The experience of Russian immigrant in the US essay
In order to explore the shifting social contexts of the certain immigrant group that has a long and well documented history in the United States, I suggest discussing Russian Diaspora. Representatives of this immigrant group may be first of all characterized by their mixed social and cultural backgrounds. This diversity of Russian Diaspora is a result of the amount of time spent in the US, the region or country of origin, and such factors as income and level of education. Russian Diaspora includes not only ethical Russian, but Russian-speaking community that may include for instance, Ukrainians, Georgians and other nations of the former USSR. It’s important to mention that this immigrant group has a clear attachment to native language, culture and traditions.
I decided to create the fictional character that represents young generation of Russian immigrants in the US. It will be a young Russian girl Marina who works in information technology (IT) sector and has some mixed feelings about her country of origin and her current place of living. According to the instructions of this assignment, Marina will write a letter to her close friend in Moscow, Tanya. Marina is emotionally close to Tanya, so she’ll share her frank thoughts and observations of her life in the US.
‘Dear Tanya,
I hope that you’re well. I decided to write this letter in an observational manner an an attempt to share my thoughts with you regarding my experience in the US.
You know that it’s my second year in Chicago and I quite used to American way of living and thinking. Life in Russia wasn’t as hard for me as for many of my friends, but I had a chance to leave Russia because of my occupation (IT) and I decided to build a new life in a free country with a strong democratic principles. I plan to save money and send some back to my parents.
I do recall my life in Moscow and you know what? The contrasts of life in Russian and life in the United States are striking.
America is multicultural and according to a well known researcher of immigration issues Takaki (n.a.), the United States as ‘mosaic called America’. (Takaki, 2008)
Modern Russia has a mixed population too, especially in Moscow, but the prevailing culture is significantly stronger than others. The situation is different on the US soil, because ethnic minorities here are very powerful, and many of them aren’t minorities anymore (for instance, Miami is a Spanish-speaking city, as I’ve heard from my colleague). Of course, there is a need of mutual understanding among the various ethnic groups in the US society. Takaki (2008) asks ‘how can different ethnic groups work it out unless they learn about each other’s cultures, histories, and also economic situations?’ I absolutely agree with Ronald Takaki’s views. He claims that in order to improve the understanding, cooperation and co-existence the history of each group and its culture and tradition should be learned and shared by others.
People from the former USSR have a very good representation in Chicago. I should mention that this city is one of the centers of Ukrainian and Russian communities; I’ve already made a lot of friends here within these groups.
Another substantial difference that I’ve noticed immediately upon my arrival to the US is that people are smiling to you. You may compare it to the crowd in Moscow’s underground when you are surrounded by sullen faces. But on the contrary to Russian traditions, this kind of smile is polite, but it means nothing. In Russia when people smile to you they really mean it (they smile to express their feelings and it feels more sincere for me).
As for the living conditions, there is no doubt that living in Chicago is much more comfortable than in Moscow. They have lovely parks and city suggest very comfortable infrastructure and transport system. By the way, the cost of living is cheaper than in Moscow, comparing my income with expenditures. Me as many other Russian immigrants often visit Russian stores in Chicago, where we can find the products that are usually not available in American stores. In addition, in the US you may find Russian-language bookstores that serve as informal cultural centers, which organize concerts, dances, and cooking classes that give our people a chance to get together.
As for the life of our community here, I should tell you that we have various channels of communication, such as newspapers and electronic networks, and e-mail distribution lists. These are the tools that inform us about cultural events in our community. And also they feature useful advertisements for Russian-speaking lawyers, doctors, real estate agents, and tax specialists, and other service providers.
Another meeting point is the Russian Orthodox Church, which is popular among the older population. These cultural and religious activities help us to build informal social networks and they also serve as support in the period of adaptation to the life in the US.
Now let me describe my observations about the work environment. I reckon that organization of work in American companies is superior to that of our organizations. Actually I was a bit surprised by the atmosphere of respect and trust in our IT company. And you may imagine that this respect and trust stimulates my creative initiative and the desire to work. I believe I have much more opportunities for self-realization because of these beneficial conditions for working, and the effectiveness of the organization.
What I also like about American companies, is that the task of the manager is not to generate ideas, but to organize the process, resources and people for implementing the given tasks. For instance, it’s a common situation in Russian organization when employee must himself organize both the material issues of his project, resolve all problems which inevitably arise, and prepare all reports.
Additionally, in a contrast to my previous place of employment in Russia, where subordination is everything, American managers are usually open to discussion and accessible to their subordinates. I was pleasantly surprised when my chief invited me to a dinner that was held in a very friendly atmosphere.
I’ve also noticed that Americans have a very important ability that Russians clearly miss, I mean a long-term planning. It’s crucial ability for any person because it provides greater stability in life.
As for the attitudes of my colleagues, that I was able to observe at my workplace in the US company, I think that my American colleagues were impressed with my creativity, desire for perfection, and ability suggest innovative ideas.’
