YIMYIM YAU

Professor Adrienne Oliver

ENGL-1A

December 10, 2018

Blog Post

1.      Migration Story Excerpt

          My immigration journey brought challenges and changes, which made life more valuable, and I also overcame all the challenges with pleasure. Immigration seemed to be a simple decision, but the actual implementation was full of problems. At the beginning of the consultation, it was difficult for my family and me to reach an agreement. My parents worried that it would be difficult for me to live alone in an entirely different place, and immigration would also bring enormous economic pressure. Then the handling of visas was much more difficult than I thought. Difficulties included applications for immigration, and whether the majors and work were consistent with the job, etc. When I arrived in America, the first and biggest challenge I encountered was the language barrier. I could not communicate with my classmates because of insufficient English vocabulary, accent pronunciation, and slow listening response. The language barrier prevented me from being involved in others. Another challenge I faced with was cultural differences. It was difficult for me to integrate into the whole American students. When I communicated with my classmates, we often had conflicts due to different values.

          However, the purpose of immigrating to America was to become a better person and prove myself. Thus, I spared no efforts to adapt the life in America. After my repeated insistence, my parents finally agreed to my request to immigrate to America. As the language barrier, I started to correct my pronunciation. Every morning I would spend time reading English in following the tape recorder and tried to make my pronunciation pure. I worked hard to practice English skills and tried to overcome my fears in communicating with others. In my spare time, I watched a lot of TV shows and news to get a deeper understanding of American humor. With constant efforts and trials, I gradually overcame the language barrier and enhanced my confidence. Regarding the culture differences, I began to understand American culture, such as the history of American development, the cultural background of America, the values of Americans, and so on. After fully understanding this knowledge, I tried to blend into American culture. Besides, I strived to develop my critical thinking skills to communicate with others. I respected the local culture, dared to try new things, and made friends widely. I paid great attention to credit and strictly abided by local laws and regulations. Also, I would like to introduce the scenery of my home to my classmates as well as to share exciting things with them. With constant attempts, I gradually integrated myself into American life.

2.      Essay II Excerpt

Nowadays, there is a phenomenon that an increasing number of people are willing to migrate to other countries owing to different kinds of reasons. Overall, there are two explanations for immigration. One comment refers to people moving to a foreign country to settle in one area, and the other relates to large, organized population movements. There are many reasons for people's thoughts about immigration. Some people immigrate to other countries to experience different lifestyles and enrich their life experiences. Some people immigrate to other countries to encounter different lifestyles and enhance their life experiences while some people immigrate because they have their personal goals. Some people migrate because they think the outside world is exciting and they could enjoy the freedom while others immigrate because of their parents' job requirements. Besides, there still exist some people who only take a kind of traveling idea and give themselves an extended vacation. The reasons for immigration are diverse, but there are also many difficulties and problems. Among them, the neglect of immigrants is undoubtedly the biggest problem. Silencing immigration stories raises many issues and challenges, such as racism, criminal behavior and so on. Therefore, it is incredibly essential to stop silencing both immigrants and their stories and try to provide understanding and help at the same time.

My migrate-story was full of changes and challenges. Language barrier and value problem caused by cultural differences made me feel upset. In spite of my efforts, I have solved many issues; living in a foreign country, I still felt sad for not being understood. Immigrants can only talk less because they are ignored by other people, which might cause autism. Also, because of different language, immigrants cannot speak to each other, leading to the fact that they have great difficulties in finding jobs and making friends. Over time, they became silent and were ignored, which made them feel painful and upset. Silencing migrant’s story means that the society did not understand the difficulties of immigration and did not provide any help, which made migrants even more frustrating. Very few people can settle down and listen to their stories, and very few people can understand and enlighten them, let alone help them. These practices gradually made the immigrants depressed and even autistic, which could lead to different levels of crime. Silence on immigration stories has forced people to dismiss the idea of immigration. Therefore, do not silence migrant’s story become increasingly urgent. People, society, and countries are supposed to provide enough concern and understanding to those immigrants. People should actively listen to the stories and voices of immigrants to help them better and faster integrate into the environment as well as the life of a strange country. The government should also do what they could to help migrants. Helping immigrants open their hearts also helps reduce the rate of crime. The difficulties in having visas, the discriminations and other problems encountered by migrants are apparent enough that it is time to support those people who dare to immigrate to other countries or places.

3.      Community Call to Action

Through the research of the first three articles, I think it is essential to respect the immigration story. The people, the government, the society, and the state should all take action. Firstly, on the one hand, immigrants themselves should take the initiative to learn the language of other countries, understand the history and culture of other countries, and try to integrate themselves into a particular state. If immigrants can acquire and enrich the background, knowledge, language, and culture of other countries, they could communicate with the local people smoothly as well as to tell and share their experiences. Immigrants dare to say and will talk to others by initiative. This method will mitigate the silencing of migrant’s story to some extent. On the other hand, natives should also accommodate different cultures, respect, and help immigrants. Secondly, governments should try to relax immigration policies and do not make too many restrictions on the freedom of migration. Immigration is conducive to the cultural collision, and the strict immigration policy can easily lead to discrimination against people from other countries, which leads to the dissatisfaction of both sides. Thirdly, society should pay attention to all aspects of the problems of immigration, care about the difficulties in life encountered by immigrants, and give some understanding and help as much as possible. Sometimes immigration crimes happen just because there is no understanding and support in a foreign country, which makes their life too stressful and meaningless. Fourth, states should develop cultural diversity and be friendly to immigrants, such as providing language training, job training and government subsidies. It is sturdy and brave for immigrants to leave their familiar places and live in an extraordinary country or city. Thus, these countries cannot turn a blind eye or remain silent to the dilemma of immigrants.