Now What?!

 You've Arrived. Now What?

    Assimilation & Acculturation

    
    I'd like to take a look into what the process is like for new immigrants when entering a new country when it comes to joining the new culture. There are quite a few words that can describe this process, such as integration, assimilation, and acculturation. I find this interesting because like different words, every immigration journey is quite different and its own story. Personally, I believe that "integrated" feels like you're more or less riding the same wave as the culture. You can speak the language, you know some slang, local idioms, and have made a good group of friends and no longer feel like an outsider looking in. Let's take a look at how long this process can take for some. 

    According to Leslie Farnsworth, "If you move to a place that speaks the same or a similar language as you do, has the same dominant race as your own, and has a similar culture to your native culture, you will integrate more easily and more quickly. Integration could take you only a handful of years.
However, if you enter a country without these advantages and need to work to learn the language and culture and need to integrate across racial lines, you will need considerably longer to feel integrated. This type of integration effort is difficult and, per my research subjects, perhaps impossible. None of the people with whom I’ve spoken considered themselves integrated, including the people who’d spent decades in their current country (and no longer felt at home in their native country, either).
Integration has a less clearly demarcated end point—“aha, I am integrated!’’—the longer you spend somewhere." Source

Source

    Assimilation is extremely important for individuals to succeed when entering a new country. This can extend to many things such as income, social status, and understanding of the culture so that one can "play the game correctly" so to speak. According to the Manhattan Institute, "Properly understood, assimilation benefits both natives and newcomers. By taking in or being absorbed into the cultural tradition of the native population, newcomers are better able to communicate and integrate into society and workplaces, as well as make better use of public services. For example, learning the language of a host community enables immigrants to form personal and professional relationships that will help them and their families live happier and more prosperous lives. Natives benefit from these new friendships and associations, too. They may be more open and helpful to immigrants who show an interest in assimilation, and everyone in the country may be better off with the increased economic activity and positive social and civic relationships." Source It is important to not seek to deeply for a specific number to pinpoint how long assimilation can take. This is for two major reasons, the first being that due to historical events, there have been many "mass assimilation" events where large groups were forced to leave their home country. Secondly, each and every journey is different and unique, so the timeline for someone else could be completely different than your own. It could even come down to pausing to run back inside to get a different t-shirt, which leads to standing next to and meeting someone new walking down the street who sparks conversation by complimenting your outfit!

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    How does one assimilate? Assimilation often occurs without an individual even knowing it, doing something else, or making other plans. For example, a single parent can move to a new country so that their child can have the best education opportunity possible. While doing so, however, they meet someone, fall in love, and subsequently get married. Marriage was not the original intent, but along the way this assimilation of culture happened by being there and joining in a part of the culture. Assimilation can often times lead to upward mobility, which helps immigrants successfully navigate the new world where they have begun a new chapter of life. 

   

    In conclusion, although there are rarely specific timeline numbers, I would like to leave you with the FIVE major benchmarks for potential assimilation.

- Citizenship

- Homeownership

- Language Proficiency

- Job Status

- Increasing Income