When I Came To America
I am Nelly Ndayikengurukiye from Butare, Rwanda. I was born in Rwanda is a little country in sub-Saharan Africa. Butare, Rwanda is my “hometown.” My parents are Burundian; due to the devastation’s of 1994 we are refugees. I came to the United States when I was three years old. For Thirteen years, I have been a Burundian, a Rwandan and a refugee in America. My culture is an enormous part of who I am; every aspect of my life is entwined with my culture be: education, entertainment, food, and even my friends. My culture touches every aspect of my life and will hopefully continue to be a part of my life, but I can’t resist feeling that the culture I love is slowly dissipating. My parents always speak Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili- sometimes …show more content…
My mother, my father, my sister and my brothers, all our foci was to integrate our culture with the American way of life- immersion was never our desire- none of us wanting to lose our heritage. Our focus was to understand and incorporate the American culture so that we were not so isolated, not so different. When I was younger, I would attempt to understand the way of the “Americans”- did what they did- a lot of it I never understood. I did not understand the music, I did not understand the food, and I did not even understand the school system, granted, I was merely a child trying to unlock the secrets of a 238- years- old nation, a nursing compared to Burundi and Rwanda. I remember for a while, all the Africans lived in one area, but we have long since separated. I barely see Burundians or Rwandans or any Africans really. I spent much of my life trying to be “American” that I did not realize that I was losing what made me, me. My languages have always been my indicator; they are symbolic, a metaphor for my whole culture. If I know my languages and speak them fluently, I know that my culture is safe. Unfortunately, this is not the case, I constantly forget words and my grammar is inconsistent, at best. For this reason, I know that I am losing my
Becoming An Immigrant During World War II
847 Words | 4 PagesAttentively, I listened as my grandma began to poor out her life long story to me. At the end of World War II, she had come as an immigrant from Germany with her family when she was only a little younger than I . Then she got her citizenship and raised her family here in America. This story I had known all too well, but until now I had always hesitated to bring up the topic in fear of the asking too much. To my brother and I, she was our Oma.
Rebecca Edwards New Spirits: Americans In The Gilded Age
728 Words | 3 PagesAfter the Civil War, America went through a controversial event that changed the social order of society. Because the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves, the white elite no longer controlled the African Americans. As a result, they felt threatened and wanted to secure their dominance in society by “incorporating” the influx of different cultures from immigrants and Native Americans. In Rebecca Edwards’ New Spirits: Americans in the Gilded Age, she states that there was an “incorporation of America” where assimilation began among certain groups to make them part of the whole. For example, the Native Americans faced a great deal of “incorporation” within what the whites thought of as an ideal society; as a result, their “incorporation” caused
Challenges New Americans
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The Skin That We Speak Analysis
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Summary Of Repressive Tolerance
994 Words | 4 PagesAs a result of their emigration, America was now viewed as “multiethnic and multiracial” and “defined in terms of culture and creed” (Huntington 1). On the contrary, when people traveled across the border from Mexico, their culture was not so widely accepted. Mexican traditions and values were seen as a “serious challenge to America’s traditional identity” (Huntington 2). The “original settlers” of America were incredibly open to people travelling from Europe, but when people came from Latin America, they were
'Laughter' By Sandra Cisneros: Summary
726 Words | 3 PagesImmigrants must blend in with American culture rather than holding on to their own culture and revive it within their new found communities. Many immigrants feel that it isn’t fair to rid of their culture. Opposing views claim that new cultures would interfere with everyday American life. Yet the argument still remains: Is it right for immigrants to be forced to adjust to American culture?
Before I Came To America
338 Words | 2 PagesBefore I came to the United States of America, I had some different ideas about the culture and the people. Some of the main differences that I had was the opportunities, the people behavior and the language. This differences complete change when I saw the reality of this country. Before I came to this country I believe that in this country every thing was given to you, the school, work, and any need that you could need. USA is a bless country with easer to attend schools, but is not given to you, you have to put a lot of time and effort to just get in.
'Naturalization In Accents' By Denise Frohman
640 Words | 3 PagesAdjusting to an unfamiliar environment can be quite scary and alarming. Especially when home is out of the country. But, no matter the distance or location, home and culture is within. It should be embraced in any setting. In “Accents” by Denise Frohman and “Naturalization” by Jenny Xie, the narrators talk about how their families adjusted to the American culture, coming from a foreign country.
The Noble Or Ignoble Savage: A Cultural Appropriation Of American Culture
1494 Words | 6 PagesThroughout American history, the population of the country has become more and more diverse, and with this growth in diversity comes the growth of the diversity of cultures in this society. However, cultural appropriation has become a problem as the American society became more and more diverse throughout the course of the years. Cultural appropriation is the theft of one culture’s intellectual property or key beliefs, generally by a larger culture, and then this larger culture using what is taken from a minority culture incorrectly or inappropriately. Cultural appropriation perpetuates many of the stereotypes found within American society, and it also is a main contributor to the misinterpretations of minority cultures within the country.
Personal Narrative: How Pop Culture Changed My Life
1393 Words | 6 PagesI was not able to fluently speak English and read 50 words per minute. I never could understand what American adults were speaking about when I eavesdropped because they discussed pop culture, the newest plays, or current events. I grew up with the chinese news station on the TV and Vietnamese music blasting in the background, so whenever I went grocery shopping, I couldn’t understand what the lady on the next aisle was talking about. My mom told me once when I was younger, “There is a social class between people with higher education and me, an immigrant. I will never be able to understand what these Americans are discussing because I was not brought up in this country.
Examples Of Assimilation Of African Americans
593 Words | 3 PagesFor each individual it was unique and their level of assimilation into the dominant culture varied depending on what aspect of their life was being effected. These various examples show that even when coming from similar circumstances and experiences, assimilation is an individual process that is different for each participating
My Culture In Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You
1373 Words | 6 PagesI am a white American with very little, if any, culture directly and knowingly obtained from one other singular country. Much of my family could be considered to be very average in comparison to a “typical” American family. We are middle class, my family is Protestant and live in a suburban area. All of my great-grandparents have lived in America and all of them (to my knowledge) have lived in or near Ohio. However, there are enough differences from this typical American culture to that of my own family.
Jeramy On African Identity
501 Words | 3 PagesGrowing up I’ve always felt caught between two worlds. There was my African American side, forged by ancestors in the South and their lives and experiences, but there was also my deeply African roots. This included the music, the clothing, the sports, and the centuries of unique and abstract culture that came with being a Ghanaian. And though I did grow up in America, I was still swaddled in the Ghanaian community thanks to me nearly constant contact with my aunts, grandmother, and father. I was went to African parties, danced the dances, ate the food, the whole shebang.
Out Of Africa By Isak Dinesen
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