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| Alborz Canada. April 09 2012 03:15. Posts 1544 | Profile Blog # |
As an immigrant in this country, sometimes I feel alone, confused, frustrated and looking at the social norms around me. Is it normal for someone to be experiencing the frustration and struggling of trying to overcome social norms? and how do immigrants view "power" in their life?
Do people believe immigrants are different from people living in their "home" country in terms of power? or is this great shift really taking place? |
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| dreamsmasher April 09 2012 03:18. Posts 735 | Profile # |
| depends on the culture you come from i'd say and to some extent your religious views. some people have an easier time integrating than other people. |
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| DorF Sweden. April 09 2012 03:22. Posts 947 | Profile Blog # |
ok, what you need to do to gain "power" is to press enter, type "power overwhelming" and it's all done  |
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| caradoc Canada. April 09 2012 03:24. Posts 2893 | Profile Blog # |
I think there is a difference in power, which is exacerbated, or lessened depending on the political/cultural climate.
I have lived in other countries for a large % of my life, and inevitably you feel marginalized, the degree to which you feel this way depends on so much, but there is always some. I'm back in Canada now, and my wife isn't Canadian, she feels it sometimes too, there is always a notion in some peoples minds as to who the country belongs to-- the decision to view someone as an outsider implicitly disempowers them and their concern in terms of how much priority their needs/thoughts have in decisions.
This is abstract though, at a personal level, it helps to have a good support network. Integrating is part about adjusting yourself to the norms (whatever those are!) of the place that you live, whether you are an immigrant, or a kid moving to a new school across town, but it is equally about having a network of people, which can, in my opinion completely counteract whatever sentiment people have about 'outsiders'.
Your network of friends/acquaintances make the odd remarks that xenophobes have completely bearable, they can introduce you to opportunities, you don't face situations alone. Last edit: 2012-04-09 03:27:02 |
| | Galneryus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZizcOVNQFIo |
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| pred470r Bulgaria. April 09 2012 03:24. Posts 3129 | Profile Blog # |
| I've never been an immigrant but I suppose it depends on where you come from and what's your previous culture like. |
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| mongmong Korea (South). April 09 2012 03:25. Posts 926 | Profile # |
Im not really an immigrant but ive been living in a foreign country for over ten years. When i was at high school
I lived in boarding house (now uni student ) with a bunch of boys. it depends where you are originally from, at some point
in time, u feel lonely and frustrated. Im living in new zealand, and even though im originally from korea i feel very
comfortable living in this country. sometimes i get to face racist/xenophobic retards, but im quite used to it |
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| Flamingo777 United States. April 09 2012 03:30. Posts 1140 | Profile # |
You should specify what country you are from/what country you moved to. I see that your location is Canada, where were you before? If you just moved, where are you now?
I'm a US citizen, as I was born here. Although I have grown up in the same area, I moved from a very rural place to the capital city of my state. Here, I was faced with a lot more "stuff" going on all the time, as after 9pm in my hometown there really isn't anything to do. When I arrived in the city, I was bombarded by new opportunities, a lot of them good, a lot of them bad, and I made a lot of good and bad decisions as a result. I believe that it is important to try to experience a new "culture", or simply a new way of doing things, but it's also important to not wade too deep and immerse yourself.
To answer your question about people believing immigrants are different, I suppose it would mainly depend on the individual and how "cultured" or tolerant that individual is of both your heritage, and your introduction to his/her environment
Out of curiosity, describe some more details of your immigration, and how the environments changed. |
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| caradoc Canada. April 09 2012 03:36. Posts 2893 | Profile Blog # |
On April 09 2012 03:30 Flamingo777 wrote:
You should specify what country you are from/what country you moved to. I see that your location is Canada, where were you before? If you just moved, where are you now?
I'm a US citizen, as I was born here. Although I have grown up in the same area, I moved from a very rural place to the capital city of my state. Here, I was faced with a lot more "stuff" going on all the time, as after 9pm in my hometown there really isn't anything to do. When I arrived in the city, I was bombarded by new opportunities, a lot of them good, a lot of them bad, and I made a lot of good and bad decisions as a result. I believe that it is important to try to experience a new "culture", or simply a new way of doing things, but it's also important to not wade too deep and immerse yourself.
To answer your question about people believing immigrants are different, I suppose it would mainly depend on the individual and how "cultured" or tolerant that individual is of both your heritage, and your introduction to his/her environment
Out of curiosity, describe some more details of your immigration, and how the environments changed.
