Alawia
Things fall in place sometimes, it’s amazing. But I guess my message would be you have to go out there and find these things. It’s truly the land of opportunity, but opportunity doesn’t knock on your door, you have to go find it. And you have to be open, I think. You hope that you will meet someone who’s open from the other side. But even if you don’t, I would say people shouldn’t give up from the first time. It’s bad to stereotype. If you have one bad experience, you learn from it. But you keep going. After living here for so many years, and in Sudan and in England, people are people. You’re going to find the good ones, you’re going to find… even in your own culture, even in your own relatives. So, I would say don’t think that other cultures, because they are different,  …are bad.  It’s just a different culture. Learn something about it. Find the good people who will help you and I’m sure you will add to their lives some way or another. 

Alma
Americans are really good people. Good nation with good heart. I can say that they are. Because of so many different cultures, so many different people, they are a nation who can understand everybody else, every other culture. If you say he’s an Indian – “Oh yeah, he’s an Indian,” they will respect his culture and everything. They would go to Indian restaurant and try their foods. I don’t have any advice; just let people to come to America. 

Belgica
To people that already live here?  To try hard to understand that we have changed, even if we don’t want it.  We have changed so much because we’re living here.  And to have more patience with the people that have just arrived.  They might have arrived with so much different outlook at life.  They might still have a lot of habits from their culture that they all knew, so they don’t have all the concepts from this culture.  They only have seen movies.  And we have to be more patient if we want to help them. 

I want to keep this room in my house half Indian and half Spanish. To show the blend that we have.  And I’m very sure, even though my grandparents emphasised that I’m a Spaniard only.  But I don’t believe that.  I believe that I definitely have to have Indian blood.  I’m very sure.  After I learned my history, history itself in Ecuador, I’m sure that I have some Indian blood.  But it is only when you come to this country that you know what it’s like, discrimination.  When you’re in your own country, you grow up as white, discriminating the Indians, but then when you come here, then you’re the Indian.  That’s when you learn. That’s when I learned to respect and to have this compassion and understanding for the Indians.  And then I was the Indian, and that’s when I say, “Oh that’s what this is all about!”   

Eugenia
Now I know my kids will be taking it for granted too. They already do. But we went through so much trouble to get to the point where we are now, because we started from scratch. So we appreciate everything we have much. But advisors really helped. Somebody told me about the college and if that person hadn’t told me about the college I wouldn’t be where I am right now.  At the beginning we thought money’s more valuable but no, now it’s experience.  Looking back, it’s not the pennies that we found in the street, it’s the suggestions that really made the difference.

If I were to do it all over again, I would leave most of the stuff that we packed behind and bring just the memories. That what I tell everybody. The memories is what you cannot replace. You can buy the clothes, you can buy the sneakers. You can buy pillows. But the memories, bring the memories. For example, I wish, my Mom all her life she kept all the pictures that I made, all the artwork.  All my homework from day care and up. It would
be so nice to show my daughter now, “Look, when I was your age this was my writing.” 

Fannaram
I think, for example, if we come here we don’t know nothing. We are ignorant here. We don’t know how it’s going on, the life. So, if we can find someone who can help us to… I don’t know, if you have any problem. I have my teacher, my English teacher; she is one of my friends. She says if I have any kind of problem I can ask her. Sometimes, if I feel bad, I want to talk to someone, I just call her, we just talk together, she can give me some advice. So, if we can have people like her, who can help you to be familiar to the environment, the place you are, it will be really good.  

Kamini
My impression is that Americans are very fearful  – a lot, not all – but in the communities I’ve lived. It’s almost like, I don’t know if it’s fear or if they just don’t know what to say to someone who looks different. It’s almost like they, sometimes they think people who look different from them are different from them.  It’s sort of weird. Once you talk to them and they get to know you they realize they’re not that different. So I think that, to some extent, it’s that fear, perhaps, of approaching somebody who’s different.   

People need to be a bit more adventurous in how they approach people and who they approach. It’s fun! I think when people learn about other people’s ways, it’s interesting and it’s fun.  I have students who haven’t been to Philadelphia or D.C.! That’s only two hours away! And that’s the nation’s capital. I don’t get it. So, they need to be more adventurous.

