Interview with an Immigrant - Assignment Example

no. Interview Interviewer: Ali Nabeeb, I understand that you are a Tanzanian by birth? Nabeeb: Yes I am. In fact,I spent the first twenty years of my life in Tanzania. Interviewer: How did you come to the United States and where do you reside currently? Nabeeb: I first came to the United States when I was 20 years old. I was lucky to get a student visa and move here to pursue higher education. Currently, I stay in Illinois. Interviewer: How was the transition from life in Tanzania to life in the United States? Nabeeb: Learning English was really hard, especially considering that I had spoken a different language for 20 years. In Tanzania, I was accustomed to speaking the national language which is Kiswahili, in addition to my local Chagga dialect. It is very rare to find people speaking in English in Tanzania, and in fact, most people perceive English as a foreign language. Considering that I spoke very little English by the time I came to the United States, the language barrier was so much of an issue that most of the time, I did not make sense in my broken English, and people would laugh at me. Interviewer: It must have been really hard to get laughed at. How did you handle it? Nabeeb: At first, it was so humiliating. Imagine having kids as young as 6 years old laughing at you because they speak better English than you. It became so bad that I opted not to talk to people and this made me very lonely and homesick. Interviewer: So how did you overcome the language barrier issue and speaking of home sickness, how bad was it? Nabeeb: After secluding myself for around two months, I realized that life would not get any easier if I did not take up the responsibility of fighting of the language barrier problem. I, therefore, enrolled at a local grammar school where I took up English lessons, started interacting with people and actually urged them to correct me whenever I spoke bad English. But I must say that for an immigrant, having to distinguish between formal English and American slang is an uphill task. The homesickness? No words can fully describe what it feels like to be in an alien land, away from friends and family, and forced to adapt to new life. I would get so home sick that I would spend my free time trying to find other Tanzanians who help me manage the homesickness. Communicating with my family back in Tanzania via telephone also helped ease the homesickness. However, the international calls were very expensive at the time for a student, meaning that communication was very rare. Interviewer: Apart from the language barrier and homesickness, what other challenges have you faced as an immigrant in the United States? Nabeeb: Once I set foot in the United States, everything was totally different. It is like waking up to a new world; the weather, the food, the modes of dressing, the accents, and more so the system of education, all gave me a culture shock. In class especially, I found the teaching methods so strange that I used to be the quietest student in class. I could not dare ask questions or even answer them. It really took me time to get adjusted to the American classroom. In addition, there are too many laws controlling the lives of immigrants that one almost feels suffocated. Obtaining a driving license, getting a work permit, travelling out of the country, getting social security, among many other regulations almost make one feel like a suspect. I must also add that it took me quite a while to get used to eating burgers and pizzas. I used to crave for Tanzanian food so much that I would try the recipes only to end up disappointed because the ingredients I found here are not the same as those used in Tanzania. Anyway, after months of complaining, I finally adjusted and I got used to the food here. Interviewer: But the experiences could not have been all bad. Is there anything positive about being an immigrant in the United States? Nabeeb: Everyone wants to live the American dream. That is what I came chasing for and that is the best decision I ever made. America is a land of opportunities; particularly the good education ensures that a person is well equipped to work anywhere in the world. In addition, I have made contact with people I would never have met, people who have contributed a lot to my personal growth. Had I stayed in Tanzania I would not have had the opportunities to explore my talents, as I have had here. In addition, I have acquired a few pert-time jobs that help me with my finances, such that I do not have to keep on asking my relatives back in Tanzania for money. Synopsis Immigration, according to the National Geographic Society, is the movement of people into a new country, thus making the said people immigrants (1). From the interview with Nabeeb, an immigrant from Tanzania who came to the United States in pursuit of better education, it is clear that nothing much has changed in as far as the experiences of immigrants are concerned. Nabees’s experience is typical of any other legal immigrant who comes to the United States. Most of them have issues adapting to the new culture and often spend long periods of time trying to device mechanisms for fitting in an alien land. For example, Nabeeb was forced to adjust to the education system, the food, the laws, and basically everything else in relation to the America way of life. As Gabaccia writes, historically, from a sociological point of view, immigrants were forced to change and assimilate into the American way of life (1). In this sense, assimilation happens when immigrants interact with Americans, a process that results in the former becoming absorbed and modernized into the American way of life. In addition, looking at immigration patterns today, it is easy to see that some of Ravenstein's laws are still applicable. For example, according to the National Geographic Society, one of Ravenstein's laws states that most people immigrate for economic reasons (2). Basically, this law implies that most immigrants come from countries that are at a lower economic level that the United States. Accordingly, immigrants who are driven by the quest for economic success come to the United States in search of a gateway to attractive economic opportunities. For example, in the case of Nabeeb, he is an immigrant from Tanzania, who has come to the united states in search of better education that will enable him achieve economic success. In connection with the first law, Ravenstein also gives a law that states that those immigrants who move over long distances prefer to settle in major center of economic activity (National Geographic Society 2). Ideally, most immigrants do not settle in areas that are less productive economically as they prefer areas where they can make more with relative ease. According to Haas, most immigrants move to other countries because their home countries do not have favorable economic environments (6). This law is exemplified by Nabeeb who stays in Illinois, such that he is able to do part-time jobs for income. For example, Nabeeb has elucidated how hard it was for him to make international calls to Tanzania considering that he was a student and did not make much money. In line with this, it only makes sense that for an immigrant, especially a student, it would make more sense to settle in an economically vibrant area. In such areas, it is easier to get part-time jobs, which in turn enable the immigrant, more so a student immigrant, to make money and afford such luxuries as calls to family back home. It is important to note that immigration is a step-by-step process as stated by another of Ravenstein's law on migration (National Geographic Society 2). Essentially, this means that immigrants undergo several processes before they can fully adjust to life in the host country. Immigrants have to undergo processes such as culture shock, homesickness, and the various laws that govern the conduct of people in the host country. For instance, as Nabeeb states in the interview, there are so many rules and restrictions that are instituted to control the activities of immigrants that it becomes almost impossible to survive. Ranging from work permits and licenses, to visas and social security, an immigrant in the United States is bound to feel overwhelmed by all the laws. All these laws and restrictions that immigrants are expected to adhere to are an effort by the government to ensure national security. It, therefore, follows that very few people question these laws and restriction on immigrants. According to Gabaccia, instead of debaters disagreeing on whether restriction on immigration is right, these debaters disagree on how best these restrictions can be achieved. In fact, Gabaccia adds that presently, immigrants are being treated with so much caution so as to avoid issues such as threats to national security and illegal entry into the United States (1). One can, therefore, conclusively state that being an immigrant, especially in the United States, has its fair share of challenges, as explicated by Nabeeb’s experience. Nonetheless, the United States is one of the best places to be live in as an immigrant, considering all the economic and educational opportunities that immigrants can benefit from during their stay here. Nabeeb himself praises the education system and the availability of part-time jobs for student immigrants in the United States. Works cited Gabaccia, Donna. Today’s Immigration Policy Debates: Do We Need A Little History? November 2006. Web. 13 September 2013. Has, Hein. Migration and Development: A Theoretical Perspective. Working Paper, International Migration Institute. 2008. Web. 13 September 2013. Nabeeb, Ali. Personal Interview. 13 September 2013. National Geographic Society. Human Migration Guide. 2005. Web. 13 September 2013. Read More