At the end of every year, Spotify provides its consumers with an “End of the Year Wrap.” They show what artists, podcasts, songs, etc., were consumed the most. For podcasters, Spotify provides similar information about their podcast if that is where you choose to host. I host my podcast on Spotify. So when my wrap was released, I was surprised. The episode that was listened to the most was Learning to Unlearn Culture Norms in a New Country with Mariana – Brazil (English).
The episode release in February of 2023, almost a year ago, and I want to share about it today. I want to share about it because I feel like it is a concept that a lot of immigrants have to go through but isn’t talked about, which involves unlearning some of their cultural norms once they are living in the United States. Of course, many traditions, values, beliefs, etc., are important and immigrants keep; however, immigrants undergo a lot of adaptation to the American culture.
Growing up in Brazil
Mariana grew up in SÃo Paulo, Brazil. She compares it to New York City in terms of size and similarities. Stating they deal with the same issues that other big cities experience. She didn’t grow up in a wealthy family. But she had a good childhood regardless of the challenges that she and her family faced. By the time she was fourteen or fifteen, Mariana envisioned herself living in the United States.
Different family members would come and go, and even friends, and she told herself that she wanted to live that life. So, from that point forward, she said, everything she did was with the purpose of landing in the United States.
Moving to the United States
In 2016, there was an opportunity for a position in the United States within the company where Mariana worked. She applied and got the position! From the time she applied to the time she and her family (husband, daughter, and their dog) moved, everything took about four months. A ton of paperwork, including visa approvals, made it four months full of anxiety with the anticipation of everything, she says.
Mariana had visited the United States for business trips before, but this time it was to stay. And they landed in Raleigh, North Carolina. She had to figure out where to live, how to commute to work, and where her daughter would go to school. She mentions that even grocery shopping was different in the US than back home.
Learning to Unlearn Cultural Norms
One of the biggest adjustments Mariana had to make was at work when she moved to the United States. She explains how, in the Latino culture, we are very warm and welcoming, and we greet each other with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. In her first week of work in the US, she greeted a co-worker with a huge hug, and the co-worker just stood there frozen, unsure of what to do.
Mariana says she learned she had to change how she behaved – like not hugging everyone and respecting that culture. But it was weird for her to go back home to Brazil, hug and kiss everyone, and then come back to the US and not do that. It was an adjustment, for sure.
In Conclusion
Different cultures do things differently, and in a melting pot like the United States, we have the privilege of learning about different cultures without going very far. If you have a family member, colleague, or friend who is of a different culture – ask them about it and learn some of their differences. It’s truly remarkable to learn about where people are from.
If you’re an immigrant, I’d love to hear what one thing you had to unlearn when you moved to the United States. Let me know in the comments.
With Love, Heidy
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