When have you ever succeeded when you thought you might fail?
A few months ago, I didn't have perfect English and I had a considerably noticeable accent (I still have but less than before). Language was always the topic that I thought I would fail the most. I imagined how I would make friends at school if I couldn't even crack jokes and capture them as well. After language, my fear was concentrated in cultural habits. I came from a country where it is part of the social norm to compliment, greet and give kisses as a way to be polite and refusing to do this is considered disrespectful there. However, in the United States things are different, I arrived here saying "good morning", "you look fantastic today" and worst of all greeting with kisses, and or I got ignored or the vibes got weird. Lastly, I kind of shaped myself to a more "American Style" but that made me less warm with people and I think that is a considerable loss.
I remember that the first time I arrived at the university, I tried to order a Panda Express. This restaurant is diabolical, not because of the food, but because of the menu. Firstly, I have been to Chinese restaurants before, but none where I had to choose my order directly in front of the counter and with the attendant looking deeply into my eyes, and waiting. However, I was feeling confident and I gave it a try. I entered the restaurant and it was crowded. I was waiting in the line and carefully analyzing the order of the person in front of me. He ordered a bunch of new words that I have never heard and, since the restaurant was crowded, the attendant was 100% stressed and wanted to end the order as fast as possible. That was when it was my turn. I tried to order but I said yes to everything without knowing what exactly I was choosing. The attendant said "Chow mien?", and I replied "Yes, of course", like I had it a million times before ordering that time (I had no idea what it was). The sadistic game of words continued until the order was finished and it was time to pay. Since I don't have a credit card, I was counting pennies and dollar bills, while everybody was waiting. With the anger in the eyes of both the attendant and clients I just took my sit and I ate whatever I had order. To sum up, speaking English and living in another culture comes with this type of challenge, ordering at a Chinese fast-food restaurant.
In conclusion, being here, writing this blog, socializing, continuing my routine and ordering food at fast-food, is proof that although I thought I couldn't, I did it anyway. I might have done something wrong? Yes, and a lot of times. However, as I said, failing only leads you to a closer distance to success, and I always think that imagining failure is not failing at all, that is how even thinking that I can't, I do it anyway, and I succeed.
Oliveiraa! Reading this blog post was really interesting since it was a chance for me to see your stay here from your perspective. I can definitely relate to the struggles of living somewhere else for a year in terms of social interactions and language. My stay in Libya last year felt the same way in a lot of ways. The social structure was totally different and the way people generally acted wasn't the same too, just like how you've described in your case here in the US. The parallels between our stays in different countries are actually really interesting since I also had a distinct experience at a fast food place. I was ordering food and I'm fluent in Arabic but while I was ordering he asked me if I was visiting from somewhere else and asked where I was from. I was baffled since I didn't think I'd stand out that much. I think the story you told is a great one for this blog since it shows your difficulties but how you played along and went ahead and did it anyway. I think your reflection in the start of the essay is really good. It's a bit short at the end of the essay so maybe you could talk about how a shift in lifestyle for a year can be beneficial? It definitely was for me and I hope it was for you in the same way. We're so happy to have you here Oli! We all hope you can stay longer but we completely understand missing home. Great blog post!
ReplyDeleteHi Pedro,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great essay! I think you conveyed your emotions and your experiences well in your essay, and I sympathized with you a lot. For feedback, although I think this is a great essay, I think you can expand on how you grew from these experiences. How do you greet people now after being in America for a couple months? How is like ordering food/paying for food now? I feel like when you answer these questions, it gives you more opportunities to reflect. Also, in the prompt, it asks how it lead to success, so how did you really succeed? Overall, great job on this essay!
Hello Pedro! I really loved your story and I can definitely relate to your conclusion you came up with at the end where failures lead to success. However, I really found your story about being a foreigner who goes to an entirely different country extremely interesting. Because I have never really been out of the country (I've been to Canada but does that count?) in the way you have, it was very engaging and intriguing to read your experience in the U.S. As someone who's been in the U.S. his entire life, there is truly no way to be American, everyone is diverse in terms of their culture and background. Even if the country seems to treat specific people with priorities over others, the American ideal is equality and inclusion for everyone. So to me you're as American as anyone else who lives here!
ReplyDeleteI think you channeled your life experiences into this essay really well. I loved the part about saying "yes, of course" to chow mein as if you'd ordered it a million times before, and this phrase does a really good job of explaining the performative confidence a lot of immigrants have to use before they get used to it. I remember some of my friends struggling with the same thing at a Chick-Fil-A, so it really resonated with me. As a result, I think the narrative component in your essay is really well-made. I think it could use a little more reflection, though. How do you feel about ordering food now that you've had more experience in the USA?
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