The United States is known as the land of the opportunities. Every day, immigrants arrive in the country, seeking a better life for them and for their families.
According to the website Migration Policy, nearly 45 million immigrants were in the U.S. in 2018, representing 14% of the whole population in the country.
In August 2018, Derrick Omesa, a sophomore international business major, arrived in the United States and became one of those 45 million immigrants. Omesa came from Kenya with an opportunity to play soccer and study at Park University. He received a scholarship and decided to start a new journey in his life.
“I came to study in the U.S. because it is one of the most well-equipped countries in the world in terms of education and opportunities,” Omesa said.
Every new beginning is difficult, and with Omesa it was no different. In his first days in this new country, the Kenyan began to feel the cultural difference between the U.S. and his homeland. He said it was difficult to adjust.
“It felt like people didn’t care as much about other people, and I saw a couple of scenarios where people did things just because it benefited them even though it would negatively affect others,” he said.
During the early 70’s, Geert Hofstede, a Danish psychologist, studied people from different countries to verify how different some cultures were from the others, and he divided his work into six dimensions.
One of these dimensions is the concept of collectivism and individualism. In individualist societies people look after themselves and their direct family only. In collectivist societies people belong in groups that take care of them in exchange for loyalty.
According to Hofstede’s research, it can be said Kenyan culture is collectivistic because people take responsibility for each other. Omesa was able to feel the difference from a collectivistic culture to an individualistic culture.
“Unlike here, I do agree that Kenya is a collectivistic society. Everyone is family and everyone looks out for each other,” he affirmed.
Park University is known for its diversity and for receiving students from all parts of the world. According to Omesa, all the international students at Park helped him more than he expected, and now he has friends from many different countries.
“I have got to learn about so many different cultures, and I’m glad I have people in different countries that I can count on,” he said.
After one year living in a new country, the Kenyan midfielder had experienced good and bad moments in the U.S., but he said he feels adapted to his new life. He said being far away from home makes him feel sad sometimes but getting to meet new people from different cultures helped make him feel relieved from his stresses and his homesickness.
“I’ve got to learn a lot through both good and bad experiences and now I can say that I can handle anything,” he said.
Omesa is planning to graduate in 2023.
“My future life goal is to be happy and content with my life,” he said. “I know that I can impact the world in positive ways.”
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