A multitude of ideas, experiences, and relationships have made me the interesting person I am today. I feel that my diverse upbringing has made me more open to new ideas and more accepting of different cultures. When I first arrived in Geneva, the students and faculty at my school showed great kindness and compassion to students from a myriad of cultures. On the second day of school, much to my chagrin, I forgot my lunch. Luckily, a newly made friend, Rodrigo from Spain, offered to buy my meal. I was struck by Rodrigo’s kindness and I try to mirror that generosity. Being a “third country kid” has taught me that I am immensely fortunate. I have two parents, a roof over my head, and ample food. Many people across our world aren't as lucky. I experienced this when I was about six and my family had just relocated to Beijing. Since my parents both had full time jobs, we had a nanny to look after us. Chen Aiyi regularly brought us to her house in one of Beijing’s hutongs. Her house was a rather simple structure, built completely out of concrete, however it was designed in a traditional Chinese fashion. In hindsight, it was shocking that the house lacked even the most basic amenities. If you wanted to get a drink of water, you had to stroll down the street to a communal water pump. When I think back, I feel blessed to have so much while many others have so little. …show more content…
A few weeks ago, I participated in a double bass recital at the Geneva Conservatory of Music. It was my first time playing a solo piece in front of an audience. I was as nervous as I’ve ever been, but I persevered. I was diligent and practiced, and when the night came I played to the best of my ability and everything turned out
In this article, Eric Liu presents his life as a native immigrant to an Asian American individual. He shares his experience through his reflection of ideas and emotions. Along with his story, it relates to the ideas of people’s journey from adolescence to adulthood. Eric’s inspirational experience is directed towards minority groups who try to adapt to the American culture and lifestyle. His parents emigrated from China to America, before he was born which he later became exposed to the freedom and diverse society. This results in beneficial effects for his individuality, career opportunities, and lifestyle. Although his parents have lived in a different culture than him, his life in America has made him assimilated into the American society
When Chinese immigrants enter the United States of America, it is evident from the start that they are in a world far different than their homeland. Face to face with a dominant culture that often times acts and thinks in ways contrary to their previous lives, immigrants are on a difficult path of attempting to become an American. Chinese immigrants find themselves often caught between two worlds: the old world of structured, traditional and didactic China and the new world of mobile, young and prosperous America. They nostalgically look back at China longing for a simpler life but look at the United States as a land of opportunity and freedom that they did not know in China. For this is why they came to America in the first place, to provide for their children and themselves what they could not in China. To do this, of course, they are faced with the challenge of assimilating. Learning the language, acquiring education, owning property, etc. are all ways to seize the American Dream. However this poses a problem for the Chinese immigrant for, in the process of assimilation, they lose some of their Chinese culture. This especially rings true for the children of Chinese immigrants: the second-generation Chinese Americans.
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.
... I, too, have traveled outside of the United States and have discovered the advantages of being open to cultural differences. My experiences have allowed me to accept people on their own terms more easily than I would have were I not able to break out of my culture, even though only for a short period of time.
Living with different kinds of cultures around you is also very knowledgeable to many people. One could learn a lot about someone’s background or country just by interacting or spending some time with them. For example, you can learn about different foods, clothing, fashion, and the kind of lifestyles others might have. Living together helps keeps us in harmony and peace. If we didn’t get along or maybe even share some of the ideas we wouldn’t be such a diverse community. Knowing and underst...
Performing or public speaking of any kind is difficult, but that difficulty can help to build confidence. Fine arts gives students the ability to perform and build confidence with their own support team of people who do and love the same thing. Not having to perform alone and knowing that everything possible has been done to ensure a good performance helps performers be confident in themselves and in their abilities. “Puneet Jacob, former choristers and current assistant conductor, says kids are often afraid to perform because of fear of failure.” (Lefebvre) The more a person faces their fear, especially when they do well and the fear is disproved, the less afraid he or she will become. When students work on music or a play for months on end, they become much more confident in themselves and what they can do than they were when they first began.
Lindo Jong provides the reader with a summary of her difficulty in passing along the Chinese culture to her daughter: “I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix? I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it's no lasting shame . . . You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head . . . In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you. . . . but I couldn't teach her about Chinese character . . . How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best”(Tan 289).
Before I was five, I thought I was Chinese. However, I wondered why I couldn’t understand the Chinese patrons of Chinatown restaurants. Upon learning my true ethnicity, I pulled out a mammoth atlas we had under the bed. My father pointed to an “S”-shaped country bordering the ocean, below China. It was then that I learned my parents were refugees from Vietnam. “Boat people,” my mother, still struggling to grasp English back then, would hear kids whispering when she walked through the halls of her high school. Like many refugees, although my parents and their families weren’t wealthy when they came to America, they were willing to work hard, and like many Vietnamese parents, mine would tell me, “We want you to be success.”
As I look back on my trip to Italy I learned several important lessons. I believe I have developed a greater empathy for those immigrants new to our country. Marlborough High School has students enrolled from other countries but I now feel an obligation to try and help them fit in. I believe I can make a greater difference through my school activities by having an appreciation and sensitivity to others of different cultures.
Growing up in Canada around a variety of remarkable cultures has helped me see the world in a different way. It gives me a more visual, mental, and emotional way being able to view the world. Being around the multicultural nature of this country has not only led me to learn more about other cultures but has helped me mold the culture I grew up around at home in my individual way. As I mature I have come to realize how growing up around many cultures and myparentsPakistani culture has helped “shaped the sight of my own particular eyes” from those of my parents and ancestors.
How your culture had shaped who I am today? I was born and raised in China for at least 8 year, and my parents’ culture have once deeply influence my choice of the future and limit my vision. As everyone know, China is once a communist country, similar to old Russia (USSR). People are not allow to be wealthier and education are limited. In Chinese culture, it is necessary to subject one’s own desire for a greater value to the family. If I don’t follow my parents order, it will brings shame to the family. There were moment in my life where I would follow the tradition and culture as a nice son, but I am tired of following the tradition. Sometimes, we have no clue that we live under the internalized oppression from culture and elder. Internalized
Unlike most other families mine had decided to live with the Chinese rather than in the isolated compound away from them. I and my parents, we saw no need for separation, after all, what bad could it be? The culture and language of China had begun to grab my attention from the moment I started to learn them. I went to
On March 3rd, 2018, I attended the WSMA performance at Rufus King High School at 11:24 PM. I played gavotte by Jean Baptiste Lully in A minor. First, I went in bowed, introduced myself and told her what song I was playing. I started to play. I was doing good until the last part. I started to get nervous and messed up a little bit. It was my first time, so I was not expecting to get a one. However, I was so surprised when I saw that I was only one point away from getting a one. Next time, I really hope to get a one.
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.
Culture has a big impact on how we all fit in as individuals in today’s society, and since this assignment is about that I decided to include some of my own experiences to illustrate my point of view and compare it with those of my classmates and some of the readings.