...land of dreams and opportunities. Immigrants entering America took these characterizations to heart. The dreams and aspirations of stable, wealthy, and happy lives in America became known as the “American Dream”. The basic idea of the American Dream generally has stayed the same throughout time, although the majority of Americans seem to take the Dream for granted. The first settlers arrived to the New World in search of a treasure: life, liberty, and freedom. This treasure was and still is the American Dream. Now people from all over the world come to America in search of the same Dream; some even die trying. People were not as materialistic as people are now; they just wanted happiness. As time passed, people became more materialistic and began to take for granted what they were born with. However, the “American Dream” hardly ever turns out like any individuals have anticipated. America is often considered as the “best country” in the world, but behind this façade, many people struggle daily to earn enough money to survive. America has had its times of despair and advances but through it all we have learned new ways, cultures, and overall advancements in life. Throughout the American Ways book we were given to read and analyze, there were many things about American life that not only related to now but also showed us lessons learned and conflicts repeated through time. To myself and maybe others, the pieces presented to me in class had the ability to bring me...
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...The threat America’s way of life is a quite questionable context to define. What I see here is a Catch 22, where we either allow immigrants and that changes America, or we don’t allow immigrants and that changes America. As John Isbister said, “The essence of American life is that it is composed of different groups, different cultures, races, religions, attitudes, folkways and ideologies, differences that give the country its distinctiveness. Current im-migration is sure to change the mixture, but change is not new; the cultural mixture of America has been changing continuously.” There is no auto defined definition to the American way of life, it is always changing whether we want it to or not. As Charon mentions, “Change occurs in every social organization, and it is ongoing and inevitable”. However, I do see this threat to be almost negligible, our biggest problem is within the racial conflictions of society adapting to a change. America has always been seen as a melting pot of cultures; however the melting pot concept is too vague to define. A melting pot means the society confirms to a new identity, however this is not such the case. The traditions are all varying and different outlooks still; we are not some culture defined as a mix of one pot, but rather a mix of many other pots. This correlates to Charon’s idea of the individual making a difference, “Attempts to influence society are countered by the power of long-standing social patterns that are normally defended by...
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...American Ways American Ways A Guide for Foreigners in the United States GARY ALTHEN with Amanda R. Doran and Susan J. Szmania First published by Intercultural Press. For information contact: Intercultural Press, Inc. Nicholas Brealey Publishing PO Box 700 3-5 Spafield Street Yarmouth, Maine 04096 USA London, EC1R 4QB, UK Tel: 207-846-5168 Tel: +44-207-239-0360 Fax: 207-846-5181 Fax: +44-207-239-0370 www.interculturalpress.com www.nbrealey-books.com © 1988, 2003 by Gary Althen Production and cover design by Patty J. Topel All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Printed in the United States of America 06 05 04 03 02 1 2 3 4 5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Althen, Gary. American ways: a guide for foreigners in the United States/ Gary Althen.—2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) ISBN: 1-877864-99-4 (alk. paper) 1. United States—Guidebooks. 2. United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Visitors, Foreign—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 4. Aliens—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 5. Intercultural communication—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 6. United States—Social life and customs—1971– I. Title. E158.A46 2002 973—dc21 2002032741 ✰ ✰ ✰ Table of Contents Preface to the Second Edition........................................
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...There is no way like the American way What does the slogan actually mean? An American would probably say that the American way of living is the best way of living and with high standards. But is it how the Americans really live? Fifty years ago, that might have been the answer from a white American, but for a colored American, an African American for instance, it is a whole other story. Back then, around the sixties, there weren’t much you could call laws that supported the blacks. In fact, they didn’t really have any rights at all. They weren’t allowed to sit on the same benches as the whites, nor the same buses as them. Women weren’t even allowed to vote! The females’ rights to vote happened in the twenties, but only for white women. Thinking that black women aren’t worthy enough to vote is absurd. That is what a country is about though, right? It is the people who are to decide how they want their country to be formed - All of them. Not just men. Not just the whites. They can’t just decide what other people want. The injustice does not stop there. Even as a child they grew up, believing that the black Americans were less worth than the whites. At school the black and white children went to different schools, as if they were different from each other. White children, and youth too, would refuse to go to the same school as “negroes”. Why and for what reason? Were the white youngsters smarter than the black? I doubt it. Did the blacks have more “problems” than...
