Navigating the American Dream: 5 Lessons from a Daughter of Russian Immigrants
Moving to a new country is a transformative experience, and for many immigrants, it involves adapting to a new culture, language, and way of life. As a daughter of Russian immigrants, my journey to the United States brought forth a load of challenges and opportunities. In this article, I will share 5 invaluable lessons I’ve learned since making the United States my home at age seven.
- Russians are coconuts; Americans are peaches 🍑 . Basically coconut cultures are the ones that place higher emphasis on deep, interpersonal connections between individuals, and less emphasis on outward, public displays of socialization: Peach (American) cultures are the opposite — higher emphasis on quick public connections being warm, but colder and restrained with deeper-ingroup socialization.
- Personal space. Russians have a totally different opinion about their own and somebody else’s space. Their “Bubble”. In the American culture the distance while communicating comprises 2–3 ft, while in the Russian culture, such a distance is considered as a sign of disrespect.
3. I am allowed to express my opinions in public settings. Russian citizens don’t stand in opposition. People do not vote in elections: ‘They’ll choose for us anyway;’ they don’t fight for their rights. In Russian schools, kids generally have the “don’t speak unless spoken to” mentality with adults. Nobody wants to hear 👂 your opinion. In the US, people are generally allowed to speak freely in public settings /online.
4. Time is money 💰, apparently. I was shocked how fast people eat in the US. “I always eat fast and go back to work ASAP!” I hear that all the time in my current workplace. Whereas whenever I visit my parents, we take our time and value our meal time and breaks. Russians and Europeans spend more time socializing during meals and absolutely do no work during their breaks.
5. 🇺🇸 Americans have a sense of empowerment. Russians have a victim complex: they believe that nothing depends on them, and by them nothing can be changed. These people, over thousands of years, have suffered multiple invasions and tyrannic government. The exhaustion has transformed into multigenerational trauma and defeat.
The journey of a daughter of Russian immigrants in the United States is a testament to the transformative power of immigration. Each lesson learned, from embracing diversity to nurturing a global perspective, has shaped my identity and contributed to a richer, more nuanced understanding of the world.
About the author: Anastasia was born in Russia and immigrated to the US at age seven. She enjoys reading romance and thrillers.
