International Residents Have Difficulty Adjusting To The American Culture
December 14, 2022 at 1:59 a.m.
By Micaela Eberly-
According to Hector Rivera in “Infusing Sociocultural Perspectives into Capacity Building Activities to Meet the Needs of Refugees and Asylum Seekers,” refugees can more easily transition if they have supportive communities, family cohesion and caring mentors or teachers.
One man, who lives in Elkhart, moved from Haiti to the United States for work. What started as a five-year visa turned into nine years due to the political unrest threatening his country. To protect his family in Haiti, he wishes to remain anonymous. He does not know when he will get to go back home, but he said he does not see it coming anytime soon.
In 1804, Haiti became the first country in the Caribbean to gain independence, and it was the first black republic in the world. Over the past few years, the COVID-19 pandemic, the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 and the 2021 hurricane have caused increasing violence and turmoil in the country.
The Haitian man noted that there are many challenges that not only he but other people face when they come to the United States. If they do not find a job, it is hard to live because they do not have access to food, housing or other necessities. He adds that medical care is expensive, especially if someone does not have medical insurance.
The Haitian man has also struggled with the differences in laws and principles. Factors like public shootings and the large number of people who own firearms can be hard to get used to because they are not common in his country.
When he lived in Michigan, the Haitian man faced judgment in public places, like on public transportation. People looked at him scornfully because he is black, he said, and he learned to avoid these places.
A native French speaker, he recently moved to Elkhart and has been taking English classes. With the support of his teachers, he has been able to learn not only the language but also the laws that help him understand the country.
“I had a lot of experiences, and each one gave me the strength to not give up despite the bad situations that could happen,” the man said.
As the Haitian man looks to the future, he wonders when he will be able to go home. He hopes that as people see the struggles that Haiti is facing, they will reach out to Haitian citizens, both those who have found refuge in the United States and those who are still in their country.
“Being a black immigrant, we must be considered humans with the desire to live, to learn, to educate, to know and to make ourselves known,” the man said. “Being the first black republic, free and independent, I would like us to be truly free and that wherever we are, we don’t have to be afraid to say who we are and where we come from.”
Another difficulty that some French speakers have faced in their international transition is adjusting to a third culture. Jacqueline Schram, of Winona Lake, grew up in Saint Albain in Burgundy, France. Her small village had only 350 inhabitants, and her parents were church-planting missionaries. She grew up between two worlds: the American culture in the home and the French culture around her.
For her last year of high school, Schram moved back to the United States. After graduating, she took a year off and then went to Grace College.
Schram found it difficult at times to identify with either culture, especially when those around her did not always recognize both parts of her. The French were surprised that she was American because she dressed French, and Americans were surprised she grew up in France because she did not have an accent.
“I remember in college wrestling with this concept of my identity, feeling disingenuous because I would be one person here and another person there,” Schram said. “I talked to a psychology professor and finally thought of it as a diamond. The cut is going to catch different lights depending on where you’re standing, and I came to the fact that this is who I am.”
When she was older, Schram learned the concept of a third culture kid. According to David Pollock and Ruth Van Reken in “Third Culture Kids: the Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds,” “A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any.”
When Schram realized that she was a TCK, she felt less alone in her struggles over her identity. The more she looked into the topic, the more she saw a community of people who felt the same way as she did.
Schram learned that TCKs often feel like they are stuck in an in-between. Tension can exist between the different cultures they’ve experienced, and they never fully identify with either one. As challenging as this was, she also recognizes the unique perspective this gives her.
“It provides a beautiful opportunity for what becomes a space between, holding tensions of what seem like extremes that actually complete each other,” Schram said. “There are so many contrasts that I have known in my life, and that experience creates a framework for me that is ongoing.”
The longer she lives in the United States, the more Schram can accidentally lose the French culture that was such a dominant part of her upbringing. She finds little ways to bring in her past, like spending hours around the dinner table with friends and family or through the decorations she keeps in her office that remind her of her travels.
As Schram continues living in the space between cultures, she lets the experiences shape her into who she is. She knows that everyone has a distinct childhood that is unique to them, and she sees how this makes each person she encounters special.
“The beautiful part of adaptability is being able to move into a new setting and understand the different lenses,” Schram said. “I use it to recognize the uniqueness and the beauty of individuals around me.”