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...her fully assimilated cousin, and her newly assimilated cousin’s brother’s girlfriend. Cofer’s mother is in the middle phase of her assimilation. Cofer’s mother wanting to stay in El Building, whilst her father yearned to live somewhere else, because she never got over the yearning for la isla “The Island”. Her mother only cooked with foods she could pronounce the names of which were some of the same brands her own mother had used. Cofer’s mother shopping outside of La Bodega going to Sears, Penney’s and Lerner’s, showed a willingness unlike the other women to shop in American stores but still held onto the small comforts that reminded her of her home land. (53-55) Cofer’s cousin is fully assimilated into American life. She claims it herself, she is and American woman and will do what she pleases. She has bleached her hair where others left there’s the same black they had come with. She also had an American boyfriend. The irony of Cofer’s cousin is that she became impregnated by her boyfriend, was forced to have an abortion, and was sent back to the island of Puerto Rico, because of her full assimilation. (57-58). Cofer’s cousin’s brother’s girlfriend is newly assimilated. She was called la novia meaning just up from the island. Also she showed her Humilde being humble towards the camera. When looked at she would shutter her eyes and look downwards instead of staring into...
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...on television. Not so. The story is narrated by Chinaza who keeps a running mental list of what the ‘arrangers of marriage’ had not told her. This is interesting as it contrasts what she isthinking and feeling with her seemingly selfish husband who does not seem to be aware of her needs and views. We see this in the way he ‘makes love’ to his wife, no consent or foreplay, sex is just about his experience and his pleasure. It is not hard to imagine being unimpressed, although Chinaza bides her tongue until the final revelation, that Dave was previously married here in the United States in order to get a Green Card. When she begins to wonder where her Green Card is, she finds out her husband has not even lodged it. Although she wants to leave immediately, Chinaza realises she is stuck at least for the present while. In this story, food and language are used metaphorically to represent two approaches to the migrant experience. Ofodile (Dave) has tried to wipe out his culture and past by forcing himself to totally embrace and imitate American language and culture. His choice of name change to ‘Dave’ is comical as it seems very out of place. His adaptation of American culture is extreme and artificial, but he forces himself to take it...
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..." Abelardo Morell – A Book of Books A visual tribute to the printed word, this ode to books will be irresistible to anyone who treasures the touch of fine paper and the special allure of a clothbound volume. A Book of Books showcases Abelardo Morell's elegant black and-white photographs of unusual books - an impossibly large dictionary, illustrated volumes whose characters appear to leap off the page, and water-damaged books that take on sculptural form. Nicholson Baker has written extensively about books and libraries. His preface is the ideal complement to Morell's photographs in this beautifully produced book lover's book. Bookish quotations from literary sources including Hawthorne, Borges, Cocteau, and others accompany the photographs throughout. Birth Date & Place1948, Havana, Cuba EducationBowdoin College, Brunswick, ME: Bachelor of Art, 1977Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT: Master of Fine Arts, 1981Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME: Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, 1997 - Presented by Professor John McKee, (PDF: 4.3kb)- Remarks by Abelardo Morell, (PDF; 3.5kb) Present PositionsProfessor of PhotographyMassachusetts College of Art and DesignBoston, MA Alturas Foundation Artist-in-Residence,south Texas, 2008-2009 Happy and Bob Doran Artist-in-Residence,Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT, 2008-2009 Awards2006 The Decordova Museum Rappaport Prize1995 St Botolph's Club Foundation Award1994 New England Foundation for the Arts Fellowship1993...
