It is evident from our neighborhood project presentations, as well as Joseph Salvo’s lecture, that immigrants tend to settle or work in areas characterized by a large presence of people from their own home countries. However, constantly being surrounded by residents of the same cultural backgrounds can be detrimental to their endeavors to assimilate to life in America and, particularly, in New York City. Although it may seem unnecessary for immigrants to adapt to American lifestyles since our diverse city is populated by people who have come from all over the world, it is much more difficult to live comfortably and attain success if they do not make an effort to learn English or understand cultures other than their own.

While some immigrant groups have little trouble adjusting to American life, others struggle to adapt. For our final project, I propose that we attempt to answer the question of what advantages specific immigrant groups have that allow them to assimilate more quickly than others. These advantages may include prior knowledge of the English language, former economic background, level of education, or the nature of the communities they have chosen to inhabit. In our own neighborhood visit to Corona, Lisa, Cindy, and I found that those who owned businesses in the primarily Mexican area were fluent in English, despite English not being their first language. In addition to learning English, these business owners also sought to learn Spanish by using apps like Google Translate, or simply through their daily encounters with Spanish-speaking customers. It seemed that they did not have much difficulty assimilating due to their decision to settle or work in an area dominated by Hispanics, while they themselves were Russian, Chinese, Korean, or of other backgrounds. Being encompassed by cultures dissimilar from their own forced these immigrants to step outside of their comfort zones and acculturate.

I think it would be very easy to incorporate various forms of media into this project. It would require us to conduct interviews, like we did for our neighborhood projects, and explore communities home to different ethnic groups. We could include maps that highlight areas with high concentrations of distinct immigrant groups. Photographs could be used to capture the essence of these neighborhoods that either hinder or promote the adjustment of foreign residents to American life. I also think charts could be very applicable to this topic. I really liked the graphs that Cate and Michelle included in their presentation on Haitians in Brooklyn. Graphs portraying the rate at which particular immigrant populations learn English, their levels of education, and their socioeconomic statuses would be very fitting for this project. This subject is also suitable for videos. I liked the video of the interview that Michael and Raymond embedded into their presentation of Koreans in Flushing. Like a photograph, a video can capture the community’s features and, additionally, provide a record of personal conversations. I really believe that exploring the factors that allow different immigrant groups to adapt to life in America faster than others would be an interesting topic to pursue.