Samia
You cut open any person, it’s the same blood that flows; it’s not different at all.  It’s just where you were born and how you were, that’s make things a little different.  I was born to Muslim parents and that’s what I was brought up and that’s what I think is right for me and what I’m going to continue.  And you were born in whatever religion of your parents and if you chose to stay in that…. You just need to take the time to know that person …you needn’t be afraid of that person.  And walk a mile in their shoe.  That’s when you come to know she feels the same pains and the same happiness that anybody else does.  It’s just the fear of the unknown, so open up and come closer to each other, either one-on-one or just read up on them if you’re not comfortable talking to a person. 

Sarla
Stand up if somebody’s trying to oppress you, shout at you, put you down, make you feel as you are not important.  You need to speak up right away.  You don’t have to fight, but just speak up in the dissent of… say “What you said or did, I didn’t like it.”   

Sirkka-Liisa
I think it would be a really nice, complimentary preparation for people before they met someone from another country, to use whatever means they can get to find out the minimal information about that country.  Whether there’s a president or king, what language, what political conflicts might be going on to avoid jumping in there and saying something silly.  Or to avoid treating the adult that they meet, like, “You have to teach me one word of your language,” and then they spend the whole evening repeating it and then forget it in the end anyway because it didn’t mean that much to them. 

We very easily get the impression that [English] is all that counts and that our language and our culture is insignificant.  It may be insignificant in the world at the moment, but it’s never insignificant to us.  This is all we know and love.  This is how we grew up. Our families are there. 

Susan
I think what is great about America is really the diversity and the tolerance. I think I probably have more of that here growing up the way I did than if I had stayed in Vancouver or if I’d stayed in Victoria. I know a lot more people from different backgrounds than probably my sisters or brother does. I’m much more tolerant of the differences. A lot of things to me I see differences between people and I probably think those differences are great rather than compare them unfavorably with what I’m used to. I think that’s why I like to look at a lot the different cultures. 

If there were any doubts that I thought we were American or Canadian, certainly it came out at 9/11.  You just had typically the reactions of an American. It was just outrageous what they did to OUR country, OUR people. So that was definitely… I’m sure we felt American even long before that. And a lot of times people realize when they go back to visit their family, they realize this is nice but I could never live here again, my home is in the U.S., these people are my people. What makes America so great from my perspective is just the absolute diversity and the fact that as a nation you celebrate and you encourage and you welcome the diversity. It’s not something you put up with. It’s part of what makes the country great. 

Tirzah
…It seems like there are so many folks here in this state from other countries but still it seems like Americans don’t really go out of their way to expose themselves to those cultures. I mean, all the multi-cultural events that are around here, you would think…  Just getting more exposure, asking more questions, not being afraid to ask dumb questions. I think that people who come from other countries, want people to know about them and know the things that are important to them, so asking questions is okay. Don’t be afraid of me. Don’t be afraid of me and the perspective that I bring. Don’t be afraid of my food!  I guess that’s the biggest thing. 

Rosemary
I know that there’s a number of people who don’t want to know anything, but there are those Americans who want to know more about other people’s culture. Most Africans are very – they are good people – good at heart – And we like other cultures also, so we want them to accept us.  For us it’s not rude for anybody to come and say hello to you, it’s not. Here maybe someone will say, “I don’t even know you who you are.” So how are you supposed to know the person? You go and say hello, you show interest. People know how to do that, they’ll look at you and say this is a beautiful outfit and that begins a conversation. It’s just, African people are like any other people except they are more accepting, more down to earth and, … I think I’m being selfish here. It may not be true in all cases, but just like we have big, big families. We like family. We like people.

Carolyn
Learn about the culture and be willing to offer help and that sort of thing. But I think when you’re overt about it, you almost feel, as the person on the receiving end, that someone’s being obsequious. They’re going a bit over the top. “Oh you poor thing, you don’t understand our ways.” Don’t be obvious about it. You know, Americans pride themselves on being neighborly: be neighborly.  Just be neighborly.  They just want to be your neighbor, or they’ve just come here to be part of the community. They don’t want to necessarily be that different. They’ve come to be part of the community, so be a neighbor. Mr. Rogers’ advice for the world!