Complexions

It is not a mountain we conquer, but ourselves. This is one of my favorite quotes by Sir Edmund Hillary. It is a meaningful quote that reflects the stories of my journey from Indonesia to the United States of America. In Indonesia, the country where I was born, many people follow the idea of the dynamic of a balanced life. Some phrases to represent Indonesia’s dynamic balanced life are easy going personality, slowly but surely, and family oriented. Those are the mottos that many Indonesians hold dearly. It has made it easy to meet new people and socialize in Indonesia because of these reasons. Nevertheless, the bureaucracy and the queuing customs in Indonesia has taken society to despair. Since I moved to the United States, the new cultures of this country have stunned me. The distinction between these two countries, Indonesia and the United States is a hundred and eighty degrees from the lifestyle to the bureaucracy, and many other cultural aspects. After a while, I have allowed myself to digest and absorb these cultural differences between Indonesia and the United States and the adventures to conquer myself have begun. 

Among the hustle and bustle in this country, there are several things I have embraced while living in the United States. One thing I have admired the most is how the bureaucracy works. The day I went to get my ID license, the DMV made my ID within thirty minutes. I could see how efficiently the staff were working with the time. The majority of people in the United States respect the queuing customs. In addition, almost all public offices and businesses have their own websites to provide easy access for appointments or order something ahead to save time. These are the things that I had hardly experienced in Indonesia. The motto slowly but surely has gotten into our veins. Even with the support of high technology, in Indonesia, the expectation to get our Indonesian ID is minimum a week after the government processes it. This is because of many Indonesian government employees get a tiny amount of salary compared with the fancy role position they have had in the government. This normally does not motivate them to work fast and on time unless there is under-table money to accelerate the process.  

Even though there are several positive things I have embraced while I am living in the United States, there are plenty of things that I have not followed that make me raise an eyebrow. For numerous people in my circle, typically for holiday parties, many people tend to like potluck parties. The idea of a potluck is when somebody invites the guests to a dinner or lunch party, at least, the attendees need to bring one dish or drink to share to the party and can take it home when the party is over. These are some things that I still could not understand. Besides the potlucks, I have found it hard to believe how many people in the United States have extremely hectic lives. Some people in the United States do not have a balanced life between work and personal life, because for most people in the United States their major priority is working, due to taxes, insurance, retirement savings, and expensive living expenses. I can relate this situation to my experience living in the United States. These ideal of life almost did not exist in Indonesia. It does not matter how busy most Indonesians are getting in life, family and socialize are the most important things for many Indonesians need to follow. It is an unspoken rule. My parents always nagged me to visit them. On the big celebration and national holiday, those are the time for us, as an Indonesian, must spend with family, to be together with the family of my family of our big families and friends. This lifestyle family oriented lost in translation for me in Chicago. Up to this present, I have still tried to incorporate these cultural differences. I have done what I was supposed to do, allowing myself to digest the new cultures to conquer my mind from this distinction. 

In conclusion, living in United States and in Indonesia have had negative and positive outcomes in my life. Nothing is perfect, and it depends on people’s desires to allow themselves to digest and absorb or accept these differences. So far, I have enjoyed the two complexions of these two countries, both Indonesia and the United States. Their diversity is the spice of my life. It has been fun and stunning at the same time. This is how I conquered myself from these adventures, I focus on the good things. In addition, I have been blessed to have some of best friends in Atlanta and Chicago that feel like my version of family. 

 

 

My Lead Light

 My Lead Light

       Chicago is a multicultural city, and it can give many opportunities to many people. I was nervous when I came to Chicago two years ago because I needed to communicate with local people who only spoke English, but I quickly lost my confidence. When anyone talked to me, my brain went blank. It was like the light was broken at night, so I could not find my way or say anything. I was nervous and unassisted at that time. Now, I have been in Chicago for two years, and I have started to adapt to this culture. I am starting to feel better than before, but I still need to make some changes.