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...YWCA Indianapolis P.O. Box 40264 Indianapolis, IN 46240 T: 317-250-8593 EM: ywcaindy@sbcglobal.net www.ywcaindy.org Questions for “The Thing Around Your Neck” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Cell One 1. What were your thoughts on this first story about the spoiled boy, Nnamabia who stole from neighbors and his own family and always got himself out of whatever jam he was in? 2. Why do you think his family let him get away with such actions for so long? Could you tell they treated boys differently than girls? Do we have examples of such in our own lives. 3. What do you think about the subtle wording about how those that were stealing from around the campus grew up watching Sesame Street, reading Enid Blyton, eating cornflakes, attending school in polished brown sandals? Do you think she was subtly saying something about those actions? a. Educated and wealthy parents straying from their traditions and having the children be westernized in teaching and upbringing, yet maybe westernized upbringing doesn’t help the children as much as you think? b. These were the children that were spoiled. Riding their parents cars, seats pushed back, armed stretched out to reach the steering wheel. 4. Any similarities to the U.S. to the parents reaction to the stealing? a. Denial. b. Blaming riff raff in town when their own children were committing acts b/c of their lack of discipline. 5. Were you surprised with the concept of beauty being those closer to the white persuasion? a. Why did you waste...
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...In the book The Kite Runner, original social status is proven to create barriers in life regarding the aspects of friendship, mindset, and adaptation to change as we observe Baba’s and Amir’s life journeys in order to discover how it affects these aspects. Amir’s friendship with his hazara servant’s son Hassan takes a sudden toll as he ultimately comes to believe that traditional and historical beliefs outweighed true friendship as he was a young child. The mindset of Baba does not adjust when he and Amir are forced to move to America, as he still believes he possesses the same amount of power as he did in Afghanistan. While living in America, Baba never fully adapts to the American culture and way of life as he continues to live and act the way he would when he was back home. Baba showed this through his attire, and gestures while out in public and at work. Through the many examples in the book, alongside of studied evidence, there is a clear correlation between original social status and barriers which are presented when it comes to friendship, mindset, and the adaptation to change. Being born a Poshtun boy into a wealthy family, Amir is expected to portray specific qualities of a man and society expects him to associate himself with a particular crowd as this factor influences his friendship with Hassan. Baba pressures Amir to portray qualities of a masculine man, such as being aggressive and violent, which is not in Amir’s nature. Baba motivates Amir by comparing him to...
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...water balanced on half-open doors. But the story has a dark centre. The crime and retribution which led to the haunting is ghastly, and this is really not a comedy at all, but a tale of redemption through the power of love. The innocent girl of the family, appropriately called Virginia, prays for the ghost and endures terrifying if unnamed experiences to release the ghost. Also, The Canterville Ghost is both a parody of the traditional ghost story and a satire of the American way of life. Wilde obviously intends to satirize American materialism, but he pokes fun at English traditional culture as well. American vs. British society: “The Canterville Ghost” is a study in contrasts. Wilde takes an American family, places them in a British setting, then, through a series of mishaps, pits one culture against the other. He creates stereotypical characters that represent both England and the United States, and he presents each of these characters as comical figures, satirizing both the unrefined tastes of Americans and the determination of the British to guard their traditions. Sir Simon is not a symbol of England, as perhaps Mrs. Umney is, but rather a paragon of...
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...have done so, they can educate consumers about the benefits of the American merchandising culture. Some countries will not be willing to change their culture. But if Walmart continues to approach change the way they have they will continue to find success in countries willing to open up to change. 2) Walmart was successful in Mexico because it adapted to the Mexican culture and over time introduced them to the benefits of the American culture. When they first opened and tried to operate the American way without understanding the Mexican culture they quickly realized that when international businesses are ill-informed about the practices of another culture they are likely to fail. (1) They had to play by the Mexican rules if they wanted to succeed. International businesses need to consider employing local citizens to help them do business in a particular culture. (2) They hired managers who were familiar with the Mexican culture and allowed them to control the merchandising. This was extremely beneficial to their success. They learned that smaller stores within walking distance and changing the things they offered that best suited Mexican consumers would increase their chances of success. Educating Mexican consumers on the benefits of the American culture gave them even more gain. Mexican consumers gradually learned that our culture had beneficial aspects to it and therefore started changing the way the shopped making Walmart the largest retailer in Mexico. 3) Not...
