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Importance Of Being A Yes Opa Essay

530 Words3 Pages

I like to think that I live in three different countries simultaneously. As I step outside to go to school, I am in the United States. Liberal ideas and constant discussions of future careers and paths envelop my brain as I try to find an identity for myself in the land of opportunity. However, when I come home, I am transported back to Uzbekistan. I hear the sound of the tea kettle whistling for me to immediately make a hot pot for my family as the television behind me blasts Russian news. Possible responses to whatever my parents ask me are “Yes Ada” or “Yes Opa,” and my future according to them consists of working hard in school, but working even harder at home so that I can become the model housewife for my future husband and uphold the family honor through my obedience. …show more content…

I used both of my cultures to be the best person in each situation. In school, I had to demonstrate the same understanding in advanced classes as my native English-speaking classmates while juggling to learn English as a third language at the same time that I was improving my Russian and Uzbek skills. However, at home it was essential that I spoke in my native tongue and learned the conventional duties of an Uzbek girl. “Stay humble and reserved. Clear the dishes away as soon as your father is done eating. If you don’t keep your room clean, your future husband will leave you,” my mother would respond in Uzbek. The distinct aspects of each culture were so engrained in my identity that it was difficult for me to pick a prominent side. Yet, how could I express my individuality and freedom as a modern American when my home culture contradicted with the ideologies of the culture of my

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