       Since I moved to Chicago, it has given me more time to change myself and strengthen my life. The education in China is different from Chicago. When I went to high school in China, I only had half of Saturday and the whole of Sunday to rest because schools in China are focused on education. They always wanted students to use all their free time to study. I did not have time to do other things, so I never worked in China. All my expenses were paid by my parents. In contrast, I only went to school in the morning in Chicago last year, so I had enough time to do what I wanted to do. I had a part-time job in my aunt’s friend’s restaurant. I worked there for more than one year. This was a good chance for me to start becoming independent and better fit into Chicago. I earned money to travel and for my tuition. Unluckily, I lost my job this year because the boss had health problems, so he could not run it and sold the restaurant.  I was very thankful to him because I learned more about fitting in the new surroundings and learned some other helpful things. After two years, I did not feel dependent anymore, and I dared to find a new job. In addition, I have gained a new hobby, which is running. Now I like to run after school.  I often saw many people run in the afternoon last year when I went outside. In China, I could not feel this kind of running atmosphere because running is not a common sport there. However, A large national marathon is held in Chicago every year, and I started watching it one year ago. It made me excited. I also want to try half of a marathon this year. Because of these aspects, I have changed myself.

       However, despite these positive things affecting me, I cannot accept the danger in Chicago, and I lost my feeling of safety. People are not allowed to have guns in China, so there is not a lot of random crime. A month ago, I saw on the news that two teenagers were killed in the southwest of downtown Chicago when they went back home in the afternoon. I was surprised by it. I often thought about why people use guns in a dangerous way. The gun issue makes me worried about safety every day. The other thing is that stealing goods is a regular occurrence in some places. I went for a walk with my friends along the lake once or twice a week last year. Perhaps 63^rd Street Beach is a bit remote, but we saw the windows in each car in the parking lot were broken, and it was messy in the cars. That scared us, so we did not want to stay there at that time.  As a consequence of these things, I think I need to adapt to these surroundings and do something to improve my feeling of safety.

                                       

       I have changed many things since I came to Chicago. I have become independent, and my life has become more fulfilling. However, I want to look for my feeling of safety. From now on, I want to turn the light back on again and lead me, so I can find my way. I need to put the burden away and enjoy the culture in Chicago. In the future, I will learn how to protect myself and find a feeling of safety.

Essay 1 Open Window

 

                                     

                                                        Open Window 

            On September 7, 2023, I came to the New York. I was nineteen years old and didn’t understand what future I would have in this new country. One of the first things I saw was a man who had makeup and nails longer than mine. Intense, I thought. At that moment I realized how many things in the world I haven’t seen yet. Everything was so new and unusual for me, but at the same time I had a passion for exploring. I was impressed by American culture, but for me, it was an open window to the new world. I wanted to expand my worldview and challenge myself by learning this culture to ultimately belong to it.

           One of my favorite things about U.S. is the omnifarious opportunities. When I came, I found myself with new thoughts that I could afford a lot of things I wanted. The reason for this is that in this country I will get decently paid for my work. Because in Russia I was forced to work thirteen hours as a barista every day. I didn’t live but existed. There was no other choice. Instead of this, I now have possibility to live the best version of my life. What led me to feel this way was my first job. I was surprised when I started to work as a server in an Italian restaurant, and my income afforded me everything that I needed. I could travel, buy a car, clothes and go to restaurants. Everything seemingly ordinary things for some American people, came to my reality. In addition, I have been enjoying American culture of kindness. Everyone is very friendly and will do a favor for nothing. Small talk is one of my favorite things, because I like it when I talk to a stranger about the weather or news in the world. This is funny because I don’t know this person and see him for the first and last time in my life.  Because of that, my mood rises all day. All these aspects have made me appreciate for the opportunity to be in this country and belong to it. Nevertheless, what was hard to understand is it homelessness is ubiquitous in Chicago.

   I’m a person who likes to walk, and because of this, I constantly see unhoused people on the street. I have been living in Chicago for a year and a half now and unfortunately, I have not noticed a decrease in unhoused people during this time. This is something I am concerned about. This is one of supposed the best countries in the world, so the government should be able to support and save these people, because it’s not their choice to be unhoused. Such things could happen to anyone. Some of the unhoused are crazy and may put other people’s lives in danger. This happened to me. One unhoused person on the subway started waving a knife and shouting incomprehensible things at me, but I was lucky and was able to immediately transfer to another train. In my opinion, the government should protect more unhoused people, because someone won’t be as lucky as me and something bad might happen. It was tough for me to accept this issue, but I hope mayor of this city will find a solution.

