Second Generation and Children of Immigrants Longitudinal

Question: Discuss about the Second Generation and Children of Immigrants Longitudinal. Answer: Introduction Cultural Dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling of conflict, discord, misunderstanding, or argument faced by individuals in the middle of transform in their cultural surroundings (Mumford and Chaudry, 2010). These transforms are usually unforeseen, unsolved or not logical because of different kinds of cultural forces. Usual conflicts consist of: moral, religious, or even instances on the level of distinctiveness, like trend, entertainment and verbal communication (Karasz, Dempsey and Fallek, 2007). Cultural dissonance is generally annoying, baffling, captivating, and difficult altogether (Lai and Surood, 2011). It is regularly experienced as there is an innate distinction in perspectives, morals and practices connected with those. It can be seen when a person from a small town comes to the big city, he feels the cultural dissonance (Lee, 2004). Likewise a white individual from rural Alberta can feel cultural dissonance when hes in rustic area of Nova Scotia, a Chinese human being born in Canada can feel cultural dissonance as he is in China, a female can also feel cultural dissonance in a male-controlled place of work. Personal experience of cultural dissonance I am fond of the meal times. As I grew up with my family, dinner was my much-loved. It was as I get to be seated at table with my family: my mother and father, my grandmother, grandfather, aunties and uncles, cousins, siblings. I was trained with table- etiquette from a small age. Being a child, I was all the time moving from a relatives house to a different. The technique that the table which was put at every relatives house was different one utilised a fork as well as spoon, one more utilised chopsticks, other one utilised their hands. At all times, I was aware of how to munch at these tables, manoeuvring proficiently my tools or my hands in a culturally suitable way. The expenditure of it, though, was that come what may the arrangement of table arrangement was, under no circumstances I felt I was part of any single culture particularly. While at home, at the dinner table I learnt that we always have to wait for everyone at the dinner table, prior to begin eating. We always started with serving the elders and after that- the youngsters. While serving, we would never let anyone have an empty glass, quickly fill it without even their asking for it. There was no need to revolve the dishes, yet the dishes were placed at the centre so that all could have food collectively. In my family, we also never stuck chopsticks in the rice bowl while standing. For eating the food, sitting on table- chair was mandatory. Being located in any other circumstance was mystifying and difficult, and as per my cultures tendency I did not get disheartened in any situation. Yet, it was upsetting to notice my friends stare at me shocked as I was not familiar with stuff (although they didnt show any hard feelings towards me). My attempts in the kitchen made me suffer worthlessness because I had to struggle with the entire stuff. Even my dinner table manners were snubbed by my own friends. In the end, I had to find out how to squeeze in. Even though, I still fill other persons glasses prior to my own, however I feel that I now I have come over the passing of dishes and plates. I have adapted to the new culture, and now I can also eat rice with chopsticks while I am standing. Cultural values or dimensions that were causing the dissonance There has been a huge cultural change which led to the dissonance. Until I grew up, I had just learnt to adapt, however then also I was not accepted by my friends easily. With the passage of time, it was me only who had to change. I always thought that whatever culture my family and my relatives followed was the most appreciated one. However, people used to stare at me when I did the same, thinking that I was pretending to be over-lovable. Ways applied to overcome the dissonance experienced To live in a situation not quite of my own is overwhelming. It means that I still try helping in the kitchen and I still wait for everybody to come, before starting the meal. Although sometimes people make fun of me and sometimes I am being criticized. Yet, very few people accept the same and thus I learn how to intermingle with other people in customs different to myself yet known to their cultures. Consecutively, my friends have also got to know of our customs in the manner of understanding. I accept that finally the cultural dissonance takes place due to the inadequacy of readily-obtainable information regarding the one culture that people from other cultural backgrounds can get. Conclusion (Lessons taken from this experience) The kitchen and meal-areas are places of serving, intended to bring in individuals collectively, into camaraderie and society. thus herein, I think that each one has it correct in own way; the meal-table is the primary place to reconcile, and I believe that, by this way, God plans for His table to be the unchanged, where each person of every background can arrive and have meals in group of people and as one. The cultural dissonance could be one of the causes of added stress on the youngsters who try to fit into the new cultural ideals. As stated by Portes and Rumbaut (2015), there is a desire for self-government and steadiness among family, hope, and sacred duties that bring about the thoughts of guiltiness and dejection, which might then be observed as a behavioral issue. Being grown up in a different culture and adapting to other culture was difficult for me, as I was always questioned of my values and traditions and why these differed from others. This made me feel isolated and a lways struggling to fit in. I always felt that I never belonged to the group of my friends, yet I always wanted to. At last, the challenge was accepted and I just had to fit in. References Karasz, A., Dempsey, K. and Fallek, R. (2007). Cultural differences in the experience of everyday symptoms: A comparative study of South Asian and European American women. Cultural Medicine Psychiatry, 31: 473-497. Lai, D. W. L. and Surood, S. (2011). Predictors of depression in aging South Asian Canadians. 138 Journal of Cross Cultural Gerontology, 23: 57-75. Lee, S. (2004). Engaging culture: An overdue task for eating disorders research. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 28: 617-621. Mumford, D. B. and Chaudry, I. Y. (2010). Body dissatisfaction and eating attitudes in slimming 140 and fitness gyms in London and Lahore: A cross-cultural study. Portes, A. and Rumbaut, R. (2015). Introduction: The second generation and the children of immigrants longitudinal study. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 28 (6): 983-999.