Small town South Dakota is not a place you would peg as being very diverse. But tonight we went to an event that proved that stereotype wrong.
We went to a showing of Welcome to Shelbyville, a documentary about a small town in Tennessee that had an unexpected influx of immigrants and
refugees. The documentary was about how the inhabitants of the city reacted to their new neighbors.
After the video they had a panel of students, both refugees and immigrants, who discussed their experience coming to South Dakota. It was fascinating to hear their opinions about cultural assimilation verses what they called "culturation". One of the most interesting comments to me was from a young man who had moved from Africa to England and then to the United States to be with his wife. He commented that it was important for everyone to remember their culture while learning to interact with the culture they have become a part of to not offend their hosts.
I also saw a friend of mine there who I had worked with at a grocery store when I was in high school. I had no idea the young man was originally from the Congo. Just goes to show that diversity is all around us, we just have to pay attention to catch it sometimes.
We went to a showing of Welcome to Shelbyville, a documentary about a small town in Tennessee that had an unexpected influx of immigrants and
refugees. The documentary was about how the inhabitants of the city reacted to their new neighbors.
After the video they had a panel of students, both refugees and immigrants, who discussed their experience coming to South Dakota. It was fascinating to hear their opinions about cultural assimilation verses what they called "culturation". One of the most interesting comments to me was from a young man who had moved from Africa to England and then to the United States to be with his wife. He commented that it was important for everyone to remember their culture while learning to interact with the culture they have become a part of to not offend their hosts.
I also saw a friend of mine there who I had worked with at a grocery store when I was in high school. I had no idea the young man was originally from the Congo. Just goes to show that diversity is all around us, we just have to pay attention to catch it sometimes.
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