Adapting in the United States

When people migrate to a new country, they usually come with the intention of staying in that particular country for as long as they can, if not permanently. Moving to a foreign country comes with language barriers, and running the risks of not being accepted nor welcomed by the citizens of that country. Immigrants must adapt to the culture in order to live a comfortable life, but with living in another country comes with discrimination and racial profiling because one is now labeled a minority.

A survey was conducted on the lives of immigrants living in the United States and researchers found that almost every immigrant agreed that learning English was a main priority to ensure success. Having that language barrier makes it difficult to communicate; however, this usually motivates immigrants to go to English classes and learn the language in order to live a more comfortable live as I mentioned before. About half of those immigrants that were interviewed, are now able to say that they are proficient and can read in English. Miscommunication of various cultures has always been an obstacle for people. An example, are the Spaniards and the Incas who were unable to communicate when the Spaniards conquered the Incas. However, this barrier did not stop the Inca’s from living comfortably, instead they learned to adapt to the Spaniards’ way of living. Immigrants in the United States, like the Incas after being conquered by the Spanish, must adapt to living in a different setting with different views and cultures. 

Although U.S immigrants must adapt to living in a different country, they will always keep their cultural roots wherever they go. As a child of immigrant parents, I was raised in a Mexican-American household, meaning we celebrate not only the 4th of July, but also Day of the Dead, which is a day of remembrance for our loved ones who have passed away. Being able to celebrate two different cultures is definitely eye-opening as it allows me to learn more about myself and my roots. Unfortunately, many children of immigrants can agree that belonging to two different cultures can also come with its disadvantages as they may face discrimination. Immigrants face discrimination in school, the workplace and many other public places. Because of this, immigrants feel obligated to learn English and reduce the feeling that they do not belong in the U.S.

The New York researchers who surveyed immigrants from the U.S also found that immigrants have a strong work ethic. For example, one who was surveyed explained how in order to become successful, one must work hard because nothing is handed to you in the United States. Unfortunately, some employers take advantage of this mentality to exploit immigrant workers. The Spaniards, for example, also took advantage of the Incas by using them for labor. The Spaniards believed the Incas were incompetent of living on their own, so in exchange for their labor, the Spaniards would supervise them. Like the Incas, immigrants in the U.S find it difficult to speak out against these people who take advantage of them and instead learn to adapt to these settings.

Works Cited

Farkas, Steve. “What Immigrants Say About Life in the United States.” Migrationpolicy.org, 2 Mar. 2017, http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/what-immigrants-say-about-life-united-states.

“New Report Exposes How Employers Take Advantage of Broken Immigration System to Exploit Workers.” New Report Exposes How Employers Take Advantage of Broken Immigration System to Exploit Workers | National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, 23 Feb. 2013, http://www.nnirr.org/drupal/node/499.

Yupangui, Tito Cussi, and Ralph Bauer. An Inca Account of the Conquest of Peru. University Press of Colorado, 2005.

 

Images

http://coloniallimapolitics.blogs.wm.edu/2014/10/22/hello-world/

http://www.muralconservancy.org/murals/immigrant

http://education.seattlepi.com/were-important-factors-explaining-spanish-victory-over-aztecs-incas-6698.html