ESL 21b

Essay 1.2

    After revolution in 1979, thousands of Persians had to leave Iran to begin their new life. Many of them chose America. Right after arrival, they found them selves exposed to a culture that was totally different by those in Iran. Many Persians especially those who had left Iran after the age of 40, always told stories of America by which they were shocked. For instance, some of the middle-age Persians were astounded by seeing American couples living with each other with out marriageAwkward. Even after passing three decades of unwanted immigration, those Iranians who are now old grand parents have many difficulties to reach an agreement with the new culture. They always want their grand children to obligate to the valuesAwkward of their own country .butCapitalization is it possible for a young girl or boy who was born here and grow upVTense with this culture? Before I came to America, I had talked to many Persians who were complaining that their descendantWChoice treated them like Americans .onWChoice {***}Capitalization that time I did not understand what they really meanVForm. I was not aware of differences between two cultures. One so traditional and the other one so new .Punctuationbut after one year living in America, I have noticed few of these differences which makingVTense me so interested to find out more.

    I faced one of themReference not clear one day after my arrival, I was walking in a park, by a little distance, and an old lady was walking with her dog, too. When she saw me {***}MissingWsmiled and said: hello ,what a wonderful day! I looked around to see to whom she was talking .butCapitalization there was nobody else; are you talking to me?Punctuation I asked .sheCapitalization admittedWChoice and asked the reason of my wondering. I explained to her that I am not accustomed to receive greeting from an old lady. In my country never and neverAwkward {***}MissingW an old person say hello or start conversation with some one younger. In reality, they expect younger'sWChoice to display the degree of respect to them. There is often an aggressive reaction when this rule is violated. I remember an old man who refused to talk to his daughter in low??? for years because she had forgotten to greet him during New Year celebration. But it seems very normal in u.s.a to see old people say hello to younger'sWChoice or being called by their first name.

    Second, most of the Americans train their children to be ready to lead a normal independent life in future. According to theArt Dr.spocksCapitalization {***}Punctuation famous book, Dr spocks Baby and Child care, generally children in AmericaWord Order are given the feeling that they can set their own aims in life. They are raised to be rugged individualismWForm. One day I was at a store. I saw a 2 year old girl who suddenly fell down and started crying .Punctuationbut no body {***}MissingWeven her parents did not help her to stand up until she finally could do it and start playing again. If this situation happens in Iran, parents and many people run to help her and give her ice cream to calm her down. This baby never learns the art of being an independent person in the life. She or he always looks for help from others.    In Iran, it is very normal to see men or woman older than even 30, live with parents and never pay them for the room. Mother and some times father are also ready to do all they need such as cooking, cleaning their room and so forth.

    Third, I saw Americans very informal in the way they dress, talk and behave. A study by Gary Althen points out that the American notion of equality, that "all men are created equal{***}Punctuation, lead them to be quite informal in their general behavior and in their relationships with other people. In contrast, most of the Iranians are very formal. They spend most of their time and money to be well dressed. You never see a professor or a doctor, for example, wearing T-shirt and riding a bicycle to go to work. Persians are also very formal in their talkingAwkward. If an American listenVTense to a conversation between two Persians, he would {***}MissingWbewildered by too muchAwkward compliments they use.

    By observing these few differences among hundreds of them, I can better understand why some traditional Persian families felt fearful about living in America.    They know that their children growing up with American culture never stay with them for good. They may leave them alone and go to follow their destinies. They also get angry when{***}MissingW hear their children using slang and talking informally. These Persian -American children also never bow or kiss the hands of the grand father. I remember one woman told me sadly; America made my children so impolite. But she did not really know that politeness meansWChoice differently from culture to culture .asCapitalization result of differences among cultures, many Iranians suffer the symptoms of cultural shock and long to beCut come back. On the other hand, there are many PersiansSing/Plu families who have been successful in coping with the new culture. They take the life easy and try to obtain information and learning of new responses and skillsAwkward. They ignored all the attachments they had with their culture. By doing so, they can promote personal growth and adopt to the rules of the new culture. faith fullingAwkward {***}Capitalization to a traditional culture only preventS/VAgreement persons toWChoice gainVForm achievements in a new world; a world of opportunities.