International Student Interview - Essay Example

International adult interview An interview with a Kenyan studying in the USA has revealed that there are various similarities in the Kenyan and the US culture, although basically the cultures differ to a larger extent. The most common aspect of both the American and the Kenyan culture is the informal and friendly social life culture of interaction, where people in both countries approach one another informally and introduces themselves, while tending to fit-in easily even when they are with strangers. This common culture makes it easy for the Kenyan students or the Kenyan population migrating into the USA to adapt easily in the country. The other similarity in the cultures of both countries is the mish-mash cultural diversity, where American culture comprises of cultural practices from different nationalities and ethnic groups, since America is an immigrant country, while the Kenyan culture comprises of a mixture of tribal cultures and cultures from different nationalities too. Nevertheless, while the American language culture is characterized by English as the predominant language, the Kenyan language culture is multilingual, comprising of 42 different spoken languages, in addition to English and Swahili which are the official Kenyan languages. The youth culture is another notable area that both the USA and Kenya shares a similarity. Despite the fact that Kenya is by way, too far to develop its economy to the level of the American economy, the advancement in education and technology in Kenya has been great especially in the last two decades. Consequently, the youths in Kenya are able to access the social media and other globally interactive platforms where the people share information and cultures internationally. As a result, the Kenyan youths have adapted a high percentage of the western culture, and most especially the American culture, such that the American youths are likely to feel at home while in Kenya. However, there are many aspects in which the culture of the USA and that of Kenya vary. Firstly, the family culture in the USA and in Kenya are very different, considering the fact that in USA, the family unit is basically the nuclear family, with the extended family not often living together. On the other hand, the Kenyan culture comprises of the extended family living together in the same homestead. Additionally, the family cultures in both countries vary in size, with the size of the nuclear family in Kenya being relatively bigger than that in the USA, having on average 2-4 children and 4-7 children respectively. Parenting is yet another aspect that differentiates the American and the Kenyan family culture, with the parenting in America being characterized by liberality that demonstrates a higher level of freedom for the children. On the other hand, the Kenyan culture of parenting is strict and depicts a high level of parental control over children. The work culture also presents another striking difference in the cultures of Kenya and America. While it is commonplace to find an individual working for more than one job in the USA, it is hardly possible to find a person working for more than one job in Kenya. Further, while time in America is treated as a very special commodity, making lateness uncommon, it is different with the Kenyan culture, where people are likely to arrive late in any event. Despite the differences in the family culture in both countries, religious diversity depicts high commonality, with both countries having the freedom of religion, where Christianity, Catholicism and Islam are the major religions in that order. The other aspect that compares both the USA and Kenya is that; both countries are immigrant countries which harbor a large population of foreign nationals from different countries. While the USA has a sizeable immigrant population that comprises of almost each country in the world, Kenya is a strategic destinations for immigrants from most of the troubled countries in Africa such as Somalia, South Sudan, Rwanda and Congo. Nevertheless, while the USA is able to cater for the needs of the immigrants relatively well, Kenya is grappling with the problem of assisting the immigrants, considering that it is not a well-developed country and its economy is not productive enough to meet both the needs of the locals and the immigrants. In this respect, the welfare situation of the two countries is quite different, with the USA being able to offer a much better welfare system to its population, compared to Kenya. While the elderly and the dependent senior citizens in USA have substantial support from the welfare systems such as the Medicaid and support to the poor and the elderly, the Kenyan situation is much different. Most of the welfare services in Kenya are provided by the Non-Governmental Organizations from the developed countries such as the USAID and the UKAID. Freedom however is a characteristic that seems to compare both Kenya and the USA, considering that both countries have elaborate constitutional freedoms that make the two countries the best target for the immigrants from their respective regions. However, while in America racism is a problem that most immigrants and the black population has to be weary of, the situation is different in Kenya where the predominant population is black, and the white population either living or visiting the country is highly respected. Inequality nevertheless is a common characteristic in both countries, although the nature of the inequality differs in its traits. While the USA has one major inequality that takes the form of race and wealth inequality, the Kenyan form of inequality is solely that of the wealth. However, it is important to observe that there is a major gap between the rich and the poor in the two countries, with the poor being the majority and the rich being fewer. Despite this commonality, the wealth inequality gap in Kenya is much wider, since there are only few rich and middle class citizens compared to the poor ones, while the USA has a high percentage of the middle class population. The major aspect that came out strongly from the interview though, is the Kenyan perspective that USA is a much better country by all standards, and Kenyans would feel privileged to get an opportunity to study, work or live in America. This is because; the education system in America is much comprehensive and learner-focused, thus capable of developing the learners into holistically capable individuals in different facets of life. This is different from the Kenyan system which is more academic and less practical, leaving the learners with a higher practical skills gap. In addition, the standards of living in the USA are better compared to the Kenyan standards, especially due to the fact that there is good pay for different jobs in America compared to Kenya. Therefore, Kenyans living and working in America have a much better life in terms of living standards than their locally-based Kenyan counterparts. The other perception of Kenyans towards the USA is that of a favorable ally, considering the fact that the USA has been supportive of Kenya for the longest time in history, and the two countries still continue to partner in many issues, especially regarding counterterrorism initiatives. Nevertheless, there is a growing feeling that the historically cordial relations between these two nations has been waning over time, due to the growing tension of terrorism that has seen the USA issue travel advisories to its citizens, against visiting Kenya on several occasions. The accessibility to essential services such as education, medical, social-welfare and technological services is higher in the USA than in Kenya. Most significant however, is the striking fact that politics in America has recently become more divisive and counterproductive as has always been the case in Kenya. The Kenyan perspective that the American politics is much advanced and liberal has been changing of late, especially after the last general elections in America, which seemed to divide the country down the middle. Read More