            However, I have been happy exploring American culture. I thankful to myself that I decided to move to the U.S. because it has made me stronger as a person and completely changed my life for the better.  Despite how difficult it was to adapt to a new culture, the experience I got in this country is invaluable and in the future I confident will help me express myself as a person with the opportunity to achieve success.

 

 

 

Essay #1: Living Multiculturally

    Living in countries that have different cultures as mine was confusing to me when I was a girl but at the same time very exciting. I have lived in three countries, and all of them have different cultures. When I was eight years old, my parents decided to move to Mexico because the economy in China was not good, so my aunt suggested that my father go to Mexico for better opportunities. After my father worked in Mexico for two years, he decided to bring my mother and me with him. At the beginning, I could not get used to it because everything was different from China, the food, the weather, and people. For example, we did not kiss on the face when we meet someone in China. At that time, I thought that it only happened between Americans. After living in Mexico more than ten years, my family decided to move on again, and this place was Chicago. I had heard about it from many people for many reasons including safety, economic, and people. Since I moved to Chicago, I have been excited and worried about because I noticed that it has advantages and disadvantages.

    Communication was one of the biggest problems I had have. As a person with social phobia, I do not like to socialize or to hang out in places that have a lot of people because I am afraid to talk with others. Around two years ago, the farthest place I had been was Cermak which is five streets from my house. After my cousin started her vacations for school, she started taking me out because she thought that it was boring staying home. Since I started hanging out, I noticed that most of the people from different ages really like natural places like parks, mountains, and lakes because when my cousin invited me to go hiking, all these places were full of people and the parking lots were full. Some people would bring food and drinks to enjoy the view of the mountain or lake, or the weather. I started to enjoy those places too because I thought they were very relaxing to me. I also got integrated for being more confident about dressing style. When I lived in China, I used to buy oversize clothes, not only because they were comfortable but also, I do not want to look fat or weird. After living in Chicago and watching how people are very confident about their style, I stopped caring about others' opinions. I think those people are very brave. For this reason, I started to dress a little bit more confidently.

    Since I embraced my new life in Chicago, hanging out has become one of my hobbies and problems. Since I started to hang out a lot with friends or alone, I felt uncomfortable that the places I wanted to go were so far and sometimes I could not take the train to get there. I had to drive to get to those places. I do not deny that driving is good, but I still have not learned how to drive yet. Even if I know how to drive, sometimes it is hard to find a parking spot. Rarely, I will take an Uber because they are always expensive, and I felt very unsafe and uncomfortable. Using the CTA is always a headache for me. Sometimes, the trains always smell disgusting and dirty, and there are always weird people in the stations. I also had a horrible experience in the subway about a year or two ago. It happened when I had been living in Chicago for around a year. I took the train like usual to go to work after school, and then, my friends started telling me that my bag was open. I realized that my wallet was stolen. Not only that, my green card, social security card, and credit and debit card were all in my wallet. It was a horrible day, and I still cannot believe that it happened to me. For this reason, I don’t like to take any of the CTA because I think that it would happen again.

    Chicago is a city that brings me complicated feelings. I like it because of the views, the lake, and all the nature. It also makes me feel free in many areas, including dressing without worrying about if I am overweight or what my body shape is. However, I really dislike that all the places that I want to go are far away and I can only got there by car, it is an inconvenient situation. I do not mind if I can get to those places on train or bus, even they are very uncomfortable to me. For all these reasons, I have inexplicable feelings about Chicago. I have different feelings every day, I always change my mind about Chicago. I always say that this city has its advantages and disadvantages, so I like it but not love it. 

Essay#1: Double-edged Sword

Yunting Mao

ESL100 - CE

In-class Essay- Draft

March 3, 2024 

                                                         Double-edged Sword

        Living between two different countries is an unusual experience for most Chinese people, but for me, it is a real thing, and it is my life. I have had incredible experiences between China and the United States. My parents were from Yunfu, a small city in Guangdong China. They were born, raised, studied, worked, married, had children, and spent most of their lives in this city. There is no doubt that I would have a similar life to them because people don't like to move away from their comfort zone in Yunfu. However, my life had a huge change since I moved to Chicago. Thus, my bicultural living experience is like a double-edged sword that has an impact on my values and critical thinking.

