Lost in Translation by Eva Hoffman

In "Lost in Translation," by Eva Hoffman she contrasts her life in Poland and her life in Canada; she also contrasts the differences between both cultures and how they affected her family and her life. Hoffman begins her essay by stating that her mother does not have the same authority she used to have in Poland. Hoffman made Alinka, her sister, promise to treat their parents well, but Alinka has many fights with Hoffman because she wants to be free, too. Hoffman comments that her mother says she is becoming "English" because she is acting less demonstrative and cold. Now, Hoffman stands further away when talking to someone. Finally, Hoffman accepts the Canadian culture, but she does not want to lose her Polish culture. Hoffman's main idea is that if you move to another country with a different culture from your native culture, you should accept and adapt to it but not lose your own culture. I agree with Hoffman's main idea because it happened to my friend An and me when we were in Canada. We had to adapt to and accept the Canadian culture without losing the roots of our native heritage. Although An and I shared certain similarities and differences, cultural adaptation caused difficulties.

An and I had some similarities in background and cultural identity which were different from the Canadian culture. First, both of us were teenagers and that was very important to build our relationship because we were able to share our experiences. Once I was really upset because I missed my Venezuelan friends; however, she talked to me and understood my condition because she was having the same feelings. Second, she is from Belgium and I am from Venezuela, so we came from two different cultures. Consequently, both of us had to understand and adapt to the Canadian culture. By observing and interacting we understood the Canadian culture and we realized that they were polite and more helpful than Venezuelan and Belgium people. Third, An and I were exchange students trying to fit in the Canadian culture; therefore, we had to change our personality by acting like Canadians acted and doing whatever they did. Finally, our family ties were really important. We had to stay at home a lot of time with the family because spending time with the family is essential for the growth of the family relationship in our cultures. In contrast, we were losing our friendship with our other Canadian friends because we could not hang out as much as the Canadian kids.

Even though An and I had some similarities, we had some differences, too. She had a lot of problems with her parents because she did not obey them.