Culture Shock

Looking back to a discussion we previously had in class about how, if someone was born in the US and taken to a different country, such as Russia, and then raised to learn how to live like a normal Russian person, the question that comes up is, would he/she still be a normal American citizen based on where he/she was born? Well, no because he/she may have been born in the US, but since they were raised in a different country, their birthplace would not entirely determine what kind of person they can turn out to be. For example, I’m born in the US and most people would assume that since I’m born on American soil, I’d turn out to be like a normal American citizen. First off, what is considered normal? Everyone has their own perspective of what normal should be like and to me, personally based on my upbringing, I perceived normal as not challenging the ideas or thoughts of someone with higher authority over me. Things like using a computer to do my homework or going to the theater on weekends wasn’t considered normal in my view. At least, during my high school years. Near age 17 of junior year, I faced what most people called culture shock, which is to be in an unfamiliar environment different from someone’s normal upbringing. I landed my first job as a cashier at a small burger joint and there, I was introduced to an embracement between two people called hugging as a “hello” gesture and I learned that raising my voice at other is a normal thing as long as I’m being respectful. Ice cream that were mixed with milk and different kinds of berries were called a milkshake. It went along with fries and an entree called a burger which consisted of lettuce, special sauces, cheese, and a beef patty between two pieces of bread. On weekends, Americans like eating burgers and going to the movie theater which is a normal hobby of American culture. Fortunately, one day, my coworkers invited me to watch movies with them. Thinking to myself, maybe they meant a movie at their house like the way I watch movies at mine…? Ha! I was so wrong. Our driver took us to a shopping center called a mall and for the first time, I got introduced to the infamous movie theater. The room went dark with a gigantic screen put in front of us as the movie played from behind while everyone sat in cushioned seats eating popcorn. That was the norm of American culture, but that wasn’t the norm for me-my Hmong culture.

CPL © Copyrights 2012 Fresno Hmong International New Year 2012-13

Similar to James Henslin's article Culture Shock: The Arrival of the Hmong (Henslin 2012 38), I grew up being taught traditionally like back in the days when women and men weren’t equal; when staying home studying my cultural roots and doing homework was the norm. Stepping outside of the house except for school or grocery were consider dangerous unless going with an adult. When people asked me where I’m from, I’ll answered that I’m an American citizen. Given that answer, they assume that I’m in sync with American culture. Little did they consider that I might have been born in the US, but maybe I’m raised differently or even culturally different? In contrast, culture shock is when someone gets introduced into an unfamiliar environment different from their normal upbringing. Whether they were living 5 or 50 years in a particular country, does it possibly mean that they are a part of that country's culture based on being born there? Even though I’m born in the US, I feel out of sync with US culture and experiencing culture shock.