         Since I came to Chicago, I have been fascinated by the free and new values of the United States. Unlike the strict atmosphere in China, the United States offers a relaxed and creative academic atmosphere for students. When I have classes in Chicago, I can sit in any seat I like, and I can sit in my seat to discuss questions with my teacher just like talking to my friend. Apart from this, when I have different views and opinions in class, I can question what the teachers say bravely, and this behavior is not considered impolite. At first, I felt confused and surprised because of this intense personal freedom I never felt in China, but now I feel delighted to embrace and enjoy this cheerful and free academic atmosphere. Moreover, the United States is a place that emphasizes independence and equal career opportunities for immigrants. In Chicago, whether men or women, everyone enjoys equal career opportunities. As a Chinese woman, I can choose to study any major I like, and I can choose wherever I work in the United States. In contrast, there are not too many careers for women to choose because there is still a certain amount of sexism in my city. I am glad to embrace and live in this equal employment environment in the United States.

        However, despite the free and equal atmosphere that makes me feel comfortable, the United States is also like a snowstorm that shocks my habits and thoughts. Most people drink warm or hot water all the time in China because they think it is good for their health. I have been drinking hot water for many years. It is the opposite in the United States. The first time I went to a restaurant in Chicago, it was winter and snowy outside. The waiter gave me cold water full of ice. I said, “Hot water, please”, and she asked, “You mean hot tea?” I said, “No no no, just water, please.” I was surprised to find that most Americans liked drinking ice water even though the weather was cold. There is also no warm or hot water in the school, and it makes me feel confused and uncomfortable. Nevertheless, I have already adjusted to this situation. I often bring my own bottle full of hot water to school, and I try ice drinks sometimes when I hang out with my friends.

        In conclusion, I am so lucky that I have bicultural experiences in my life because they bring me new values. I still speak Chinese to my parents, celebrate Chinese Festivals, and keep my habits at home now. On the outside, I will keep a critical attitude to accept and learn from other cultures. Finally, I think whether I live in China or the United States, the most essential thing for me is to adjust and blend into the environment where I live. Having a bicultural life is perfect but full of challenges. I hope I can be a good communicator of Chinese culture in the United States, and I can be a good communicator of American culture in China.

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

Time

 

The excitement of a new life was waiting for me. When a person makes a decision to start a new life, there is a kind of excitement that no one can describe. This new life can be about moving to a new country or about getting a new job. It is the feeling of starting a new thing.  That was one of the things that happened to me, and I was not expecting it. When I was in the university in Algeria, one of my friends enrolled me in the U.S immigration lottery. A few months later, I got selected. I could not believe it since it was not my dream to come to the United States.  It took me a lot of months to make the decision to come to a place where I did not know the language and where I did not have family or friends. I was excited but scared because I knew that I was going to discover a new environment, a new culture, and a new people.

When I arrived in Chicago, I did not know anything about it, but I committed myself to understanding more about the city, the culture, and the population. I started to know and celebrate a new holiday that I had never celebrated before, and I loved it. For example, in Algeria we never celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, and it is one of my favorite holidays now. I like to hang out with my friends and see the river dyed green and all the people outside celebrating this wonderful day with green clothes and different accessories. In Chicago, there are also a lot of activities that I can do that I could never do in Algeria. For example, climbing is one of my favorite’s activities. In Algeria, I am from a city called Béjaïa. Béjaïa has a lot of mountains, but not a lot of people like climbing and there was not a safe place where I could do it. However, in Chicago, there are a lot of places where I go to climb, and it is amazing.

Since I came to Chicago, three years ago. I have adapted myself to many things, but I still do not understand parts of this culture. For example, healthcare. In Algeria, a doctor visit and medicine are low cost and there are free clinics for families who do not have a high income. However, In the United States is different. A lot of people cannot go to the doctor or cannot pay for their medicine because it is really expensive. There is also another point that I do not really approve of, and it is education. The education in the United States is also expensive. Students must work too many jobs to pay for their studies, and it can be hard when they do not have the necessary help or resources that can pay for it.

Each country has its unique characteristics, and the United States is no exception. Like all other countries, there are things that one person can like and others that another cannot. After having some trouble adapting myself to a few concepts in America, I understood that it is all about time. Besides the time I know more about the place where I live, about the language, and the culture. The time has allowed me to identify things that I love and the ones that I do not without paying attention to any stereotypes or assumptions.