Life Change
My experience on earth has helped me to understand that change is the only thing that persists when everything else passes away. Since I was born, many things in my life have changed, some for better and others for worse. For instance, I was born in the countryside but when I was about eight years of age, we migrated to the city since my father was working there as a civil servant and my mother was a business woman. There is no doubt that there is a big difference between living in the city and living in the countryside. Initially, my two brothers and I would go out to play in the fields without fear of anything. In the city, especially where we were living, there was a lot of insecurity and most of the time; we were only allowed to play outside our compound. Nonetheless, we grew up there and went to school as we had to adapt to the change that had taken place. We had new friends of different ethnicities and we were able to live together with them in harmony. Until I migrated to United States, I used to think that I had experienced the greatest change in my life. Having mentioned United States, this essay shall discuss the life change I experienced immediately I settled in the country three years ago.
I was overjoyed to have gotten a chance to go to United States bearing in mind that the country is still considered to be a land of opportunities. I was sure that I was going to fulfill my career goal since in addition to getting a good job; I would also have an opportunity to continue with my studies while still working. I never figured out that settling in America would come along with so many challenges. To begin with, I never thought that I would have a big problem with language. I was quite aware that English is the official language for the United States. As a result, I had done an English course just to make sure that I would be in a position to communicate after my settlement in the English speaking country. The English course was very helpful since I was in a position to make out what others were talking a bout. Nevertheless, I had a big problem communicating since I was not fluent in English. I had only learnt it in class and had not had opportunity to speak it as I am a Vietnamese and majority in my country speak in the same language as it is the official language of our country (Vietnam Culture Para 2).
The language barrier was no problem socially as I was lucky to get friends who were patient with me and were ready to give me my assistance in relation to speaking in English. However, bearing in mind that my main agenda was to look for a job, I became extremely discouraged since I could not communicate well in English. Many interviews in America are obviously conducted in English. Although I could understand all the interview questions, I had problems answering them correctly as I could not express myself well in English. Despite the fact that I was qualified, the language barrier prevented me from explaining my qualifications explicitly. After attending a few interviews and failing to succeed, I was discouraged at first but came to learn latter that I had to do something and change my status. I decided that language barrier among other challenges would not stop me from achieving my life goal whatsoever. I therefore made a firm decision to practice and learn speaking in English through not only study, but also through speaking the language whenever I had an opportunity.
My challenges were many and I could not imagine all the immigrants used to go through the same problem. Language was no big problem compared to the climate and weather change. I had migrated from central Vietnam where the temperatures are usually high all the year despite the fact that the place is prone to flooding in the rainy season (Vietnam Weather – Climate Para 3). Although I knew theoretically that United States was characterized by low temperatures and some instances of snow, it was a different case altogether experiencing the low temperatures. I developed chest problems since I had always been allergic to too much cold. I was always in and out of hospital during my first year in United States. I never knew that my body would react to the weather and climate change but how wrong was I. Language and weather problems are just a few compared to the culture shock I experienced once I arrived in America. Although we are living in the era of globalization which is characterized by global culture, there are several aspects of the American culture that I had to adapt in order to fit in the society. I had to learn to relate with different races as United States is characterized not only by different ethnicities by also by people of different continents. I have also learnt to take their food as it is not easy to continue taking the Vietnam food in a foreign country.
For the three years I have been in American, I have experienced a lot of challenges but they are incomparable to the new life that I am enjoying. The only way I have been able to cope is by changing my way of life. Various changes have taken place. For instance, my language has improved as I am learning to communicate in English. My body is also learning to cope with the cool weather and I have been able to accept some aspects of the American culture. Life change is not easy due to the challenges involved but benefits are incredible. Moreover, it is very important as we cannot be able to achieve our life goals without accepting change. Though I am a Vietnam by birth, I am determined to overcome all the challenges in America and achieve my goal.
Works Cited
Vietnam Weather – Climate . 2007. Web. 12 October 2010.
Vietnam Culture. 2004. Web. 12 October 2010.
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]