This I think is a really good perspective, it's important to learn to adjust, and taking part in new experiences and opening yourself up to them is really important. I think though that you also need to realize that in your experience you completely miss out on the being marginalized part. In a lot, maybe most cases, being an immigrant is like being that new kid in grade 6 who needs to prove himself to the rest of the students, except that to some people you'll never be able to prove yourself regardless of what you do, and except that while the rest of the class will get used to the new kid after a few months, as an immigrant, there will always be people who view you as an outsider, no matter what.
Of course, the degree to which this is true depends on where you live, what you do, the size of your community, etc. Some immigrants can have incredible experiences, but it's often really a lot tougher than the vast majority of people realize-- as I say, it's really important to have a supportive group of friends/acquaintances etc.
EDIT: @ below poster
On April 09 2012 03:38 Eiaco wrote:
A Pakistani immigrant will not intergrate as well because it is a completely different culture and pakistani's/muslim's currently have a very negative image in my country.
You probably realize this, but to other people reading this, the difficulty integrating is related to the negative image imo, not the other way around. But, it's also something immigrants themselves can do almost nothing about, so the extra effort has to be on overcoming this and trying to integrate. (kinda like improving your play rather than being frustrated and resorting to balance whining I guess)
Last edit: 2012-04-09 03:48:00 |
| | Galneryus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZizcOVNQFIo |
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| Eiaco April 09 2012 03:38. Posts 170 | Profile # |
Depends on what your ethnicity, religious beliefs are to be honest. For example, here in England, an immigrant from France will intergrate a lot quicker as our cultures and view are very similar. A Pakistani immigrant will not intergrate as well because it is a completely different culture and pakistani's/muslim's currently have a very negative image in my country.
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| RedJustice United States. April 09 2012 03:53. Posts 999 | Profile Blog # |
I am not quite sure how you mean "power". I am interpreting it as social power/acceptance.
Like many other people, I would say it depends entirely on the situation. I have met many immigrants to the United States, and they all had different experiences and adjusted at different rates. Still though, everyone who encounters a new culture goes through an adjustment period, and some never feel completely integrated. I suggest looking for other immigrants in your area who are going through something similar. It might help to have some support.
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| Alborz Canada. April 10 2012 11:46. Posts 1544 | Profile Blog # |
Yes, social power/acceptance is what I refer to.
Just power in general, like the power of people, is really all social power, and this stems from social norms which are believed in and withheld.
I am an immigrant from Iran, but I've been in Canada long enough to be integrated into the culture. I can relate well with a lot of what you guys are saying. The difficulty or frustration I am talking about maybe isn't culture dependent, especially in a place as diverse and friendly as Canada, but on a whole social level.
I am a very shy guy and socially I never fit in well and got along and this thread was an attempt to understand that and move through it or beyond it. I want to have more control in social situations. I feel like the quite guy who gets pushed around by his circumstances.
sometimes it feels like social norms are what you make them, and you can break the norm whenever you want.
For example, something I have done moreso recently, is taking on social sales positions to get over things like approaching people and expressing my ideas.
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| CyDe United States. April 10 2012 12:10. Posts 999 | Profile Blog # |
I can relate, in an odd way. For over 70% of my life, I lived overseas. I was born in the US, but started in school in Indonesia, of all places. Then I moved to Mali. Then Kazakhstan. Then Jordan. The only time I was in the United States was during the summer, and even then all that would happen is I would hang out with family or maybe ONE friend I made when I was four. So all the American culture that I got was the twisted imitations that floated overseas. I mean, it's not like EVERYTHING was different. Just a lot of little things (like driving laws, internet speeds, accessibility of products, *language barriers*, climate, housing...).
Then I move back here. Holy hell, I feel so isolated. Everyone is so established. Someone remarked to me the other day about how back in third grade him and his friend, who was standing beside him, were really competitive in gym. And I was just startled for a moment... "Wait. You knew each other in THIRD grade? WHAT?"
I actually couldn't comprehend that. I've lived in three different countries since third grade. I don't even remember most of my friends' names from third grade. Right there, I just realized the distance that I will inherently be burdened by for most likely the rest of my stay in this country. The culture is so... solid. Overseas everything changed, constantly, because new shit was coming in all the time from places like the US and Europe. Here... "Oh my god you don't know who Wiz Khalifa is?"
Hard to keep up with, is what I am saying. My situation is probably vastly different than yours, but I hope you understand where I am coming from with this. How, because everyone has known each other for forever... it is natural to exclude the newcomer. |
| | youtube.com/GamingCyDe-- SC2, BF3, whatever else strikes my fancy |
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| firehand101 Australia. April 10 2012 12:42. Posts 3000 | Profile Blog # |
This should probably be in blogs...
it is tough, but im sure there are and have been many others in your position. Never give up! |
| | The opinions expressed by our users do not reflect the official position of TeamLiquid.net or its staff. |
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| dUTtrOACh Canada. April 10 2012 12:57. Posts 1639 | Profile # |
I stopped considering myself an "immigrant" after about a year here. The thing you need to do is shake the notion that the country you live in now is not your "home" country. Acting like you're an outsider makes you feel like you're an outsider.
