Still Stands out during Cultural Gatherings among Africans
As mentioned, African immigrants have strong ties to their communities back home in Africa. Hence, from time to time, they will travel back to their home country, as a family for the festive seasons and cultural gatherings.
The African immigrant kid will still be the odd one out from a gathering of other African kids in Africa. With their continued stay in America and as they adapt to their new life, they will have picked up while dropping a thing or two.
- While they will probably wear their African names and physical characteristics for the rest of their lives, their accent may have changed along the way and to Africans back home, come off as foreign.
- Hell, they might even be made to feel like they have no right to their names because they pronounce it funny. Often the adult relatives may correct them on how they pronounce their names as they introduce themselves.
- The cultural limitations of some African immigrant kids may be too obvious to ignore. First, they might not appreciate the relevance of tribal affiliations and customs. They may have a hint of that popular hogwash that Africa, one large country, made up homogenous people.
- The African immigrant kids may come off as disrespectful to adults in Africa simply because they have learned to be assertive and speak their mind. Greetings to the immigrant kids might be something you only do to people, you know, while in Africa, you are expected to greet anybody you come across.
- There is also the notion that they must be rich, given they live in the ‘land of opportunities.’ While in reality, the immigrants might be living in the less affluent neighborhoods of the US and occupying the less lucrative jobs in the employment market. In Africa, they are expected to be rich, yet while in America, the expectation is that they can’t afford much.
The African immigrants are caught in-between two worlds, each having contradicting expectations. They find themselves not American enough while in the US, and too changed to pass off as a regular African while in Africa.
How African Immigrants create little Africa in America to keep their Identity and Culture alive
