Assimilation
Tuyen Bui

Immigrants migrate from all over the world to new lands, with different objectives, as they embrace a new life through assimilation. Assimilation occurs when one conforms to the dominant group or culture in a certain society. Since immigrants are very limited to what they can do in their new community due to factors such as language barriers, custom and cultural differences and even variations between morals and values, the immigrants learn to adjust their lifestyle to that of the dominant culture. An example of variations between cultural values is that of how the Vietnamese view their families, in comparison to that of Americans. Vietnamese people encourage close knit families and bonding together as one, as opposed to Americans who value individualism. Many immigrants endure this transition as they settle in their new homeland due to culture shock and the inability to navigate through society. This causes them to adapt to a new way of living, whether they want to or not. One may think that they can choose to assimilate; however, that is incorrect. This process leaves no room to decide because eventually, all immigrants assimilate to the dominant group in which they live. As a result, this causes the immigrants to lose their culture, forget their roots and traditions and the generations to come have no foundation of their heritage.

Being a first generation Vietnamese-American, I witness these results. As I touch base with my culture and trace my familys history to the core of our roots, I embark upon new discoveries which lightens the path to my understanding and leads me through the exploration of where I come from. Both of my parents, as well as my grandparents, resided in Vung Tau, Vietnam. In 1975, they fled to escape war and Communism with hopes of immigrating to America. Their journey as boat people led them to take refuge in neighboring countries of Indonesia and Malaysia for a year. As they lived in these countries, they had to adjust to new customs. For example, they had to live in small huts surrounded by numerous other refugees and survived by eating rice and beans out of coconut shells. They struggled to learn the language and put forth their efforts to try and interact with the locals. Over the course of that year, they gradually picked up on a few words and phrases and learned to be optimistic about their new lifestyle. Though they missed home and longed to return to their mother country, they felt secure because they were away from Vietnam and were ensured an improved lifestyle, given that they would not return to Vietnam. It also was a step closer to reaching the Promised Land they all dreamt of, a home in the United States.

However, the downside of living in a new environment, bounded by nothing familiar, they eventually forgot about life in Vung Tau and the ways of the Vietnamese people. Since my grandparents and parents left behind the only things they ever knew, including their home and their childhood, they started to forget their roots and traditions. Thus, the process of assimilation began to occur. Being immigrants to Indonesia and Malaysia with no home to return to and no establishment to begin a new life, my parents and grandparents had to adapt to the dominant cultures in both countries. They felt this was the only choice because there was a chance they could live here for years to come. This progression is that of assimilation because they had to conform to the dominant groups societal norms of living. Though they were in different countries, far from America, the assimilation process was the same. As being Vietnamese slowly faded from their lifestyles, the foundation of their heritage for the next generation became weaker.

As a part of the next generation, it was unfortunate that I knew nothing more about my background, than what the history books wrote. When growing up, my parents never mentioned anything of their past and their journey to America. Therefore, I wanted to go more in depth into my familys history and explore what it is that my elders had to go through. I began to question my parents about their journey to America. Though they settled here in the States 31 years ago in 1976, the memories and stories of their journey they carry with them are still vivid. I questioned my father about whether or not there was a culture shock, and how he dealt with this. He replied:

Yes. When I came here, I spoke no English. I could not understand the people here and communicating with them was very difficult. I did not know how to drive a car, so I could not drive to the Vietnamese store to buy food. I didnt even know my way around for a long time because I didnt know any street names. I had to eat American food all the time and I did not like it. Eventually, I went to school and started to learn English which made life a little easier I had no choice but to learn the language and get used to the food until I could speak fluently and drive a car. A lot of times I felt scared and alone.

Through his words and descriptions, I could feel the emotions he felt when he first arrived in America. His depiction of the adjustment process he went through proves that he immediately had to assimilate at a time in which he was too afraid to do so. He said, I had no choice but to learn the language and get used to the food, stating he had no alternative to turn to, causing him to conform to the main culture. Thus, he naturally assimilated in order to survive.

As I continue to question my parents about the assimilation process, I asked if they were afraid of losing their culture. Through my mothers reply, she mentioned that she feels as though she has already lost the main connection to being Vietnamese because she is more used to the American way of life. She also says that, I am afraid my children will become too used to it and forget about their Vietnamese heritage. This is my biggest fear. I always encourage them to speak Vietnamese at home. Speaking more English than Vietnamese in itself is a break of tradition because, in a Vietnamese household, it is considered rude and disrespectful if a child or younger sibling speaks English to their elders.

Over the 31 years that my mother has lived here, she assimilated to the American culture, gaining knowledge and a new perspective in life. However, the cost of this was that the connection between her and the Vietnamese culture broke, causing her to forget her roots. At the end of the conversation, her eyes filled with tears as she admitted to having very vague to no memory of her home back in Vietnam. She states, Con , my heart is filled with sorrow. It hurts me to admit that I have lost my memories of my childhood in Vung Tau. As much as I want to be able to reminisce on the early days of my life, I just cant. Her memory only serves her that far back into her past because fleeing in part of the thousands of boat people, facing the vast ocean with no promise for the future, was quite an intense experience. Also, as she fled from Vietnam, she did not take any pictures or physical memoir along with her because of the rush and immediacy of escaping. Being an immigrant, my mother naturally assimilated because she was submerged into a culture in which conforming to its heritage and lifestyle was the only way she would survive.

This resulted in a ripple effect on my siblings and myself, for we suffered the consequences of this conformity. Now, my siblings and I barely have any foundation of our own heritage because we have lost the main tie which connects our Vietnamese life to our American life. My siblings and I realize the weak foundation we have to our heritage. The older, more mature we become, we learn that the more American we are, the farther away we are pushing our Vietnamese heritage. Even for those of us who are not immigrants, but rather legal Vietnamese-American citizens, (whether we be natural born or a permanent residence with a permit like a green card which many of our parents have), we are forced to assimilate. The more engaged we are with societal norms such as speaking the language fluently, dress according to the conventions, celebrating American holidays, and even being involved in sport activities such as foot ball, the less room there is for us to allow our heritage to be a part of our lives. Our lives are dominated by the American culture because we face it on a day to day basis.

Being American is something we cannot avoid. As much as we want to continue to keep our culture prominent in our lives, the American lifestyle will always have the greater influence. Thus, just like our parents, we are constantly assimilating to the dominant culture. In turn, we are forgetting about our roots and the Vietnamese traditions. The continuance of these practices will only weaken our foundation of our identity of being Vietnamese.

Assimilation causes one to lose his or her culture, roots and traditions, as well as weaken the foundation of the heritage for the next generation. Every immigrant suffers this loss sometime or another. The ripple affects in which it causes are also unfortunate. However, one may not entirely lose touch with their mother land and the heritage they carried with them to their new homes because heritage and culture can still play a role in their lives through oral history. The events can be recorded through stories and can serve as a source in which the generations to follow can keep in touch with their heritage.

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