Foreign country

I have never been to any foreign country before, but when I got a chance to go the US I thought that might be my first and last chance to see the United States. I moved here two and a half years ago, and I’m still happy that I made this decision. Of course, it is hard to live far away from my family and friends, but I’m a strong person and I know that I can handle everything in this life. As long as I live in a Ukrainian Village with a lot of Ukrainians around me I feel a little bit more comfortable than I felt between other nationalities when I used to live in Washington DC. I don’t want to say that I don’t like the way other people live and think. I was born in Ukraine and my ideology is a little bit different than others. Moreover, there are a lot of interesting facts about my native country and good traditions Ukrainians followed by.

I was a fulltime student in Ukraine and I had to think only about studying, but a lot of students after two years in college start looking for jobs to make their own money and be independent from their parents, what I did after second year in college. While I lived in Ukraine, I used to have my own small business. I had my own money to go out, to buy some gifts for friends on their birthdays, to buy some clothes and to do grocery shopping. At the same time I was a full time student at the university and I had to study. Education in Ukraine is expensive if equated to the average salary of Ukrainian people, so my parents were paying my university bills, and, of course, they were still giving me some pocket money for expenses. In the US, I am independent from my parents, and I will never ask them for any kind of money or help anymore. I’m old enough to take care of myself and pay my bills even if it’s very hard to make enough money and study at that time. I remember those times when my mom was cooking on the kitchen in the morning and I could wake up only because of delicious smell in the house, but not anymore. I moved to USA by myself and my mom doesn’t cook delicious breakfasts for me anymore. Only I can make that kind of smell in my apartment, but at the beginning of my new life in new country I had some problems cooking.

Before I moved to Chicago I used to live in Washington DC for half a year, and one of a biggest problems was how to find good food to cook some Ukrainian meals. I didn’t know what kind of milk or meat was good quality or what kind of bread is good and good quality. I also couldn’t understand why people didn’t cook even if they have all the dishes for cooking and the nice kitchen. I couldn’t understand why people were buying frozen food and were cooking it in the microwave for ten minutes instead of buying some products and preparing a nice breakfast or dinner. During first couple of weeks in the USA I met a lot of people and realized that they work a lot and don’t really want to be stuck in the kitchen for hours after a hard working day. A little later I learned how to pick the best ingredients for the most famous soup in my country “Borshch” or my favorite pierogies with potato and cheese. Now I live in Ukrainian Village, Chicago, and I’m so happy that nearby I can find stores with Ukrainian, Russian or Polish food. I can cook anything I want and it will have the same taste like in Ukraine.

Furthermore, Ukrainians have a lot of winter holidays during which they cook traditional dishes and invite people to their house to celebrate together. One of my favorite holidays is Christmas. Since Ukrainians are orthodox, we follow the Gregorian calendar and celebrate Christmas on January 7th. During this season, children walk from house to house and sing carols. Sometimes big groups of people can do the same, dressing up in tradition Christmas’ costumes and having one person in front carrying a big red star. When people without any costumes see all those people dressed festively, Christmas Spirit comes into your soul and you ready to join them and bring this spirit into every house. I almost felt the same in Chicago with Ukrainians, only they didn’t dress up. Last year I was invited to an American Christmas Dinner by my best friends parent’s. It was very nice to have a dinner in the warm house by the fireplace and gorgeous Christmas tree with those kind people. Her parents were very hospitable with me and I had feeling like I was home. For me it was only delicious dinner in warm and nice company yet, I still didn’t feel that it was my holiday.

Despite the fact that I am far away from my family and my county and everything is pretty new for me in this country, I still like living here. I’ve learned about so many different cultures and traditions. I’ve also learned the way to talk with different people different ages, made a lot of new friends and learned how to be adult and take care of myself. I hope that in the future I can bring my parents and younger brother here and show them how beautiful this country and how other people live.

New Year's in Persia by Sina Zaeimzadeh

New Year’s in Persia

The celebration of the New Year is a big tradition within many cultures, and of course each country of the world celebrates the New Year differently. I was born and raised in Kerman, Iran. In my country, we celebrate the New Year on the twenty-first of March. The New Year starts on the first day of spring in Iran, which is called “Nowruz” and it has a great history. Before Nowruz begins, there are many traditions that take place. In addition to cooking, cleaning, and decorating the home, my family and I visit family members such as our elderly grandparents to show respect and honor for their position in life. However, from my experience living in Chicago, I have begun to realize that there are many differences between celebrating Nowruz in Iran and how it is celebrated in Chicago; because, in Chicago many of the unique cultural aspects of the Nowruz celebration have sadly been lost.

Decorating the table before the beginning of Nowruz is a very detailed process. We decorate the table with seven things that start with the letter “S”. Iranian people believe that seven is the luckiest number, because each week has seven days. First, we decorate the table with a paste made of wheat sprouts called “Samanu”. This edible paste is believed to bring fertility. The second table decoration is jujube or “Senjed”, which is a berry that brings love. The third is garlic or “Sir”. Sir is also used as a medicine for recovering from illness. The fourth is “Sib” the Farsi word for “apple”, which brings health, natural beauty, and adds a nice fragrance. The fifth table item is vinegar or “Serkeh”, which brings age and patience and also wards off bitterness in life. The sixth is “Sohan”, a baked sweet, which symbolizes sweetness in life. And the seventh and final decoration is wheat or “Sabzeh”, which brings purity, opulence, and good fortune. Also, we put some other thing such as coins, live goldfish in a bowl of clear water, and a bowl of clear water with an orange and the leaf of a rose bush floating in it. The orange symbolizes the turning of the year. The goldfish brings life to the table, and the coin is to bring prosperity. However, last year I tried hard to celebrate Nowruz in Chicago. I went to the store to buy jujube with my poor English. After explaining to the salesman about jujube and what it is used for, he asked me why I wanted to buy it. I said with excitement, “For Nowruz”, and he responded “What the hell is Nowruz?” I really did not have energy to explain it and I left the store.

