Personal Immigration Story

       As we know, America has a diverse range of people from all over the world. This happened because many people of different ethnicity immigrated over to the United States. My roommate’s ancestors did just that. Jonny’s ancestors were actually Irish-German. His maternal great grandmother was born in Ireland and it was she who immigrated here. His paternal family is from Germany. Jonny’s ancestors moved here to America during the late 1800’s to achieve more than what they had back home. It was a long time ago.  Perhaps, it is due to that very reason that nobody in his family speaks the languages of his original countries. According to him, no one speaks German or Irish anymore. Being in America does impact on one’s culture after all. There isn’t any contact with any relatives back in Germany or Ireland because most his ancestors have already moved out of those countries twenty decades ago. The one family custom or tradition observed in both sides of his ancestors is drinking. Irish people are known for their drinking habits as well as the Germans. With Wisconsin being the state where consumption of alcohol is the highest, this custom is easily practiced by them. It is a tradition for many generations in Jonny’s family. He reacted to each question with appropriate answers without thinking too long. He knows his stuff indeed. Jonny and his family live a good life now in America and if asked if he or his family has done any genealogy research to learn more about his family history, Jonny said no they have not. This, to me does not mean that Jonny and his family have forgotten about their past and not care about their heritage, this means that they know well enough of their roots and doing research is not necessary when you know who you are and where you came from. Shifting to America did not erase their origins.

Historical Moments

Boyd Elementary School

This building is historical because it has been there for a very long time. It was designed back in 1915 by an Englishman by the name, Edward Hancock and the school was renamed Boyd Elementary School in 1951.

Putnam Memorial Chapel

The Putnam Memorial Chapel was built for the people of Eau Claire at about $10,000 donated by Jane E. Putnam. It is located in the Forest Hill Cemetery here in Eau Claire.

It Makes Us Who We Are

         Culture in accordance with the online dictionary has plenty of meanings ranging from development or improvement of the mind by education or training to the product or growth resulting from such cultivation. In my own words, culture is a quality instilled in one's ownself from birth. Culture depends on various aspects and different exposures will bring about different results. A person who is brought up in China may see the world from a different angle as that of a person who is brought up in America. Culture basically moulds a person into a whole and determines how they will view the world. It affects one's belief, views, understanding as well as knowledge. It may seem like an insignificant occurence but culture plays a big role in determining what a person will turn out to be in the future. It identifies each and everyone of us. Culture varies as geographical locations change as stated earlier and this results in different cultures being born.
         However, the world is mixing as of now and many people from different parts of the world are coming together. There seem to be no borders anymore keeping each nation apart as everyone from different backgrounds and cultures accepts each other. Everyone around the world today is not bound by only one culture. The world is mixing and therefore cultures are mixing too. Many learn new cultures and some even adopt them. Culture is what you learn and what you see. It is what you practice and what pleases you. Culture determines a persons behavior and how an individual will carry him or herself later on. Culture is important.