Students in mixed-culture families say the experiences bring challenges and blessings.
Byline: By Claudia Staut (Multimedia Editor)
Eli Dahmah grew up in a household with a mother who was born in the U.S. and a father who was born in Syria.
Dahmah said it was not always easy.
“I was constantly getting pulled in two different directions growing up,” Dahmah said. “It was hard trying to balance the strictness from my dad and the more relaxed attitude from my mom in so many aspects.”
The two cultures often clashed around religion, he said.
“My Syrian family on my dad’s side and my very Polish and Irish family on my mom’s side are almost polar opposites,” Dahmah said. “My dad is very religious and my mom doesn’t really care, so I grew up going to church not giving a damn about being there.”
But Dahmah still found the benefits to living in a split culture household and is grateful for having a wide range of cultural experiences from family gatherings, weddings, parties, cooking and traditions.
Freshman political science student Maya Bueso also said she is proud to come from a mixed-culture household. Her father was born in Mexico.
“I’m honestly so grateful that I got to experience having an immigrant parent,” Bueso said. “[My father] didn’t necessarily teach me a lot about Mexican culture growing up because he was assimilating to American culture. However, when my family and I have visited Mexico, it has made me cherish and appreciate my heritage.”
Bueso said her father faced xenophobia and racism.
“Because people are so cruel, I definitely worry about how he is treated, especially with what the current administration is doing,” Bueso said. “I know plenty of other people that have immigrant parents who are so nervous about ICE,”
Senior Samantha Robitaille has a mother who was born in the Philippines and a father who was born in the U.S. Robitaille said the biggest benefit of living in a mixed-culture household was the “family aspect” of it on her mother’s side. She did not see that on her U.S.-born father’s side.
“My family took in one of our extended cousins from that family who needed a place to stay in the area because he got a job there. I don’t really see that on my dad’s side,” she said.
Robitaille said having a mixed-culture household with language barriers presented challenges.
“In my family, none of the first generation born in America have learned my mom’s native language because it’s not necessary and very rare to find other native speakers,” Robitaille said. “I feel partially disconnected from my grandpa, specifically since his English isn’t very good.”