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...you’re considered “non- american” or “not a part of an american culture”. This can make you feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable especially when you try to learn to grow accustomed to the american way of life. You try to feel normal like everybody else, but it’s hard to when you’re not treated fairly because all in all, we are all the same. Brent Staples in “Black Men And Public Space” and Firoozeh Dumas “The F Word” both discuss the transitioning of where they came from until they moved to a different place. In “Black Men And Public Space” that first appeared in 1986 in Ms. magazine, Staples explains that even walking down the street, he was given certain looks; worried looks. He explains that he came across a young woman who kept her distance. He states “To her, the youngish black man-a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket- seemed menacingly close”(Staples 346). The young woman picked up her pace and was soon running. Staples had began to suspect people take him to be as dangerous as a hazard in itself. When he had worked as a journalist in Chicago he was mistaken for a burglar. Firoozeh Dumas who was born in Abadan, Iran and then moving into the United States, discusses the troubles her and her family had faced with their ‘ethnic names’; she had dealt with the prejudice remarks and discusses the difficulties of the transitioning from her home country to the great american homeland. In this text...
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...What is the American way of life? This question can be answered in a pleather of ways from many different backgrounds of people. In my opinion, the American way of life is best symbolized by two key dates in American history. July 4, 1776 is one of the greatest days in the history of our great nation. America on this day set herself apart from the tyranny and colonial control of Europe and started a nation of core human values that would forever change the world. The founding fathers would then go on to create the constitution on September 17, 1787 which gave all Americans the freedoms and values which we still live by today. These values like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, equality, liberty, are all things that we enjoy as Americans...
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...experienced with my academic journey. As a student that is about to graduate, I can honestly say Los Rios school district have provided many sources of information towards learning. Students just have to avail themselves to them. There has been many good experiences with fact finding since enrolling in ARC. To put it plainly, at this point I am very comfortable with LOIS. The choice to use LOIS alleviates any need for assessment. The plan is to gather US government own stats for the number of manufacture, businesses, business processes and jobs loss over the last two decades. Interviews and articles where elected officials, heads of governmental departments and CEO’s explaining when, why, where and how these major decisions impact the American way of life. Who benefits from such decisions? Limited the results to production of reports to within the last year. Because I plan to obtain articles or view points from alternative sources, some believe these sources to be banned or not credible. Balanced this against government and corporation use of secrecy to keep the cost of their objective hidden. Basically eliminate the agendas promoting...
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...don't know how to do. please help me out here it goes: According to the reading in New Direction book, cross cultural communication is difficult to through it depending on their cultural background and their nationality. Therefore it doesn't matter what nationality we are from, adapting in new culture is very challenging for any foreigners. Especially compared to other immigrant groups, Arab have had a more though time in adapting to the American way of life because American and Arabs culture is almost different every facet of life. Based on the readings (New Direction) and my experience Dr. Kershavars should cover Arab attitudes about non verbal behavior, learning concept of time and relationship. Understanding non verbal behavior is one of the attribute to adapting new culture. In my experience, I noticed that it has always been different depending on people's culture background. For example, "Middle Eastern get much of their information through their sense of smells and touch," (page#22, New Direction) it considers kind of weird in American culture. Also Arabs do a lot of eye contact and smiling on the other hand, in some Asian countries that means disrespectful. Especially for professor of the University, understanding the concept of time is necessary in every country because there are a lot of conflicts between concepts of time in around the world. I used to have an Egyptian boyfriend when I came to America in first time. One time I invited him for dinner at 5 o'clock, he...
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