes that through the use of specific tools, commercials can hold the minds of an audience captive, and can control their abilities to think rationally. Visual fascination, one of the tools Scholes believes captures the minds of viewers, can take a simple video, and through the use of editing and special effects, turn it into a powerful scene which one simply cannot take his or her eyes from. Narrativity is yet another way Scholes feels commercials can take control of the thoughts of a person sitting in front of the television. Through the use of specific words, sounds, accompanying statements and or music, a television commercial can hold a viewer’s mind within its grasp, just long enough to confuse someone into buying a product for the wrong reason. The most significant power over the population held by television commercials is that of cultural reinforcement, as Scholes calls it. By offering a human relation throughout itself, a commercial can link with the masses as though it’s speaking to the individual viewer on an equal level. A commercial In his essay, Scholes analyzes a Budweiser commercial in an effort to prove his statements about the aforementioned tools.

    Read More

  • Can You Be Educated From a Distance?

    664 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his article, “Can You Be Education from a Distance?”, James Barszcz effectively weighs the pros and cons of online education compared to the traditional method, while effectively supporting his position with factual information and statistics. While distance education proves to be convenient for students, Barszcz asserts that it eliminates valuable experiences necessary in order to get the most out of the material being learned.

    Read More

  • Immigration in USA

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    Knott , Kim, and Seán McLoughlin, eds. Diasporas Concepts, Intersections, Identities. New York : Zed Books, 2010. Print.

    Read More

  • Gloria Anzaldua's How To Tame A Wild Tongue

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    Language can bring people together but can also isolate. The United States is known as a melting pot, not only does that refer to culture but also the many different languages. We know of language barriers, but very seldom do we think of the language barriers within our borders. Even with the language barriers it solidifies the need for a national language, the United States of America should allow the freedom to express one’s culture while maintaining English as our national language, therefore offering common ground to its citizens.

    Read More

  • The Physical and Emotional Horrors that Slaves Suffer

    555 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the first chapter of the novel, Morrison introduces tree symbolism by mentioning the scars on that Sethe bears on her back from being whipped. When Sethe tells Paul D. about her scars, she says, "I got a tree on my back...A chokecherry tree" (Morrison 18). Sethe was given these scars during an extremely traumatic and agonizing part of her life, when she was a slave at Sweet Home. Although these scars, which she received eighteen years ago, will forever be a reminded of the unpleasant memories ...

    Read More

  • When Cultures Collide: The Challenges of Raising African Children in a Foreign Country

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, this book gave me a whole new view on life and how we can interact better with different people. The book emphasized that culture is key to understanding people. Sometimes it is hard to connect with others because they are indicated as different but in due time we can adjust. Every culture has their own traditions when it comes to what they eat, what to wear, dating, various ceremonies, holidays and more. Reading this book helped me become more accepting of who I am and where I come from.

    Read More

  • The Evolution Of Basketball: The History Of Basketball

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    The history of basketball began with its invention in 1891 Springfield, Massachusetts by canadian physical instructor James Naismith as a less injury prone sport than football. A game that started with eighteen men in a ymca gymnasium in springfield massachusetts has grown into a game that more than 300 million people play worldwide. The men who created this instantly successful sport was Dr.James Naismith. The game of basketball as it is known today was created by Dr.James Naismith in December 1891 in springfield to condition your athletes during cold months. It consisted of peach basketball and a soccer style ball. He published 13 rules for the new game. Born in November 6, 1861 Almonte, canada. Died in november 28 1939, lawrence ks.1. The

    Read More

  • The Game Of Basketball: The History Of American Basketball

    2045 Words  | 5 Pages

    The game of basketball is a highly recognized and widely known sport. Basketball was first heard of in the winter of 1891 when a man by the name of James Naismith was told to instruct a physical education class at the Young Men’s Christian Association in Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith was instructed to put together a game for young men to enjoy while they were at the YMCA. While trying to come up with a brilliant and fun game for these young men, Naismith reminisced back on his childhood in Canada. He remembered a game his friends and him had played all the time: “Duck on a Rock”, which involved trying to knock a large rock off a boulder by throwing smaller rocks at it. Naismith also remembered watching a game of rugby going on in the gymnasium. The game of Rugby involved tossing a ball into a box. After a very short time of trying to make up a game for these young men, Naismith came up with a brilliant idea. Little did he know the game that he came up with just so happened to be one of he most renowned sports in American history. Naismith’s idea pertained to nailing up raised boxes so that players could attempt to throw a ball in the basket. When there were no boxes too be found, he used peach baskets. Supposedly, Naismith came up with all the rules for this game in no more than “about an hour”, according to Alexander Wolff. Shortly after Naismith had invented the game of basketball, graduates of the YMCA traveled internationally which is the main reason as to why this sport is so widely known. The impact basketball has made on the lives of many Americans is incredible in the sense that it has given people the ability to ...

    Read More

  • Basketball

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    The game of basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith, on December 14, 1891, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith wanted to find a sport that would keep the

    Read More

  • The Power of Language in American Culture

    1496 Words  | 3 Pages

    Language is a very powerful thing. It is the way that people communicate with each other. For a foreigner living in America I think that this is essential. This is why I believe that if a foreigner only attempts to learn English, then they are already assimilating to American culture. Whether or not they choose to change their whole lifestyle into an American way of life, if they take on the English language then they are assimilating to a certain extent.

    Read More

  • Trip to New York City

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    Different cultures, or environments make up how people live their lives and how they may act on a daily basis. These cultures are common all throughout the world, even throughout the different places within the United States. Going on my school trip to New York City made me aware of these cultures changes and when are plane landed back in Minnesota I was so thankful to be back to the places and faces I had always been used to.

    Read More

  • Personal Essay: Personal Identity

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    Who am I? Wrestling with identity— our history, our culture, our language— is central to being human, and there’s no better way to come to grips with questions of identity than through the crossing of borders. The transcendence of borders reveals the fluid nature of identity, it challenges absurd notions of rigid nationalities, and highlights our common humanity. It is no coincidence, then, that my experience as an immigrant has shaped my academic journey and pushed me to pursue graduate studies.

    Read More

More about Living With Different Customs, Practices, and Values

Open Document