An American's Immigration History

I had a chance to talk with an American friend about his ancestors’ immigration history. Apparently, his great great grandparents were from Czechoslovakia, Austria and Poland. Czech Republic and Slovakia were once a country before they were split around 18 years ago. He believes that he is the last descendant of his family right now, as he is the only child. It is unfortunate that he could not speak all of his native languages. Besides, his family does not have any contact with other family members in their home countries of Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Poland. Nevertheless, they uphold some of the Polish culture in their family.

Back in the day, his great great grandfather immigrated to The United States of America in the mid of 1800. He chose to immigrate because of the religious freedom, material wealth, and new career opportunities in the USA. He was a Christian, however the churches were controlled by the King. He defied the rules and detested the feeling of being controlled in term of religion. The plight of being restricted from religious freedom was really miserable.

So ultimately, he decided to move. He landed in New York before taking the train to Milwaukee. He then settled down in Altoona. At that point of time, the USA embraced the capitalism model. He made up his mind to come to Wisconsin because the state was rich in lumber. He built a lumber business and then moved to Wausau and got married. It was easier to obtain land at that time too. Eventually, the family moved and settled down in Madison. Their culture assimilated to the American culture. They are the Czech Slovakian descents in Wisconsin.

Historical Buildings in Downtown Eau Claire

Eau Claire High School

Eau Claire has two public high schools within Eau Claire Area School District: Memorial High School and North High School. Memorial High School was built in 1925. However, its enrollment was in 1737, with a staff of over 150. It was built on a three-block campus at that time. The school's mascot is Old Abe. Now both schools have moved out to new campus.





Christ Church Cathedral

This is an excellent example of early twentieth century Neo-Gothic Church architecture. It was designed by the Minneapolis firm of Purcell, Feick, and Elmslie. It was constructed over the period from 1910-1916.

Does culture define institutions or do institutions define culture?

Does culture define institutions or do institutions define culture? What do you think? It is like a question to ask you whether chickens come first or eggs.

In my opinion, culture and institutions are interdependent. Nonetheless, I feel that culture defines institution first is a more logical statement. Why do I say so? When we turn back the pendulum to the ancient time where humans were first born or made into this world, the institutions did not exist. I believe that the first generation of humans lived in an environment which was totally on their own. They did not have more companions. They lived their own lives, they hunted for food, and they learned to survive. As time passed, they gave birth, they learned to communicate, and most importantly, they learned to value things differently. Distinctive beliefs were thus shaped, various lifestyles were formed.

Birds of a feather flock together. As the community went bigger, they formed their own tribes. The tribe might share the same physical appearance like skin color or hair color, similar communication ways like language, common lifestyles like food preference, values, rules, religions and beliefs. These are all the essence of a culture. Leaders were then chosen to lead the community. This is what I believe the first generation of institution might be. As the civilization progressed, the cultural process perpetuated. The institutions shaped the culture in return. The new-born children were raised up in the culture that was being upheld by the community. Then they took the leadership when they grew up and culturally influenced the next generation.

This is how I believe the institutions were defined first by the culture.

Comparison between UWEC and Malaysian student

Hi! Thanks for reading my blog! My name is Choo Choon Sian. Nice to make your acquaintance!

I have been in US for around 2 weeks. Things are really a lot different. I have numerous culture shocks when I came here. Nevertheless, I manage to acclimatize to those. I know that it is by studying others that we learn about ourselves. I am ready to make a change in my life.

What I like most about american students is they are very friendly and gregarious. They greet you so often, even though that they do not know who you are. "Hey, how are you doing?" It is what we will normally hear around the campus. In comparison, Malaysian students will feel very weird if somebody who does not know them come over and greet them with "How are you?". They rarely know how to respond. So this is a very good American's culture that we should learn and adopt. Secondly, the way American peers moving into the campus was like they were moving their house. They seemed to bring all their belongings. I just name a few we do not usually get to see in Malaysia - television, games console, microwave, refrigerator, futon, carpet, a lot of clothes, socks and shoes. Wherever I go around the dorm, I can hear the sound of the speakers blasting on my ears. I come to realize that western people really know how to enjoy their life; while eastern people work hard to thrive, and even to survive. This is really one of the main cultural differences. I know we should maintain the balanced lifestyle.

I do not really notice many similarities between University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire (UWEC) and Malaysian students. However, I would like to pinpoint some notable ones. The first similarity is both education systems also stress much on extra curricular activities. UWEC has 200 over student's clubs and organizations. I think my home university (National University of Malaysia - UKM) also has close to 200 student's societies. This is a good platform where great leaders are made. What is more? Both UWEC and UKM have a very condusive environment for study. The universities do have a beautiful campus, where you can trees, rivers and hills. The air is fresh, and the view is splendid, especially UWEC. Besides, they are equipped with excellent facilities and amenities. This is what makes me so grateful.