John Wesh Influence On American Culture

My friend John Wesh is originally from Haiti and came to America 6 years ago. When he first came to America, he felt that it was very different. There were so many people walking around and crossing the streets that it made him uncomfortable. He saw a lot of corner store deli’s and that was something he was not used to having in Haiti. He came here for high school and here he considered getting out at 3pm late. Also transitioning from one classroom to another was something that he was not used to. After graduating high school he attended Buffalo State for college, which is where we met. He describes Buff State as “a whole different experience.” There were even more people than there were in high school. People would often laugh at his
He did not pick up any American rats. He adapted to a new environment, but he still remained true to himself. He did not change one bit to fit in. He understood the culture but he did not pick up any new habits or attempt to resemble American culture. I do believe that pluralism existed because he attempted to maintain both American & Haitian ideas at a point but he was not necessarily focused on becoming americanized. Even at school he would make certain Haitian dishes and play different songs from his country. However, he would make it as a side to go with what some people would consider traditional american dishes, such as fried chicken,etc. Transnationalism was not not a major issue because he did not have any economic ties to Haiti. Of course he still had friends and family there so he socialized with them on social media. He still had cultural ties because after all of this time his accent never disappeared or became lss strong. He still cooked Haitian food here and speaks creole to other students that are from his country. My school does not have a diversity requirement, but they do promote diversity and welcome people from different races, religions, ethnicities, nationalities,