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According to Hector Rivera in “Infusing Sociocultural Perspectives into Capacity Building Activities to Meet the Needs of Refugees and Asylum Seekers,” refugees can more easily transition if they have supportive communities, family cohesion and caring mentors or teachers.
One man, who lives in Elkhart, moved from Haiti to the United States for work. What started as a five-year visa turned into nine years due to the political unrest threatening his country. To protect his family in Haiti, he wishes to remain anonymous. He does not know when he will get to go back home, but he said he does not see it coming anytime soon.
In 1804, Haiti became the first country in the Caribbean to gain independence, and it was the first black republic in the world. Over the past few years, the COVID-19 pandemic, the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 and the 2021 hurricane have caused increasing violence and turmoil in the country.
The Haitian man noted that there are many challenges that not only he but other people face when they come to the United States. If they do not find a job, it is hard to live because they do not have access to food, housing or other necessities. He adds that medical care is expensive, especially if someone does not have medical insurance.
The Haitian man has also struggled with the differences in laws and principles. Factors like public shootings and the large number of people who own firearms can be hard to get used to because they are not common in his country.
When he lived in Michigan, the Haitian man faced judgment in public places, like on public transportation. People looked at him scornfully because he is black, he said, and he learned to avoid these places.
A native French speaker, he recently moved to Elkhart and has been taking English classes. With the support of his teachers, he has been able to learn not only the language but also the laws that help him understand the country.
“I had a lot of experiences, and each one gave me the strength to not give up despite the bad situations that could happen,” the man said.
As the Haitian man looks to the future, he wonders when he will be able to go home. He hopes that as people see the struggles that Haiti is facing, they will reach out to Haitian citizens, both those who have found refuge in the United States and those who are still in their country.
“Being a black immigrant, we must be considered humans with the desire to live, to learn, to educate, to know and to make ourselves known,” the man said. “Being the first black republic, free and independent, I would like us to be truly free and that wherever we are, we don’t have to be afraid to say who we are and where we come from.”
Another difficulty that some French speakers have faced in their international transition is adjusting to a third culture. Jacqueline Schram, of Winona Lake, grew up in Saint Albain in Burgundy, France. Her small village had only 350 inhabitants, and her parents were church-planting missionaries. She grew up between two worlds: the American culture in the home and the French culture around her.
For her last year of high school, Schram moved back to the United States. After graduating, she took a year off and then went to Grace College.
Schram found it difficult at times to identify with either culture, especially when those around her did not always recognize both parts of her. The French were surprised that she was American because she dressed French, and Americans were surprised she grew up in France because she did not have an accent.
“I remember in college wrestling with this concept of my identity, feeling disingenuous because I would be one person here and another person there,” Schram said. “I talked to a psychology professor and finally thought of it as a diamond. The cut is going to catch different lights depending on where you’re standing, and I came to the fact that this is who I am.”
When she was older, Schram learned the concept of a third culture kid. According to David Pollock and Ruth Van Reken in “Third Culture Kids: the Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds,” “A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any.”
When Schram realized that she was a TCK, she felt less alone in her struggles over her identity. The more she looked into the topic, the more she saw a community of people who felt the same way as she did.
Schram learned that TCKs often feel like they are stuck in an in-between. Tension can exist between the different cultures they’ve experienced, and they never fully identify with either one. As challenging as this was, she also recognizes the unique perspective this gives her.
“It provides a beautiful opportunity for what becomes a space between, holding tensions of what seem like extremes that actually complete each other,” Schram said. “There are so many contrasts that I have known in my life, and that experience creates a framework for me that is ongoing.”
The longer she lives in the United States, the more Schram can accidentally lose the French culture that was such a dominant part of her upbringing. She finds little ways to bring in her past, like spending hours around the dinner table with friends and family or through the decorations she keeps in her office that remind her of her travels.
As Schram continues living in the space between cultures, she lets the experiences shape her into who she is. She knows that everyone has a distinct childhood that is unique to them, and she sees how this makes each person she encounters special.
“The beautiful part of adaptability is being able to move into a new setting and understand the different lenses,” Schram said. “I use it to recognize the uniqueness and the beauty of individuals around me.”
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