Sunday 27 February 2011

When people move to another country, some of them decide to follow the customs of the new country


When people move to another country, some of them decide to follow the customs of the new country. Others prefer to keep their own customs. Compare these two choices. Which one do you prefer?

In recent years, many people have moved to other countries for living, working and studying. When living abroad, some people still maintain their country’s customs and speak their mother tongue. Others prefer to adapt to the host country’s customs. After considering both sides, I believe following the new customs is a better option as it will help us adjust to the new society.

For those who want to keep their own custom, perhaps the strongest reason is that they are afraid of losing their own country’s traditions. It means that by following the local custom which may be completely different, people may forget their country’s culture. For example, my uncle moved to Britain to live with his son, and felt shock that his grand children could not speak Vietnamese and knew nothing about Vietnam. Therefore, he refused to speak English and follow Britain’s custom. “Tradition is part of who we are and it is our responsibility to preserve it,” he said. It seems to me that there are more old people keeping their own tradition than the young, as they have followed those customs for a long time.

However, in my opinion, in order to adjust to the new society, we should follow the local’s custom. By learning the new country’s custom, people can avoid many problems.  For instance, body language causes some troubles as its meaning varies from one country to another. Unlike in Western countries, in Vietnam, hugging and kissing in public places are considered extremely impolite. Another example is that in America, making eye contacts when talking is a sign of respect, while in Japan, this is thought of as rude and disrespectful. If visitors do not follow the host country’s customs, they are likely to be misunderstood by local people. Therefore, it is extremely important to follow the customs of the new country.In addition, people can still maintain their traditional customs at the same time they adapt to the new ones. Some of my friends, who are studying in America, celebrate the New Year Eve with local people on 1st January, and a few months later, they organize a Lunar New Year party and give each other the lucky money (which is one of Vietnam traditions.)

  In conclusion, it seems to me that there are no reasons why we should not follow the host country’s customs as we could gain a lot of advantages from it.

No comments:

Post a Comment