Adapting to a new culture is a painful but exciting experience. I had first such experience when I entered university after completing my formal education in non-english medium. First exposure to english medium education and interaction with students from all over India and a few Asian, Middle East and African countries was quite challenging but a great learning experience. I found my student colleauges forming close linguistic groups and most preferring not to interact informally with other students. As per my observation, the most linguistic fanatics were Bengalis and Tamils and it was impossible to befriend them. I realized that this was the breeding ground for all those linguistic divisions existing in India. There were never any attempt by authorities to break these divisions. Despite these difficulties, I adapted beautifully in this culture and gained mastery over the language to a point where once my American friend commented whether I was native to U.S. or England.
Today I am again in a similar situation and facing similar cultural challenges in my adopted country. When I roll my eyes around in a subway train, I find people from all over the world, speaking different languages and wearing different dresses. But Canadian authorities are different from Indians. Canadians want their society and country to be successful and don’t want such divisions to arise. They have several such programs to integrate new immigrants so that cultural challenges are minimized.
I am still in learning mode and would like to invite readers who have undergone such cultural adaptation process to share their exciting experiences to benefit novices like me.
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