A few days before Nowruz starts, all Persians have to clean and decorate their home. Also, most of the women cook sweets and everyone goes to buy new clothes for the New Year’s celebration. After the festival of Nowruz, all the family members visit each other. Every family must visit elderly members from oldest to youngest first to show admiration for them. Family members such as grandparents, uncles, and aunts will give money to the kids as gifts. This year I celebrated Nowruz alone with a half decorated table. I have a few Iranian friends in Chicago, and I was not that close with them to go and visit them. Instead, I just called them and said “Merry Nowruz!” I wanted to call my parents, but it is too expensive. So, I made contact with them via the internet, but they were having some problems with their internet in Iran. I felt like the loneliest person in the world, and far away from my traditional Nowruz.

Furthermore, Nowruz is a very sacred in Iran and it is observed by all Iranian people. If you go out one week before Nowruz, you will see how beautiful the government decorates the city. You can smell Nowruz in the air. Everyone has at least one day off before Nowruz. However, Nowruz is unobserved in Chicago. In addition, no one even knows about it. The American people do not know much about Iran and even less about Iranian holidays. Middle Eastern holidays are not very popular except for some Jewish and some Muslim (Sunnis) holidays. Because Nowruz is a Shias holiday, it is not celebrated by the Sunnis Muslims living in the cities. Most Muslims in the city are of the Sunni sect of Muslim faith, and therefore it is difficult to connect with the other Shias peoples.

In Chicago, you can see many foreign holidays being celebrated. Mexican holidays, Chinese holidays, and Polish holidays are celebrated in the streets of Chicago with parades and festivals. Americans do not know much about Iranian culture because there are not many Iranian people here. When you move to another country, some traditions inevitably get lost. Unfortunately, Nowruz is one of them. Persian people have been celebrating Nowruz for more than three thousand years, and they want to save this big tradition. Personally, I have been excited for each Nowruz and I really enjoy this holiday. In fact, I look forward to celebrating future Nowruz in the United States. I actually celebrated Nowruz here in Chicago last year. Even though it wasn’t as lavish and it was more scaled down, I honored the tradition.

Speaking with an Accent

Speaking with an Accent

America is a place said to be a dreamland. Most people come to the United States for a better life, education, jobs, medical care, good environment and good government. The United States is many people’s dream but the English language and particular the accent may be a problem. In Nigeria people speaks British English, but Americans speak their English with a different accent. Although English is not my first language, I still learned English in Nigeria. To communicate in British English is easier for me than to communicate with American English. This difference in accent has made it uncomfortable for me to communicate in the United States.

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I was raised in Nigeria and I speak British English. The English used for teaching is British English. On arriving to the united state, I found out that America accent might be my problem. My sister took me to school to start my registration. All my days in class were so terrible because I could not understand my teacher. If I asked a question my teacher would not understand me and I would not understand him either. In fact, my teacher accent affected me so much that I struggled to pass his class. I just used the knowledge I have learn in Nigeria to pass his class. On like my country Nigeria everything I leaned was straight forward. I understand everything I been thought.

Searching for jobs was easy in Nigeria, because people know that I am from Nigeria through my accent. I can show the manager my result in school so that they know my qualification and I will be hired. In the U.S, it is difficult for me to get a job due to my accent that I am not from this country. Although my face may look like a black American girl, I don’t sound like them. I am unable to get a job, because of my accent. For example, two months ago I was called for an interview, and I was sitting with one white lady as she began to talk. I could not understand what she was talking about, so I cut her short and I said, “Excuse me, please I am unable to understand what you are saying”. The lady looked at me and said, “Sorry you are not fit for this position”. I asked her why and she said since I didn’t understand what she was saying that means I can’t understand the customers. I told her I haven’t spoken and she said sorry I don’t understand what you talking about. The lady said you may leave. I felt so embarrassed because of my accent, I was unable to get the job.

Understanding one another is the best when people find themselves in a foreign country. It is not easy for me to understand the white people and the black Americans even though I speak English. People still don’t understand me, and I might not understand them either. Some days ago I was stuck at the bus-stop, and I was trying to get help. I saw one white man, and I asked him for two dollars. I tried to explain to him that I was stuck, but he didn’t understand what I was trying to tell him, so he said he was sorry but he didn’t understand me. He walked away. In Nigeria I would not even ask before people helped me. Most times if I stood at a bus stop in Nigeria, people offered me help because they knew I was from the country though my accent

I could imagine does year that I faced challenges because of my accent. I felt like an empty tree which as no life in it. Several steps may be able to help my problem. First, I would try to listen to the Americans carefully and tell them to slow down because I am not from their country. I understand the Americans but not all of them. I am unable to relate with people, make friends and explain my opinion. I will try to talk to the Americans no matter how they will embarrass me. I will still talk to them so that I can learn their accent. To communicate in British English is easier for me than to communicate in America English .I am an American now, and I have learned how to speck their accent.