I moved to the United States three years ago, the clash of cultures was intense. I am glad I had my extended family’s support or it would have been a different story. Everything was new, from the littlest thing like Disney shows that some of my American friends have never seen, to customs like kissing people as a salutation, and the food. I remember occasions where it felt like I’ll never learn English. I didn’t have friends my first year becasue of the language barrier. In popular culture videos, the protagonist always has something special. I’ll say my special power was that I am smart which led to getting good grades and learning and speaking English in a year. Like these heroes, I had a guide, which was my family, and obstacles to overcome. This feels like I am tooting my own horn by describing myself like that, but I am genuinely proud of my self and my accomplishments.
I think my experience relates to displacement because it was a new country, culture, language totally new environment. It also follows the model of displacement in popular shows. The ending to my series would be that I finally found my place by adding my American experience to my other various identities to create a new fitting identity. Now, I don’t feel out of place anymore, because I accepted that an American, especially a New Yorker, it doesn’t ideally matter your background and I personalized my experiences. We come in all shapes, forms, genders, ethnicity, races.
I found myself being able to relate to your story, except I was born here. My mother and father did not know how to speak English, so I grew up learning how to speak Cantonese instead. However, when I started going to school, everyone spoke English so I found some difficulty speaking to them on my own. Even now, I have trouble with communicating with others because of my lack of vocabulary, but I am determined to continue learning to expand my knowledge. I do agree that you should be proud of yourself and your accomplishments because learning a new language is definitely difficult. But you managed to do it!
I totally relate to your experience of settling in an alien country. I went through the same emotional feelings when I moved in to the US. The culture is completely different compared to where I came from. I also like how you brought up the language barrier issue that every migrant faces. In a world of globalization, where people constantly has to move to places, not being able to communicate feelings and emotions is truly difficult and a prime example of displacement.
I can relate to this because when I first came to the US it was really difficult since I had to leave everything I knew behind. having to learn a different language from my native one was really difficult and made communicating with others a challenge. seeing hoe everything is so different here and having to adapt is a from of displacement that we all experience at some point in our lives even when we go on vacation.
Seeing how hard it must’ve been for you to become more accustomed to American culture while still trying to attain your own must have been very difficult. Although I was born in the United States, my parents have both gone through a journey similar to you. Like them, you had obstacles from the moment you came. It is really inspiring to see how far you have come and how much more you will do.