Living between two cultures

Living between two cultures
Everyone has their own culture, and everyone respects their own culture. But what happens if one has to live between two cultures? It might seem easy, but it’s not easy at all. Most people find themselves living between two cultures when they immigrate to another country. Then they belong to their own culture and the new culture which belongs to the country they live in.
There are lots of advantages as there are disadvantages. First of all, when you first arrive in the new country, their culture might be odd for you because you may not be used to it. However you’re expected to blend in as soon as possible, because their culture is the norm there. It varies how easily you could get used to the new culture. It depends on how accepting you are and how different it is from your own culture. The more different it is the harder it is to get used to it.
However the people from the other culture will also have to accept the fact that you are not as used to their culture as they might think. You might do something which is normal in your culture, but unpleasant in the other culture. For example, if you are invited to dinner and after you have eaten food, you belch. This might be the most pleasant thing in your culture. It shows that you enjoyed the food. However in the new culture it is impolite. The people who invited you to dinner might be stunned for a while because they are not used to it. But then again, as I mentioned earlier they will have to be as accepting as you are.
Although I mentioned that you have to be accepting, the biggest problem has always been communication. Because of lack of communication you might judge other people without even knowing them. Half of this problem is simply solved by learning the language of the new country. The other half is solved by communicating across of cultures. Talk, learn, accept the differences and be positive.
Once you learn about the other culture you have even more knowledge. Knowledge is gold. If you are in fact living between two cultures you learn about many new things. You learn a new language, you get meet and become friends with new people.
Living between two cultures might be fun as it might be challenging it times. One of the biggest challenges might be which culture you want to take part in at certain times. It does not mean choosing one culture over another, but sometimes you are expected to take part in maybe an event or celebration. You might be divided. For example, if you live in an Indian culture, you’re expected by your family to visit the temple and pray on your birthday. However your friends from the western culture might expect you to party with them. You might be puzzled and not sure of what you should do. Would you disappoint you friends by visiting the temple and spend the day with your family? Or would you disappoint your family by spending the day with your friends? There is no answer to this question; moreover this is something you should decide for yourself. You will have to make some invisible boundaries of what you value more in both of the cultures.
One of the biggest advantages might be that once you manage to live between two cultures, you might be even more accepting of change. Not everyone can accept change, even if it might be in their neighbourhood or the society. We may not always like change and new things, but experiencing it is a good thing. The key is to be open-minded, patient and accept all the challenges on the way.