Quote:
Originally Posted by edale
Some amount of assimilation is a good thing, I think. No one should be forced to lose who they are in order to blend in, but if you move to a foreign country, you should try to assimilate a bit. Imagine an American moving to Shanghai and refusing to learn Mandarin, only eating American foods, asking for forks at restaurants, only socializing with other Americans, etc. That would be someone refusing to assimilate to Chinese culture, and would fit in with your all caps rejection of assimilation, no? Would you look favorably on someone like that, or say they need to make an effort to adapt to the customs and culture of their new home?
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Learning/becoming fluent in a language, learning what's considered polite/rude in a culture, etc., all of that, I don't necessarily equate with full assimilation. Full conformity, wanting to "pass," having no accent at all... what's the point of it?
My parents are Filipino immigrants. They never taught me or my sister to believe in Santa Claus. Why should they? They themselves were never raised believing in Santa Claus. Am I less of a person because of that? Hell no. In fact, I felt it made me a little more "in the know." I knew who/what Santa Claus was, I knew he was a "tradition," I knew he didn't give gifts to kids, my parents gave my sister and me presents on X-mas, I just didn't "believe" in him. My mom told me not to mention it to my classmates or friends that Santa Claus didn't exist (haha my mom also made sure to tell me not to mention the words "puto" or "mamon" to my Mexican classmates). It only came up once in class, during 2nd grade, and I got uncomfortable; it was like I was the only closet atheist in a room full of Evangelicals.
Classmates: "So, 'sopas,' did you write a letter to Santa?"
Me: "No."
Classmates: "No??"
Me: "Um, not yet."
Classmates: "Well Christmas is coming soon, you should write a letter to Santa..."
Me: "Can we change the subject??"
I'm actually glad I was never raised to believe in Santa Claus.