The Land of Opportunity. The Home of the Brave. The Melting Pot. All of these titles have been given to the country I call home. Thought I was born in India, I've lived here almost my entire life and am proud to call the United States my country.
However, my parents, immigrants to this country, view the United States very differently than I do.
They scrutinize the culture and values that are home to this country.
I still remember when I told them about homecoming my freshman year. Though born and brought up in Cosmopolitan Mumbai, my parents immediately became apprehensive of the the commonplace custom of a guy asking a girl to the dance. They quickly associated having a date with having a boyfriend, so of course, as a Indian girl, I wasn't allowed to participate. Though I did go to homecoming, I wasn't allowed to have a date because apparently that kind of "stuff" is only for white people *still rolling my eyes at this idea
And trust me, those of my friends who were in fact allowed to have a date, my mom had a "careful inquiry into the personality structure of these people" (Miner 318).
I remember my frustration because who wants to be single at homecoming.... but whatever, I'm over it now. I understand that what they told me is what they probably heard from their parents; they just were not used to this more open culture contrasting with conservative Indian culture.
However, now looking back at it, I wouldn't call my parents conservative or narrow-minded, but just unaccustomed to these American customs.
However, my parents, immigrants to this country, view the United States very differently than I do.
They scrutinize the culture and values that are home to this country.
I still remember when I told them about homecoming my freshman year. Though born and brought up in Cosmopolitan Mumbai, my parents immediately became apprehensive of the the commonplace custom of a guy asking a girl to the dance. They quickly associated having a date with having a boyfriend, so of course, as a Indian girl, I wasn't allowed to participate. Though I did go to homecoming, I wasn't allowed to have a date because apparently that kind of "stuff" is only for white people *still rolling my eyes at this idea
And trust me, those of my friends who were in fact allowed to have a date, my mom had a "careful inquiry into the personality structure of these people" (Miner 318).
I remember my frustration because who wants to be single at homecoming.... but whatever, I'm over it now. I understand that what they told me is what they probably heard from their parents; they just were not used to this more open culture contrasting with conservative Indian culture.
However, now looking back at it, I wouldn't call my parents conservative or narrow-minded, but just unaccustomed to these American customs.
Nice post Esha! I really appreciated your reflection of your parents' behavior to homecoming. I even liked how you used the quote from Miner's satire to help illustrate this issue.
ReplyDeleteGreat personal anecdote to expand on your parent's views of American culture. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Esha! I really liked your personal experience from the results of a clash of two entirely different worlds. I also liked your last statement, on how you don't think your parents are narrow-minded, but actually "unaccustomed".
ReplyDelete