Tradition is repeated behavior with a strong symbolic meaning that has (in the understanding of people) a particular connection to the past. Traditions are often, but not always, passed down from one generation to another. Contemporary social science also uses the term “invented tradition” that describes patterns of behavior that are the relatively new invention of a particular group of people but whose existence is legitimated by references to the past. Culture is all the norms, social rules, symbols, shared meanings, traditions, customs, and methods of doing things, beliefs, rituals, and interpretations of the world around, shared by particular group or population (Slechta, 2016). To understand the cultural diversity and the cultural adaptation that Immigrants go throw we must know the reason for their migration, understand the culture they have adopted, and how to adapt to their new culture. Diversity is nothing more than a difference from the majority. In any culture, there is a majority and many minorities. Culture is a set of norms that set standards for a society of what is acceptable behavior (Soon Lee, M., 2017).
Here’s some reason immigrants immigrated other countries, they came to escape poverty. This was probably the BIGGEST reason. For the Irish, famine, particularly the Great Potato “Famine an Gorta Mór” in the 1840s to early 1850s, compelled people to seek their living in another place. Throughout the centuries there have been other seasons of failed crops and/or disastrous weather conditions that drove people to leave their homelands. Other reasons are they came to avoid prosecution. I’m sure that reason does not appear in any family Bibles, but the practice was feared enough at one time that the US government put in place stringent immigration rules in an attempt to avoid harboring all the world’s criminals. This did not appear to be a widespread problem at the turn of the 20th century (Thomson, 2017).
Others are they came because a relative was already here, among certain immigrant groups, like the Italians, men would often come first, get a job, earn money, and then send for their wives and children. Or older children in a family would come first and prepare the way. Many Irish girls went to America and then saved money to bring their siblings over. Some immigrants had uncles waiting to help them get a good start. I’m sure many people have stories in their families about reunions at Ellis Island and other immigrant stations. At Ellis Island, in the room where folks rejoined their families, there was a pillar referred to as “The Kissing Post” because so many loved ones had been reunited there. And they came not to stay, this was particularly true of some Italian immigrants in the early 20th century. They brought no family, sent for no one, and came over just to work and save enough money to buy their own businesses or farms back in their native country. This was the time of the Industrial Revolution. They built the railroads, worked in mines, built the skyscrapers. America needed workers. These immigrants put up with squalid living conditions so that they could hoard as much as they could to send home to their families and to invest in businesses (Thomson, 2017). There many other reasons immigrants immigrates another country. But we must understand that they have reasons to immigrate and they came to avoid problems and create a better life for them and their families.
The first step towards successful adaptation in a multicultural environment is to have an open mind. An open mind brings about flexibility, helps to avoid shock, makes it easy to learn about other cultures and thus creates an interest to learn and an avenue to better understand the different cultures (beliefs, behavior, communication styles, gestures, power differences etc.) of the people in the environment. The difference arises from the fact that people are different and they exhibit distinct characters, react to the same issues in different ways, have different views and beliefs and therefore have different ways of life otherwise known as culture. This is why understanding the culture is important and as soon as the fundamental principles and values of these different cultures are well understood, it becomes easy to get along with the people and effectively handle and manage the cultural differences. Also research a little about the environment, as a new entrant in a multicultural environment, a great number of things may appear very strange and may result in some difficulties i.e. psychological, emotional, cultural shock etc. owing to the differences between the entrant’s culture and the culture of the new environment. Having a basic information about the environment in the areas of customs, traditions, cultural beliefs and general way of life even before moving into the environment is a good step towards adapting well to the environment. This mainly involves having knowledge about the people and their social culture (Samuel, 2016).
Focus on personalities and not nationalities a common way of classifying people is according to nationalities. Nationalities may help to form a general understanding of the behavioral and lifestyle patterns of people. These patterns may be positive or negative. However, it is worthy of mention that these patterns may not exactly be the same in all persons of such nationalities. In principle, even though these patterns are common and have been used to form a basis for classification, persons of the same nationality may not exhibit the attributed patterns in exact manners. This is because every human is unique and has the capability of displaying desirable qualities which may be found interesting and worthy of emulating. Therefore, taking the time to knowing people as individuals rather than nationalities might be a good way of building a solid and excellent interaction and relationship with people in a multicultural environment (Samuel, 2016). And live beyond stereotypes, different cultures around the world have peculiar stereotypes associated with them. Most times, these stereotypes are often negative. Stereotypes are popularly held beliefs about a particular culture or group of people. They may not be entirely true but may have a fraction of truth in them. They are like tags attached to a particular culture. Most times, it is the first thing that comes to mind when a person hears about that culture. However, it is important to know that there is a possibility that not all people from that culture may exhibit that stereotype. Stereotypes may help to understand certain aspects of a culture but it should not be used as a yardstick (strict rule) for analyzing the culture or making conclusions about it (Samuel, 2016).
They leave their countries for many reasons and the came to live a better life and not be discriminative by other people about their aspect and cultural ways. They adapt to the new cultures to survive. Survive in the new places they are and to move on and be successful. Sadly they are some immigrants that come to make their life better there way. And affects the atmosphere from there are. Sometimes there’s a lot of cultural diversity and the immigrants for some reason they feel out of place. To survive other cultures immigrants must be open minded, research a little about the environment, live beyond stereotypes, and focus on personalities and not nationalities. And the most important of all is respect the different culture.
Reference
Soon Lee, M. (2017). “What is Cultural Diversity?” Retrieved 2 February 2017, from http://www.ethnoconnect.com/articles/1-what-is-cultural-diversity
Slechta, D. (2016). “What’s the difference between culture and tradition” Retrieved 6 February 2017, from https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-difference-between-culture-and-tradition
Samuel (2016) “Basic tips for successful adaptation in a multi-cultural environment“. Retrieved 6 February 2017, from http://toas.fi/en/your-tenancy/multi-cultural/
Thomson, C. (2017). 5 Reasons Immigrants Came to America. Retrieved 6 February 2017, from http://cindyswriting.com/5-reasons-immigrants-came-to-america-2/