My First Visit Of India

Where are you from? It is a simple question yet; it is difficult to answer as an immigrant who has lived in multiple places. I was born in Lagos, Nigeria. A few years after my birth, my dad's job required my family to move to the United States. My family first "settled" down in Walnut Creek, California; however, less than a year later, we moved down to Houston where just like in California, we lived for less than a year before being catapulted to the beautiful yet cold country to the north of the border: Canada. After living in so many places and being exposed to many different societies, I never found a culture that I fully identified with. Instead, I now identify as not only a first generation Nigerian immigrant but also as a global citizen.

My cultural identity is very important to me, as it makes me who I am. Both of my parents are Punjabi and they were both raised in Punjab, India. My mom migrated to America in 1998 and my dad did in 1997. I grew up around many Punjabi traditions such as Rakhiri, which is believed to tie the bonds between brother and sister, and Diwali which celebrates major historical events. I also grew up in a joint family which included my mom, dad, little brother and my moms sister, her husband, and her two kids. Since we lived together from such a young age, I was completely oblivious to the fact that we were considerd a joint family. Growing up i would say that i had two moms, two dads, and three brothers which people considered absurd. I am also very

With the pass of years, I grew up knowing persons with a different cultural background. I got used to the physical and cultural differences, and the fact that there was always one thing in common.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” (Mahatma). Our culture identifies who we are and how we behave in social environments and provides us with a foundation in which to live our lives and raise our families. Each individual culture has certain customs and courtesies that are important. Exposure to the cultures of others can be intimidating and can leave a person feeling confused and unsure about how they fit in (Schaefer 60). Culture shock can leave a person feeling out of place in an unfamiliar culture (Schaefer 60). Our diverse societies demand understanding and acceptance of other cultures. Learning and understanding these cultures before being

Culture is not a fixed phenomenon, nor is it the same in all places or to all people. It is relative to time, place, and particular people. Learning about other people can help us to understand ourselves and to be better world citizens.

In sixteen years of life, I have received an opportunity to experience different cultures, learning styles, and languages. To start of, I am an American since I was born here, but the reality is that I was raised in India. My parents’ main motivation for moving back to India was because they wanted us to embrace our traditions, and most importantly, value our family relationships. We relocated back to the US at the start of 9th grade. This transition was a huge factor for transforming me as a person. I am cognizant of the two systems, cherish both, and realize that these multicultural experiences have encouraged me to grow and mature beyond my years. Relocating from a place is not as easy as one can imagine. When compared to the US, India

One's culture plays a big part in your values and the way you live, and also view the world. People have different points of view when it comes to the way you do things or view things. Meeting someone with a different culture will open your eyes and make you realize how much culture and diversity there actually is. Every culture has different views on every subject, and every culture has beauty within them.

I was born in the vast city of New York and raised in East Harlem and because of this, culture was a recurring theme in my life as a kid. To begin, New York City is extremely diverse and East Harlem is filled with a mixture of many cultures. Kids around me were of different cultures yet, we all had similar interests. As a kid, I had no idea what missing something felt like, as I always had food on the table, I always had shoes and clothes on me and most importantly I had my two loving parents.

A person’s heritage and cultural identity may be lost when moving to a new country where the culture is different and other cultures are not easily accepted. In the short story “Hindus”, Bharati Mukherjee uses setting, characters and the plot to discuss what it is like to lose your cultural identity while being a visible minority in America. Mukherjee uses the plot to describe the events that take place in the main characters life that lead her to realize how different the culture and life is in the America’s. She also uses the characters as a way of demonstrating how moving away from one’s culture and heritage can change a person’s perspective and ways of thinking. Mukerjee also uses setting in her story to identity the physical differences in culture between living in India and America. Alike the setting and characters, the plot helps describe the loss of culture with a sequence of events.

The cultural group I decided immense myself in was white southern family. In Turkey, we have different holidays and never celebrate the ones in the United States. It was nice to experience the United States ways of doing things. The three different experiences were going to a non-denominational church service, celebrate the Easter holiday, and celebrate Thanksgiving.

I found it interesting to read about the immigrant experiences of all the different cultures, because it gave me a chance to look back at all the different people I met in my life and realize there are many different interesting people to still meet. I love to step out of the box; nevertheless, out of my small town living and learn about what other cultures have to offer and the issues they face which are closely related in history. I understand there is a completely different world that shows how different life can be for others and how different cultures values impact life in different areas of the world. I know I will be able to assist an abundance of cultural groups, because I am interested in learning about the cultural values, beliefs,

For this assignment I was able to talk to three different people who have very different culture than I do. I spoke with a friend at work who is Tongan and from Hawaii, my best friend who married a man born and raised in Chili and is raising her children in that culture, and

“It’s difficult to describe this part of India to people, because you can’t understand what this country is really like until you have actually been here and experienced it,” Colleen Clines, the co-founder and CEO of Anchal Project, points out as our vehicle zig-zags its way through livestock, people and the occasional camel. We were with a small group of people that included Colleen’s mother, her sister Maggie Clines who is also the creative director at Anchal, and another writer from Kentucky. As we make our way towards a local children’s village, I take a moment to reflect on the fact that I was sitting comfortably in the Nashville airport just two days ago. Now, I was taking in the many sounds and smells that India had to offer on an overcrowded

Central Idea: India is a fascinating country with diverse traditions related to their language, their costumes, and their cuisine.

Every person descends from a place where there ancestors have passed down rituals and beliefs to continue their tradition, and I believe it 's a beautiful thing. I am a very cultural person and am proud of who I am. My ethnicitys make me who I am and I feel very proud to be what I am and grateful for the lifestyle I have. I believe growing up in an ethnicity your proud of, you cherish it and choose to embrace it. Observing different types of cultures is very interesting to me, because I can compare the differences and similarities between one another. There 's some questions I could ask about certain rituals certain family 's do, but then it just all goes back to their culture. Take me for instance, I 'm actually a mix plate but one