The United States of America was essentially founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness through solidarity of human kind. It has been the land of immigrants and still is. The melting pot and salad bowl, are two metahors often used to describe how the different cultures blend together.? The term “melting pot” was created by Israel Zangwill in his famous play with the same name in 1908. It refers to the many different races from different nations that came to America and then melted down to form the Americans.
The ”Melting pot” can also be referred to as assimilation, multiculturalism and segregation. Multiculturalism referring to several cultures that exist in one place and relate to each other. Whereas assimilation is when the minority are expected to forget their culture in order to emerge into another. Through this segregation might develop. The salad bowl concept, however this is more open to cultural differences. Multiculturalism is a term often used to describe this way of thinking. Minorities accept and practice their own values and habits as well as adopting the common or dominant values of the majority.
For instance, a Chinese is presented as an American Chinese. In this case each race represented an ingredient and all the races together in one country are what were referred to as the salad bowl. Living in a foreign country has it’s negatives and positives aspects. This applies to me as a person because am a Ugandan living in Norway as well. It has been two years now since I came, and I have experienced and learnt a lot. Some of the good things that have happened to me; are the people I have met.
It’s always disappointing to travel to a country and be treated in a bad way, however coming to Norway was the opposite, and I really felt at home. For example I had to learn the language and the school system. The teachers gave me the motivation to learn a new language and the school curriculum was good. Even if I were sick, I never wanted to miss out school. The other positive thing was the freedom of being yourself, being able to be accepted in a society where no one knows you and do what makes you happy, is the best freedom one can ever have.
This helps one being the person that you want to be and be proud of. The freedom of speech is also positive. Not all countries let people say what they feel or think is right. Norway however is a country where everyone gets the opportunity to say what they think without discrimination of any kind as to age, skin color, sex or nationality. This is a very good because it is the voice of the people that create the country we live in. However, there are always bad tomatoes that spoil the good ones therefore nothing is perfect.
One of the challenges I faced when first came to Norway was the weather, getting used to the cold climate was so hard for me that I almost got sick. Nevertheless are some of the Norwegian people good at making one feel at home but they also mind their own business. If you do not talk to them, then no one will talk to you. I find this a bit negative because I believe people are supposed to be social and friendly. For example I live in an apartment building and I do not even know the name to my neighbor. Nor do I know if he or she is a woman or man.
In my opinion, people living next to each other should at least say greet each other and smile. There are many challenges that I have experienced but in conclusion I think living in a country where one is a minority always depends on what kind of people surround you. I believe if a person is treated in a bad way, she or he will do the same to seek revenge. If it is a child, then it will grow up with hatred and fear. So it all comes back to the people we are, because it’s who we are that makes us what we want to be.
