why do immigrants want to follow their own culture more

I’m in Australia and I'm Irish I don’t know what I do that is particularly an exclusively Irish thing that no Australian would do. I don’t play Gaelic football or Hurling not because I want to fit in with the Australian or because I don’t want to hang out with Irish people but because I prefer to play other sports. I listen to Irish music occasionally but not very often which might be unusual for an Australian to do but I don’t listen to it enough really for that to be true. I like being Irish and wouldn’t want to be anything else but I can’t think of many things that we do that would be that alien over here as the cultures are quite similar really.

My brother on the other hand lives in China and there are quite striking cultural differences over there. The fact that things can be so different over there means that certain things we take for granted may seem odd. The food they eat is different to the typical Irish meal. Christmas isn’t really celebrated. There are lots of examples of how life is different there. Would I completely change my lifestyle to live just as the Chinese do? No. Would I adapt certain aspects of my life to make sure I didn’t offend people or make my own life easier? Naturally. There would be no reason for me to give up the parts of Irish culture that I enjoy just because I was in a place that didn’t necessarily know or enjoy these things.

People keep doing things from there homeland that they enjoyed doing in there homeland. If their are traditions that they had to do at home that they didn’t enjoy that are not a necessity in there new home then they won’t. I meet a woman once who had to carry water a long way from the pump to her home when she was a child in her home country. She now has a tap in the kitchen but you can be she doesn’t walk for miles to get water every day like she did in the country she was born.

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

There was something on Nationwide a few days ago about an immigrant to Ireland. I didn't watch the whole segment but from what I saw he was from somewhere in Africa and was proud of his roots but also loved Ireland and had learned to speak Irish fluently. He was in a recording studio wearing a tribal headdress while singing an African song and suddenly decided to start singing in Irish. He seemed interesting.

Sure you see the Irish in Oz do they practice the culture and traditions there?
The majority stick to themselves and drink in Irish bars there

Terry wrote: »

People keep their own cultures going in foreign countries for the same reason people delude themselves into believing that saying a prayer will cure HIV or cancer or the common cold.
Comfort.

You can buy Kerrygold butter in China, just like Polish people can buy Pork based products that should taste nice, but really taste like crap here in Ireland.

It works out well until foreign people insulate themselves from the natives. Then you get ghetto culture and it all goes to hell due to innate fear of the unknown.

There's no harm in assimilating and keeping part of your own cultural identity. Most people won't do that though.


On a side note, someone mentioned Irish bars and Australia.
I can understand that if you're there long term, but why go to Lanzarote (or similar) for two weeks and spend all your time in Irish bars?
Just book a holiday in the farthest Irish city from your home and do the same ****ing thing.

People suck.

I bought Kerry gold in Germany because I thought it was the only salted butter you could get here.

Then I found a cheaper salted one so bye bye Kerry gold... Mm.. Salted butter. You don't realise how important it is until it's not the norm.

Pacifist Pigeon wrote: »

I think pride in something one did not create is a highly fallacious sentiment. If people had less of these sentiments, there would be less ethnic conflicts and wars.

I think that's kind of a half-baked argument, to be honest. You're right, we didn't have a hand in being born Irish etc but, in the words of John Donne, "No man is an island". That is, we contribute to and reflect the society and culture in which we are brought up in. Being proud of your Irish roots is not pride in Ireland, per se; it's pride in the culture that's a part of you and which you have contributed to (however negligibly).

cmos_ajay wrote: »

There is no need to bash immigrants.

Who's bashing immigrants?

Irish themselves are close minded and conservative people. How many Irish women would date a foreign national ? Very rare in numbers. Their parents tell them strictly not to mix with foreigners as though its a social stigma. How many Irish neighbors socialize with foreign nationals even if they have lived beside each other for a year ? Truth is that Irish do not mix. Its a country living in a time warp and needs to learn integration from advanced countries like USA and UK.