What Are the Effects on a Person When He Moves to a New Country - Personal Statement Example

What are the effects on a person when he/she moves to a new country as a young child? (In other words, what are the effects of being a member of Generation 1.5?) THE EFFECTS OF BEING A MEMBER OF GENERATION 1.5 Members of Generation 1.5 can be seen in English speaking countries, and many cases are those of Asian immigrant families whose children still retain the cultural influence of their country of origin while adapting to the youth in their host culture. They have been described as “bicultural and bilingual”, and these children do not develop a full sense of identity with their home culture nor their new home.

These children often lose some of their original culture, either in developing full English fluency while having non fluency in their parents’ language, or sometimes retain both, but still find that they can easily fit into the youth crowd despite being immigrants (Danico 3-4). The result is a hybrid culture youth who is equally likely to return to their home country or continue residing in an English-speaking society. An article called The 1.5 Generation examines the integration of Asian immigrants in the Kiwi, English-speaking, and white society of New Zealand.

This article takes many accounts of both 1.5 Generation members as well as those have interacted with them to describe how immigrant youth are transformed as a result of transnational migration and multicultural development. Many were described as lacking a sense of belonging, but not completely. In general, they often reported feeling that they were somewhat in-between, although as one youth puts it, “I don’t see that as a negative thing.” These youth receive the full benefits of public education in New Zealand, and find that many of their friends are native-born Kiwis.

They integrate with this cultural not only through shared education but also in shared hobbies, such Shane Lin of Taiwan who saw skateboarding as a bridge to develop friendships with Kiwis. The article describes the increasing presence of Generation 1.5 members on university campuses and in internet cafes. They bring with them the Asian trends of quirkier fashion, interest in the latest technology, as well as Japanese-style manga. This popular culture is transmitted to local Kiwis and forms another shared interest among all New Zealand youth (Janes).

Moving to New Zealand or other countries as a young child is much different than being fully raised abroad or fully raised in a new culture. As the book the 1.5 Generations puts it, there are five different characteristics of this adaptation. The first is an understanding of their parents’ culture, whether it be Korean, Japanese, or Chinese, and what it means to have that background while living in their host society. The second is a resocialization, where the youth identify as locals despite their different background, and the third closely follows as they reconcile the cultural divide in their identity but still feel marginalized.

The fourth characteristic is a development of ethnic pride, not necessarily in being, for example, Korean, but in being a Korean-American or a Tawainese-New Zealander among others of the same history. Finally, these youth strive to disassemble stereotypes about them and their hybrid group that may cast them as more similar to the first generation (Danico 15). This leaves these children as a unique niche of society that identifies with two cultures and actively embraces it despite confusion about where they will end up.

Overall, the effects of moving to a new country as a young child can present intense cultural challenges. Adaptation to the new culture is hardly avoidable, but it usually does not result in a transition from the old culture. The result is a hybrid individual, and is the entire process that forms this middle generation known as Generation 1.5.