Cultural Balance - Essay #1

Lismar Aosta

ESL 100 CE

March 01, 2024

Essay #1 Lost in Translation

Cultural Balance

     New experiences would be coming, and I didn’t expect that my life would change for good. I thought that nothing was going to change coming to the U.S., but I was totally wrong. Following the rhythm of Chicagoans’ life is a bit complex because they live faster pace than I was used to. This means that Chicagoans always have a routine at home, work, or even a routine to go out. Mostly, the first impression of foreigners is that time passes quickly, and everything becomes routine. It is important to mention that the routines can change depending on the season foreigners are in. Despite being in this new city, I decided to live my life as if I were in my country, Venezuela, but it was impossible to mingle. To adapt easily to the U.S culture, people shouldn’t mix both cultures and only practice their culture at home because the U.S customs are very different from any other country, such as the legal adulthood, ease of study, or laws. I have been living in Chicago for two years and I’m still trying to embrace daily to new things, but at the same time, I have been having difficulties adapting to this new culture. Adapting to a new culture could be hard, but it is challenging when foreigners mix both cultures and try to apply them in their daily routines.

    One aspect of U.S. culture that I never expected that I would adapt easily was fashion. Chicago has a variety of ways to dress, but it is very easy to identify when someone is not from the country. In my first year living in Chicago, I felt uncomfortable because people already knew that I was not from United States. I felt that people were judging me from head to toe because of my outmoded style. Then, I decided to try to dress more like an American, and I noticed the difference between how people looked at me and how they looked at me before. Maybe this was kind of difficult to adapt to, but now I prefer my new style. Another cultural aspect is that most parts of the United States used to use coffee shops as a study or work area. In every corner of Chicago, tourists will see a cafeteria full of students on their computers or people working in video conferences. In Venezuela, it is disrespectful to do homework or online work in coffee shops while the other person is talking. Public places in Venezuela such as cafeterias are only for enjoying and relaxing. Moreover, Venezuelans used to go to friend’s houses to do homework or staying at home. Friends that I met in college started to invite me to a coffee shop to study, but I was not comfortable doing that. I thought about why people disrespect those spaces that are only to spend good time and relax, but I noticed that going to cafeterias is very traditional in United States. At first, going to coffee shops to study was difficult because I’m a person who listens to music out loud when I’m studying. After going more than ten times to study in coffee shops, I have fully adapted. Now, cafeterias are my favorite place to work or do my homework. Small things like that took me a lot of time to comprehend and accept, but I ended up liking it. Most foreigners do their best to adapt to the American culture regardless of how small the change is.

    Outfits and study areas are easy to adapt to but feeling that vibe of “Sweet Home” is very challenging to get. Since I arrived in Chicago, it has been hard to feel that feeling of sweet home. Regardless of if I move to another apartment or how many times I redecorate my apartment, it is difficult to get that peace of “I’m at home”. In addition, I have not lived in an apartment since I came to Chicago, which maybe is the principal reason for not feeling “at home”. Many foreigners are adapted to living with their mothers or with any family member, making it painful to arrive home and realize that foreigners are the only ones at home and no one else. For most people, the company is a fundamental factor in obtaining that lovely and warmth vibe of a sweet home, knowing that someone is already waiting for you at home, possibly with a meal prepared. Living and feeling as an American is something very challenging to accept. Even though if I buy all the things that I had in Venezuela, it still gives me an American vibe instead of a Venezuelan vibe. Maybe, in the future, there will be the possibility of accepting the new atmosphere, but it is still hard to embrace. There are many challenging things to adapt to, but forcing myself to feel like home when I don’t is the hardest and most painful situation that I have experienced in U.S.

    Nobody expects the challenge of accepting another culture as part of one’s life. For some people, is easy to adapt, but for some, it takes years to accept it. Everything is a balance. The balance between foreign culture and the American culture is the key to being able to live the Chicagoan's life very easily. However, having a balance between both cultures doesn’t mean that foreign people should put their culture a side, or ignore the culture that they are living with. Sometimes, combining both cultures is not the best idea despite how much effort people do. Furthermore, cultures cannot be mixed due to the differences in rules, backgrounds, and laws. Observing and comprehending how everything works is the best advice to balance both cultures and survive in a foreign country