Throughout
my life I have been immersed into different cultures. One relationship that
stands out to me is with a refugee family from Sudan. My family took them under
our wing and helped them understand the way of life here in the United States.
Chol’s family of 8 was placed in Lexington, Nebraska with no knowledge of what
to do when they got here. With this relationship I learned how to be patient
and calm when people do not understand me. Some challenges that we faced came
with teaching them how to grocery shop, how to dress appropriately, pay bills,
etc. An example in specific is they did not know which foods go into the
refrigerator and which foods do not.
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| Pictured is my little brother and one of Chol's daughters. |
My experience
with this family has opened many doors in my life has broadened my
understanding of what it is like to be a refugee family in the United States. My
family helped them with many odds and ends that I personally would not think
that people need help doing. It opened my eyes to what I think is normal,
everyday life to some is a whole different world to others.
“People
may be simultaneously privileged and disadvantaged, or privileged in some
contexts and disadvantaged in others” (399). This Privilege-Disadvantage
Dialectic in my mind describes this specific refugee family. In some ways the
refugee family is very privileged to be living in the United States all of the
while being disadvantaged because they do not know how to function in the
American life style yet. Within this relationship I also see the
differences-similarities dialect coming into play. Our families shared the
similarity of being Christian and attending the same church, we would usually
go together. We obviously shared many differences that set us a part; these
differences only brought us closer together.
References:
Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K.
(2013). Intercultural communication in
contexts (6th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill
Rylee, This must have been an enlightening experience for you. How old were you when the family stayed with you? What kind of personal struggles did you face?
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome how your family let this Sudan family into your lives. I've never experiences something like that, but I hope to in my near future. It just seems so rewarding and educational at the same time.
ReplyDeleteRylee, its great to see that you and your family would welcome another family and teach them our culture. It shows that your family is very caring and willing to open up to other families and another cultures.
ReplyDelete