5 ms·

Don't adapt. Best part of the US for me is all the other cultures living in it. Pho soup, Ethiopian pancakes, Burmese cuisine. Please don't adapt.

Gigablah 10y ago
Adapting doesn't necessarily mean assimilating -- it can be "code-switching" in a cultural sense.
- mac01021 10y ago
  To some extent, though, a culture is it's aversions. If your birth culture demands intolerance of some kind of behavior, you can't adapt without losing some of that culture. And to what code do you switch when people of conflicting cultures are present in the same room with you?
runn1ng 10y ago
"Culture" goes way, way beyond "interesting food".
mikekchar 10y ago
Growing up in Canada I was always a big fan of multi-culturalism. However, I was very surprised at how much I have enjoyed mono-culturalism since I've moved to Japan (lived here about 8 years now). As an immigrant, I have also chosen to try to join my adopted culture. I spend a great deal of time studying cultural practices. I wear traditional Japanese clothing most of the time in the summer (western clothes are better suited for winter, I have to say). I make traditional Japanese preserves, and live a traditional Japanese lifestyle (as much as my Japanese wife will let me, anyway...). There are people here who are similarly interested in American culture. They want to learn about it and practice it and live it. My Canadian background makes me feel embarrassed to say it, but don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. While being able to experience outside cultures inside your own country is wonderful, also make sure to experience what makes your country great. Keep your culture and traditions alive, because they are important. There will be people from other countries who want to participate in that experience. Be sure to welcome them as well.
eva1984 10y ago
I think you implicitly assume adaptation meaning losing someone's identity with his/her own culture. Those two things are not mutually exclusive, IMO. Quite on the contrary, I think in order to successfully adapt, you have to know where you stand in the first place. What fits you, what does not. It is an ever-going process, long and sometimes painful. But in the end, it will force you to better understand your own background, its virtue and weakness alike, and what difference has America bringing to it.

Gigablah 10y ago

Adapting doesn't necessarily mean assimilating -- it can be "code-switching" in a cultural sense.

mac01021 10y ago
To some extent, though, a culture is it's aversions. If your birth culture demands intolerance of some kind of behavior, you can't adapt without losing some of that culture. And to what code do you switch when people of conflicting cultures are present in the same room with you?

runn1ng 10y ago

"Culture" goes way, way beyond "interesting food".

mikekchar 10y ago

Growing up in Canada I was always a big fan of multi-culturalism. However, I was very surprised at how much I have enjoyed mono-culturalism since I've moved to Japan (lived here about 8 years now). As an immigrant, I have also chosen to try to join my adopted culture. I spend a great deal of time studying cultural practices. I wear traditional Japanese clothing most of the time in the summer (western clothes are better suited for winter, I have to say). I make traditional Japanese preserves, and live a traditional Japanese lifestyle (as much as my Japanese wife will let me, anyway...). There are people here who are similarly interested in American culture. They want to learn about it and practice it and live it. My Canadian background makes me feel embarrassed to say it, but don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. While being able to experience outside cultures inside your own country is wonderful, also make sure to experience what makes your country great. Keep your culture and traditions alive, because they are important. There will be people from other countries who want to participate in that experience. Be sure to welcome them as well.

eva1984 10y ago

I think you implicitly assume adaptation meaning losing someone's identity with his/her own culture. Those two things are not mutually exclusive, IMO. Quite on the contrary, I think in order to successfully adapt, you have to know where you stand in the first place. What fits you, what does not. It is an ever-going process, long and sometimes painful. But in the end, it will force you to better understand your own background, its virtue and weakness alike, and what difference has America bringing to it.