Now, after being here over half my life, I'd have to admit that I'd feel like a foreigner in the country I was born in. |
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| TehPrime United States. April 10 2012 14:03. Posts 180 | Profile # |
| My friend is an immigrant and he thinks he doesn't belong in the country. |
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| shawster Canada. April 10 2012 14:06. Posts 2272 | Profile Blog # |
On April 10 2012 11:46 Alborz wrote:
Yes, social power/acceptance is what I refer to.
Just power in general, like the power of people, is really all social power, and this stems from social norms which are believed in and withheld.
I am an immigrant from Iran, but I've been in Canada long enough to be integrated into the culture. I can relate well with a lot of what you guys are saying. The difficulty or frustration I am talking about maybe isn't culture dependent, especially in a place as diverse and friendly as Canada, but on a whole social level.
I am a very shy guy and socially I never fit in well and got along and this thread was an attempt to understand that and move through it or beyond it. I want to have more control in social situations. I feel like the quite guy who gets pushed around by his circumstances.
sometimes it feels like social norms are what you make them, and you can break the norm whenever you want.
For example, something I have done moreso recently, is taking on social sales positions to get over things like approaching people and expressing my ideas.
seems like you're using your status as an immigrant to blame your social skills? i honestly don't know what you mean.
i wouldn't see any difference if you were white/born in canada and was a shy person. |
| | afrocentric asian, half man half amazin |
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| caradoc Canada. April 10 2012 14:10. Posts 2893 | Profile Blog # |
On April 10 2012 14:06 shawster wrote:
Show nested quote +On April 10 2012 11:46 Alborz wrote:
Yes, social power/acceptance is what I refer to.
Just power in general, like the power of people, is really all social power, and this stems from social norms which are believed in and withheld.
I am an immigrant from Iran, but I've been in Canada long enough to be integrated into the culture. I can relate well with a lot of what you guys are saying. The difficulty or frustration I am talking about maybe isn't culture dependent, especially in a place as diverse and friendly as Canada, but on a whole social level.
I am a very shy guy and socially I never fit in well and got along and this thread was an attempt to understand that and move through it or beyond it. I want to have more control in social situations. I feel like the quite guy who gets pushed around by his circumstances.
sometimes it feels like social norms are what you make them, and you can break the norm whenever you want.
For example, something I have done moreso recently, is taking on social sales positions to get over things like approaching people and expressing my ideas.
seems like you're using your status as an immigrant to blame your social skills? i honestly don't know what you mean. i wouldn't see any difference if you were white/born in canada and was a shy person.
have you ever lived in another country, like a non-english speaking country, for more than a couple months? Just curious. |
| | Galneryus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZizcOVNQFIo |
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| dAPhREAk Nauru. April 10 2012 14:15. Posts 8698 | Profile Blog # |
| sounds like you are dealing with culture shock. you can google it and there are tons of guides to addressing it. for me, the best way to get over it was to make sure i was not alone. make friends, get a job, join groups, take classes...anything that gets you out of your home. language, culture, etc. are learned best through experience. if you can find a boyfriend/girlfriend that helps a lot as well, but friends are good as well. |
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| gape.ninja Japan. April 10 2012 14:29. Posts 245 | Profile # |
| Hey, I'm Japanese but I got brought to canada by my mother at the age of 4. I honestly didn't feel out of place or anything growing up, I went to a Japanese school on the weekends, went on yearly visits back. Now in my mid 20s I feel so... alone, I haven't met a Japanese person in years and I feel really horrible about my language deteriorating since I now have almost 0 opportunity to speak it. The Japanese community feels really small here compared to Chinese/Korean, its like I'm on my own little island T.T I guess I'm afraid of losing something that I was always told to be proud of and junk, oh well |
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| Heweree United Kingdom. April 10 2012 23:20. Posts 497 | Profile # |
On April 09 2012 03:38 Eiaco wrote:
Depends on what your ethnicity, religious beliefs are to be honest. For example, here in England, an immigrant from France will intergrate a lot quicker as our cultures and view are very similar. A Pakistani immigrant will not intergrate as well because it is a completely different culture and pakistani's/muslim's currently have a very negative image in my country.
Well, a pakistani will integrate quickly... among the pakistani community.Last edit: 2012-04-10 23:20:46 |
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