what we are loosing

Moving to a new country it is not only a meeting of new people and a knowing of new interesting places and traditions, it is also a loss of some ways of one’s own culture and life, a loss of some habits and dear things. In a beginning, everything is attractive. It is interesting to taste new food you have never tried before and to look around at buildings with the different architecture and at people speaking different languages. It is so exciting to find something new, differences and similarities in cultures of people from different parts of the world, new traditions and customs. The USA is one of the most attractive countries in the world with great opportunity. People come here from all parts of the world with similar wishes for a bright and happy future. And of course, no one thinks about any losses, such as traditions, friends and family, which at first may seem small and not very serious, but can bring sadness, melancholy and even feeling of inferiority later on.

My family is the one important part of me I have lost since I moved to the U.S. My last five years at home I lived separate from my parents. I became a student and moved to another city, but a couple times in every month I went back to visit my parents. I liked to seat with my sister and mom in the kitchen, to cook some food together, and to talk about everything. My father didn’t really like to listen to our talks and usually left after dinner to do something else. I liked to spend time with my sister. We are very similar in taste, in understanding of things and in characters. She is the best person for a talk and fun. We grew up together and were always very close to each other. Therefore, I lost my sister and best friend. It is like a loss of part of oneself, like a gap or like an empty place in a room, which bothers and is irreplaceable.

Friends and communication are the second and big part of my life I have also lost. Good friends are our second family. I think it’s great when people have friends, which can understand and help them. For me the best way to communicate with people is to talk face-to-face. But there is a problem with language. it is so bad when you have a lot to say, but cannot explain because of a language barrier. Often, when I have an idea in my head or I want to share my opinion, or just to joke I prefer to be silent because I cannot find the right words or keep my own style in communication. But without conversation, it is not a real friendship.

When people think about moving to a new country, of course no one thinks about any losses of culture. I like culture of my homeland, especially holidays and celebrations, but without some of them, I feel lost. There are many holidays in the U.S. which are celebrated in my country also, even with similar traditions. But also there are many holidays which I can’t celebrate here in the same way like back home. For example, Christmas is the best day to see family and spend time at home with a big meal and warm talks, like I used to do. One more holiday from Belorussian culture I lost is Shrovetide. It is celebrated a week before Lent, seven week before Easter. It’s also called send-off of winter. At that day in every city organizes a big fair. People spend time together outside of houses, eat pancakes and play different games. In the end of the day a big straw doll is burnt. It symbolizes the end of the winter and the beginning of Lent. It is very interesting and funny holiday. I liked to spend this day with my friends, but now I can just cook and eat pancakes at home.

All in all, any kind of change in life brings a lot of achievements and losses, as a result moving to the US gained me a lot of happiness and success which I will achieve more in my future life by working hard and being prospers, and as we all know in life there are some losses for all of us. By moving to the US, I miss some habits in my daily life structure. For example, I lost some customs and important parts of my culture, which is the hardest part for me to adjust. As I experienced, that kind of losses happens to everyone who dares to immigrate to a new country. In addition, it doesn’t matter how many interesting places you visit, how many new people with different culture and lifestyle you meet or what country you move to. Ultimately, you will miss some of things which you were born and grew up with.